Following changes to the Long Residence Immigration Rules in April 2024 and amendments to the Guidance in July 2024, there has been confusion surrounding the 10-year qualifying period for settlement. Here is an overview of the most up-to-date residence requirements.
While the changes to the Long Residence Immigration Rules on 11 April 2024 and the subsequent amended Guidance policy of 9 July 2024 did mark significant shifts in the residence requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) applications, some requirements remain consistent.
Applicants must still hold permission to stay in the UK; the 10-year continuous residence period still excludes any time spent in the UK on a standard visitor visa, short-term study visa or seasonal worker visa; and applicants between the ages of 18 and 65 must still pass the Life in the UK test and prove sufficient English language skills.
What has changed, however, is the addition of a requirement that the current permission (if granted since 11 April 2024) must have been held for a minimum of 12 months. Applicants can also no longer rely on historic 10-year periods under the new route. Additionally, the Government clarified that time spent in the UK as an EEA or EU national exercising their Treaty rights counts towards the 10-year period.
The July amendments offered some clarification of when continuous residence is broken. Despite hope that the 548-day absence rule has been removed, the guidance now states that any time spent towards the 10-year qualifying period before 11 April 2024 must not include total absence of more than 548 days. Further, any single absence started before 11 April 2024 must not exceed 184 days.
Regarding qualifying time since 11 April 2024, absences within any 12-month period must not exceed 180 days.
If the qualifying period includes time both prior to and following the 11 April 2024 changes, the periods will be considered separately and according to the rules that apply to that period. So, any time before 11 April 2024 will be subject to the 548-day absence limit, while any time after will not.
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