Where an individual has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for at least 10 years, even with different types of immigration permission, they may be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain on the basis of their long residence in the UK. This is potentially helpful to many people who have held different types of permission but have not been able to apply for indefinite leave on their visa route. For example, where someone has held Student permission for four years, Graduate permission for two years and Skilled Worker permission for four years, they may not need to wait until they have held permission as a Skilled Worker for five years to apply for indefinite leave. This person could potentially accumulate all of their immigration permission in the last 10 years and apply for indefinite leave on the basis of their ‘long residence’.

However, in order to have a successful application for indefinite leave on the basis of long residence, it is not enough for the applicant to show they have lived in the UK lawfully for 10 years. They must also show that this residence has been ‘continuous’ – but what does ‘continuous’ mean?

Appendix Continuous Residence of the Immigration Rules sets out how the continuous residence requirement is met. Previously, to meet the continuous residence requirement, an applicant applying for indefinite leave on the basis of long residence must not have been outside of UK for more than 184 days at one time, and or for more than 548 days in the 10-year period. This was specific to long residence applications; some other types of applications also have a continuous residence requirement but would need to meet this only by not being absent for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. This meant that the continuous residence requirement was more restrictive for long residence applicants, who only had an average annual absence allowance of around 54 days.

The Home Office changed the Rules on 11 April 2024 so that long residence applicants would, in general, need to meet the continuous residence requirement in the same way as applicants applying for indefinite leave on different routes. However, this change brought with it a lot of confusion as the wording of the new Rules was very unclear.

We have since been given new Home Office guidance on the issue, as well as a Statement of Changes to the Rules which seek to clarify the matter. Exactly how an applicant meets the continuous residence requirement under Appendix Long residence will depend on whether the absences fall before or after 11 April 2024:

1. Any single absence (i.e., one trip overseas) started before 11 April 2024 must be no longer than 184 days.
2. Where some of the 10-year qualifying period starts before 11 April 2024, the absences before this date must not total more than 548 days.
3. The absences in the part of the qualifying period that falls on or after 11 April 2024 will need to meet the new rules i.e., no more than 180 days in any 12-month period.

In terms of point 2 above, it is only the part of the 10-year qualifying period which falls before 11 April 2024 which is subject to a limit of 548 days in total, regardless of the length of the period which falls before this date.

Applicants should also be aware that there are some exceptions where continuous residence will not be broken where the absence limits are exceeded, such as where travel is required for work in certain fields, or where there has been travel disruption due to a pandemic.

With limited exceptions, it is usually the case that where an applicant has at any point in the 10-year period overstayed their permission, this will also break their continuous residence. However, the Home Office has now confirmed that where an individual overstayed their permission between 24 January and 31 August 2020, the overstay will be disregarded to give allowances for those who overstayed because of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, time spent in the UK between 1 September 2020 and 28 February 2023 where the individual had one or more grants of ‘exceptional assurance’ (which was a type of permission being granted to those who could not leave the UK due to pandemic travel restrictions) will also not break continuous residence. Interestingly, periods spent in the UK with exceptional assurance are being treated as an exception to overstaying, and any periods spent in the UK with exceptional assurance will not count towards the 10 year long residence qualifying period.

Long residence applications currently have a Home Office fee of £2,885, though this is subject to change.

If you require advice or assistance with an application for indefinite leave on the basis of long residence, we would be happy to help. Please contact us on 020 7401 6887 or by email at contact@gryklaw.com.