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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.

Updates to this page

From:
UK Visas and Immigration
Published:
17 October 2014
Last updated:
8 October 2026
Show all updates

  1. The guidance has been updated to reflect when a Long Residence Permission to Stay application is to be varied to an Appendix FM or Appendix Private Life Permission to Stay application.

  2. Updated to reflect the change to the Suitability Rule changes relating to immigration bail and the Exceptions for Overstayers provisions.

  3. The guidance has been updated to reflect the change to the Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence to apply Part Suitability.

  4. Guidance updated as detailed on page 5.

  5. Updated the guidance to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules excluding time with permission on Ukraine Schemes from counting towards the qualifying period requirement under the long residence route, clarify the guidance on periods exempt from immigration control and clarify the guidance on permission extended by virtue of section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971.

  6. Updated to clarify the transitional arrangements for long residence applicants relating to permissible absences and continuous residence.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Updated the guidance.

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

  11. Updated guidance document.

  12. Updated long residence document

  13. Updated guidance.

  14. Updated guidance.

  15. Updated guidance.

  16. First published.

Documents

Long residence (accessible)

HTML

Long residence

PDF, 311 KB, 19 pages

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 Appendix Long Residence after a period of 10 years’ continuous lawful residence.

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