The 10-year long residence route to ILR

Who the 10-year route is for

The 10-year long residence rule was originally designed to ensure that anyone who has made the UK their home for a decade — regardless of how they got here — has a route to settlement. In practice, today, it's used by:

• Students who switched to work routes. Time on a Tier 4 (or Student visa) does count, so someone who studied 3 years then worked 7 years on a Skilled Worker visa can usually settle via the 10-year route — even if their work-only time wouldn't yet qualify under the standard 5-year Skilled Worker settlement.
• People who changed routes multiple times. Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) holders who shifted to Skilled Worker, Ancestry holders who switched to spouse visas, etc. — the 10-year route counts everything together.
• Holders of routes without their own settlement path. A handful of UK visa categories don't have a 5-year route to settlement. The 10-year rule is their only route.

The current absence rules (from 11 April 2024)

This is where most 10-year applications come unstuck, so the rule deserves careful attention. Under the post-April 2024 rules:

• No more than 180 days of absence in any rolling 12-month period — this is the headline rule. The "rolling" aspect is critical: it's not "180 days per calendar year," it's any sliding 12-month window. You could spend 100 days outside the UK in late 2025 and 90 days outside in early 2026 — totalling 190 days across a 12-month window — and breach the rule.
• No single trip exceeding 184 days. Even one absence of 185 days breaks continuous residence — your 10-year clock resets.

Absences before 11 April 2024 are assessed under the older rule (548-day cumulative cap across the whole 10-year period). For applications submitted in 2026 where your 10-year period straddles April 2024, you have to satisfy both rules for their respective time periods. This is genuinely messy paperwork and a common source of refusals.

Check your absence position

Use this trip-by-trip checker for any 12-month window in your 10-year period — it flags whether you'd be over the rolling cap.

Visas that count toward the 10 years

Almost all lawful UK visas count, but a few don't. Here's a clear breakdown:

Counts toward the 10 years

• Skilled Worker (Tier 2 / new Skilled Worker)
• Student / Tier 4 (full-length degree courses, not English language)
• Graduate visa
• Spouse / Partner visa
• Parent of a British child route
• UK Ancestry visa
• Global Talent
• Innovator Founder / Start-Up
• Investor visa (pre-closure)
• Tier 1 Entrepreneur (pre-closure)

Does NOT count

• Visitor visa (Standard, Business, Marriage Visitor)
• Short-term student visa (English language courses ≤6 or 11 months)
• Seasonal Worker visa
• Ukraine Family Scheme / Ukraine Extension Scheme (these have their own bespoke pathway)
• EEA free movement before 31 December 2020 (EU Settlement Scheme is the route for that)
• Time spent in the UK unlawfully (overstaying)

The key distinction is "lawful, settlement-track" leave. If your time was on a visa that was never designed to lead to settlement (visitor, seasonal worker), it doesn't count — even if you spent the whole period in the UK.

Continuous residence — what it really means

"Continuous lawful residence" is more demanding than it sounds. It means:

• No gaps in valid leave. If your visa expired and you applied late — even by one day — that's an unlawful gap, and continuous residence is broken.
• No deportations or removals. Even if you returned voluntarily and got a fresh visa, a deportation event breaks continuity.
• No periods of imprisonment. Any sentence served in custody breaks continuity.
• Within the absence limits. See above.

If you've had a small unlawful gap (e.g. a few weeks between visa expiry and a new visa being granted), some Home Office discretion exists — but you cannot rely on it. Get legal advice if you have any gap at all.

Evidencing the 10 years

The Home Office wants documentary evidence covering each year of your 10-year period. There is no "standard" evidence list, but typical accepted documents include:

• Payslips and P60s from each year of employment
• Council tax bills or tenancy agreements showing UK address
• Bank statements showing UK transactions across the period
• HMRC tax records or self-employed accounts
• Utility bills, NHS records, GP registration letters
• Travel records (boarding passes, passport stamps) to evidence absence dates

Aim for at least 4-6 distinct pieces of evidence per year. Gaps in evidence don't automatically mean refusal but they raise questions — and questions extend processing time and increase refusal risk.

Other requirements

• Life in the UK Test pass — required for almost everyone aged 18-64. See our how-to-pass guide for the strategy.
• English language requirement at B1 — usually evidenced via a SELT (Secure English Language Test) at B1 GESE or B1 IELTS Life Skills. £150-£250 per test. Nationals of majority-English-speaking countries are typically exempt.
• Good character — no significant criminal convictions in the last 12-24 months (the exact lookback varies by sentence severity). No significant tax non-compliance.

What it costs in 2026

The 10-year route has no fee discount despite the longer qualifying time. From 8 April 2026:

• ILR application: £3,226
• Biometric enrolment: £19.20
• Life in the UK Test (if not already passed): £50
• SELT English test (if not already passed): £150-£250

Total: roughly £3,500-£3,600 for one adult. Dependents pay full ILR fees too — no family discount. See our ILR fees 2026 guide for the calculator and full breakdown.

After ILR — when can I apply for citizenship?

The 10-year ILR route has the same citizenship eligibility rule as every other ILR route: you can apply for British citizenship 12 months after ILR is granted (or immediately, if you're married to a British citizen). The 10-year route doesn't make citizenship harder or longer — it just gets you to the ILR step.

The 10-year route is documentation-heavy and unforgiving on absence rules. If your case has any complexity — a small unlawful gap, an unusual visa mix, deductions or tax issues — strongly consider a regulated immigration solicitor for the application. The £3,226 fee is non-refundable on refusal, so the £1,000-£2,000 solicitor cost is often good insurance.