Guidance

Long residence: caseworker guidance

Immigration staff guidance on how to consider applications from people applying on the basis of long residence in the UK.

Documents

Long residence

Details

UK Visas and Immigration guidance on how staff consider indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and leave to remain applications from people applying on the basis of long residence in the UK.

This guidance is based on the Immigration Rules.

The rules on long residence recognise the ties a person may form with the UK over a lengthy period of residence here.

ILR can be granted under paragraphs 276A-276D of the Immigration Rules after a period of 10 years’ continuous lawful residence.

Updates to this page

Published 17 October 2014
Last updated 9 July 2024 + show all updates
  1. Updated to clarify the transitional arrangements for long residence applicants relating to permissible absences and continuous residence.

  2. Guidance updated to reflect the introduction of the newly inserted Appendix Long Residence, which replaced the long residence rules in Part 7 of the Immigration Rules.

  3. Updated to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules where time spent in the UK with leave as a visitor, short-term student, and seasonal worker (under current or predecessor routes) does not count as lawful residence.

  4. Updated the guidance.

  5. Guidance updated. Changes are detailed on page 4 of the PDF and section 1.3 of the accessible version.

  6. Updated guidance document.

  7. Updated long residence document

  8. Updated guidance.

  9. Updated guidance.

  10. Updated guidance.

  11. First published.

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