Securing Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) marks the moment a temporary resident achieves permanent settlement in the UK. It is the definitive step towards building a life here, but the application process, particularly the requirement for Continuous Residence, is notoriously complex. A small miscalculation coudl lead to a refusal.

The continuous residence rule is straightforward in principle: Applicants must have spent a specific qualifying period – usually five years or 10 years– living in the UK on an eligible visa route. The complexity arises with the strict limits on absences from the country.

The 180-Day Rule and the Biggest Pitfall – 5 Year route to Indefinite Leave to Remain

For most modern work and family routes (e.g., Skilled Worker, Spouse Visa), applicants must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month rolling period during the qualifying period.

The most common and devastating error applicants make is assuming this 12-month period is fixed, such as a calendar year (January to December) or tied to the issue date of their visa. This is incorrect. Home Office caseworkers scrutinise absences using a rolling 12-month calculation. This means that for every day of your qualifying period, a check is performed to ensure you have not exceeded 180 days of absence in the preceding 365 days.

A single day over the 180-day limit in a single rolling period can invalidate your entire application, necessitating a fresh start on the residence period.

Key Pitfalls and Essential Preparation

Beyond the rolling calculation, applicants must avoid several other common pitfalls:

  • Travel Day Inclusion
    The Home Office typically counts full days of absence. Your travel day out of the UK and your travel day back into the UK are not counted as days of absence as you would have been physically present in the UK on that date.

  • Insufficient Records
    You must maintain meticulously accurate records of all your international travel, including precise dates of departure and return. Relying solely on passport stamps is risky; retain flight bookings and boarding passes whenever possible.

  • Route-Specific Rules
    Different immigration routes have different absence limits. For example, applicants on the Ancestry visa route must demonstrate they intend to make the UK their main home, but their absence rules are calculated differently over the five years and are from the date of expiry and not the date you landed into the UK. A Spouse/Partner visa for example is counted from the date you first entered the UK on that specific visa.

Indefinite Leave to Remain is a high-stakes application and can feel quite intrusive, and the continuous residence requirement is non-negotiable. Don’t let an avoidable administrative error delay your settlement goal.

Of course there are certain exceptions where you could request for discretion to be used such as compassionate reasons (death in your immediate family or serious illness) as well as time spent out of the UK during the pandemic. But these conditions are quite specific and we suggest you speak to a Nexus Advisor on these if this affects your stay.

How Nexus Visas Can Help

We are here to guide you through your Immigration Journey and help you over any hurdles. If it’s UK Immigration advice you require, our London based Advisors can assist you with most Level 1 IAA related queries and applications.

Contact us here for assistance, call 020 3598 7413 or email immigration@nexusvisas.co.uk

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