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10-Year Long Residence ILR

A continuous-residence settlement route for anyone who has lived in the UK lawfully for 10 years.

Sourced from GOV.UK · Updated April 2026
The short answer

The Long Residence route grants Indefinite Leave to Remain to applicants with 10 continuous years of lawful UK residence. The rules were consolidated under Appendix Long Residence in April 2024 (replacing the older paragraph 276B). The route is useful for people who switched between visa categories, had gaps in employment-based routes, or whose original route doesn't lead to ILR (such as Student visa stays). Use the salary checker if a Skilled Worker top-up is faster; Long Residence is slower but lower-risk where you already have the time.

£3,226Application fee from
—IHS per year
N/A — in-UK onlyDecision (outside UK)
Permanent — same ILR status as the 5-year routesInitial leave

Who can apply

  • At least 10 years of continuous lawful UK residence (every day on a valid visa, including grace-period extensions)
  • No more than 184 continuous days outside the UK in a single absence
  • No more than 548 days outside the UK in total across the 10 years
  • Currently in the UK on any qualifying visa (not Visitor, Short-term Student, seasonal worker, or as a refugee pending determination)
  • Pass the Life in the UK Test (£50, 75% pass)
  • Meet B1 CEFR English (degree taught in English / SELT / nationality exemption)
  • Good character — no unspent convictions, no immigration breaches, no NHS debt over £500
  • On a valid visa at the time of application (out-of-time applications break continuity unless granted under paragraph 39E grace)

How to apply

  1. Audit your 10-year historyList every visa held with start + end dates. Verify continuous lawful residence — even one day of overstaying breaks the clock unless paragraph 39E grace applied.
  2. Reconcile tax recordsMatch HMRC declared income to visa application declarations across all 10 years — paragraph 322(5) deception findings often emerge here.
  3. Confirm absence capAdd up total days outside UK across 10 years (cap: 548) and the longest single absence (cap: 184). Family emergencies are not exempt.
  4. Pass the Life in the UK Test£50, 24 Q, 75% pass, valid for life.
  5. Apply online (Set(LR))£3,226 fee (gov.uk/long-residence). Super Priority (£1,000) recommended given the document complexity — caseworkers want fast disposal of complete files.
  6. Biometric enrolmentFree UKVCAS appointment after submitting Set(LR).
  7. DecisionDocument-heavy applications often take the full 6 months under standard service. Super Priority decisions usually within 5 working days if file is complete.
  8. After ILR — plan citizenshipSame as 5-year ILR route: 12 months wait, then £1,839 naturalisation fee (includes £130 ceremony).

Documents you’ll need

  • All passports covering the 10-year period (UK + non-UK)
  • All previous BRPs / visa decision letters for the 10 years
  • Evidence of every visa held during the 10 years (CoS, CAS, refusal letters where relevant)
  • HMRC SA302 + employment records for all 10 years (tax-compliance check)
  • Council tax bills, utility bills, tenancy agreements covering each year
  • Detailed absence log: each trip with departure and return dates + supporting evidence (boarding passes, hotel bookings, etc.)
  • Life in the UK Test pass certificate
  • B1 English language evidence
  • Marriage / birth certificates if including dependants on the same application

Good to know

Visitor, Graduate, Short-term Student or seasonal worker time does NOT count toward the 10 years.
A single day of overstaying breaks continuity unless excused under paragraph 39E (e.g. application made within 14 days of expiry).
2024 rule rewrite: Appendix Long Residence consolidated paragraph 276B. Time spent under exempt categories (diplomats, refugees pending determination) no longer counts.
Discretionary route — Home Office must be satisfied of lawful continuous residence. Refusals here are appealable as a human-rights point if you have established private life.
Long Residence is slower than a switch to Skilled Worker, but lower risk if you have all 10 years already — no salary test, no sponsor dependency.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

  • Every day of the 10 years must have been on a valid visa or leave to remain. Even a single day of overstaying breaks continuity. The 28-day grace period for late applications was effectively removed in 2024.

  • 540 days total outside the UK across the 10 years, AND no single trip exceeding 184 days. Both limits must be met.

  • Yes — Student visa time fully counts toward the 10-year long residence clock, unlike for the standard 5-year ILR routes where Student time is not qualifying.

  • Always 5-year ILR if you qualify — it's faster, cleaner, and more reliably approved. 10-year long residence is for those who don't fit a single 5-year route (e.g. switched between non-qualifying visas).

  • All passports for 10 years, all previous BRPs/decision letters, full HMRC tax records, council tax bills, utility bills, complete absence log, Life in the UK Test pass, and B1 English evidence.

Source: GOV.UK — 10-Year Long Residence ILR · Last verified April 2026

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UKDesk Editorial — Editor & Researcher

Reads gov.uk, HMRC and ONS source pages, verifies every figure, and writes the plain-English explainers on UKDesk.

Verified against gov.uk · April 2026·Editorial policy
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