10 Years Long Residence ILR – SET (LR) 2025

You can be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you’ve been in the UK legally for 10 continuous years (known as ‘long residence’). The Long Residence route is for a person who has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years or more. The Long Residence indefinite leave to remain route is for a person who has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years or more.

You must also have been in the UK legally for 10 years without gaps (known as your ‘continuous residence’). This can include time on most immigration categories, or a combination of different immigration categories.

After new immigration changes in Appendix Long Residence you will need to have held your current permission for one year.

Super Priority For ILR Long Residence Application

Our UK immigration lawyers for 10 years long residence ILR can assist you make an application under super priority service for a decision within 24 hours. You will need to pay an additional fee of £1000 on top of your £2,885 application fee. Our long residence lawyers can prepare and submit your ILR 10 year residence application faster and get you a decision faster through super priority service. This way, you will not have to wait for the decision of your ILR 10 year route application for months and years.

Eligibility requirements for settlement on the Long Residence route

To apply for ILR on the long residence route under 10 years, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Qualifying period requirement for settlement on the Long Residence route – The applicant must have spent a qualifying period of 10 years lawfully in the UK
• The applicant must have met the continuous residence requirement set out in Appendix Continuous Residence for the entirety of the qualifying period
• English Language requirement for settlement on the Long Residence route
• Knowledge of life in the UK requirement for settlement on the Long Residence route (Life in the UK test)

Once an applicant has built up 10 years of continuous lawful residence, there is no limit on the length of time afterward when they can apply. This means they could leave the UK, re-enter on any lawful basis, and apply for settlement from within the UK based on 10 years of continuous lawful residence they built up in the past. There is also nothing to prevent a person from relying on a 10-year period that they may have relied on in a previous application or grant.

10 year long residence documents required

When applying for ILR based on 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK, you need to provide the following documents to support your application:

• Current passport and any previous passports showing your presence in the UK
• Your current BRP Card
• Evidence of continuous and lawful residence in the UK
• Evidence of English language proficiency
• Life in the UK test certificate
• Any evidence of your private and family life established in the UK during the past 10 years
• Any evidence or information to prove exceptional circumstances or reasons why your application must be approved if relying on Home Office’s discretion
• Evidence of accommodation, tenancy agreements or mortgage statements
• Utility bills
• Bank statements
• Evidence of education or employment
• Travel tickets and receipts

To discuss your 10 years lawful residence ILR application, you can call our experienced ILR immigration lawyers on 01614644140 or 07827126843. You can book an appointment with our indefinite leave to remain lawyers to discuss your immigration matter.

What does continuous residence mean?

The applicant must show all of the following:

• you have lived in the UK with relevant permission
• your residence is lawful
• you have not been absent for more than the specified periods, unless for permitted reasons

Lawful residence does not include time spent on immigration bail (including time spent with temporary admission and temporary release).

Absences from the UK That Breaks Continuous Residence

Continuous residence is broken in specified circumstances such as when an applicant:

• is absent for more than 180 days in any 12-month period without permitted reasons
• is applying under Appendix Long Residence and was absent for a period of more than 6 months (184 days) at any one time or spent a total of 18 months (548 days) outside the UK and the absence started before 11 April 2024 without permitted reasons
• is applying under Appendix Long Residence, left the UK before 24 November 2016 with no valid leave to remain on their departure from the UK, and failed to apply for entry clearance within 28 days of their previous permission expiring (even if they returned to the UK within 6 months (184 days))

Appendix Long Residence: transitional arrangements for applicants where the absence started before 11 April 2024

Appendix Continuous Residence (at paragraph CR 2.2A) recognises that its provisions are different from the previous long residence rules at paragraph 276A and makes transitional arrangements specifically for long residence applicants. These transitional arrangements preserve the position that continuous residence will be broken if an applicant has been absent from the UK for more than 184 days at any one time or for more than a total of 548 days overall, where that absence started before 11 April 2024. This means that:

• any single absences started before 11 April 2024 must be no longer than 184 days
• a 10-year period completed before 11 April 2024 must not have total absences of more than 548 days – for 10-year periods which extend beyond 11 April 2024, there is no 548-day limit
• from 11 April 2024 the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period

Overstaying exceptions

Overstaying means remaining in the UK after a person’s permission has expired. Overstaying will break a person’s continuous residence unless certain circumstances apply:

• see circumstances where paragraph 39E of the Rules (exceptions for overstayers) applies, which are explained in the overstayer guidance
• see CR 4.2 of Appendix Continuous Residence of the Immigration Rules for exceptions for applications for permission made before 24 November 2016, which are explained in the Applications from outside the UK section of this guidance Where an application is made and paragraph 39E of the rules applies (or the applicant made a successful application before 24 November 2016 for permission within 28 days of the date of their previous permission), the period of time where the applicant did not have permission, will not break continuous residence but will not be counted towards the qualifying period as a period of lawful presence in the UK.

English Language requirement for settlement on the Long Residence route

Unless an exemption applies, applicants are required to meet the English language requirement at level B1 or above. How applicants can demonstrate they meet this English language requirement is set out in Appendix English Language (see English language guidance).

Knowledge of Life in the UK requirements for settlement on the long residence route

Unless an exemption applies, applicants must meet the Knowledge of Life in the UK requirement as set out in Appendix KOL UK (see Knowledge of language and life in UK guidance).

How early can I apply for ILR application?

You can apply for ILR 10 years long residence category up to 28 days in advance of completing your qualifying period of continuous lawful residence.  An application for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) based on 10 years long residence made more than 28 days in advance will be refused.

What is the Home Office fees for SET (LR) application?

The Home Office fee for indefinite leave to remain is £2,885.

What is the processing time for 10 years long residence ILR application?

The processing time for 10 years long residence ILR is around 3 to 6 months.

Our legal fee to assist with your ILR application

Our legal fee for an indefinite leave to remain application starts from £1000.

Qualifying period requirement for settlement on the Long Residence route

The applicant must have spent a qualifying period of 10 years lawfully in the UK, for the entirety of which one or more of the following applied:

• (a) the applicant had permission, except permission as a Visitor, Short-term Student (English language) or Seasonal Worker (or under any of their predecessor routes); or
• (b) the applicant was exempt from immigration control; or
• (c) the applicant was in the UK as an EEA national, or the family member of an EEA national, exercising a right to reside under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 prior to 11pm on 31 December 2020 (and until 30 June 2021 or the final determination of an application under Appendix EU made by them by that date).

The following periods will not count towards the qualifying period for Long Residence:

• (a) time spent on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release; and
• (b) any period of overstaying between periods of permission before 24 November 2016 even if a further application was made within 28 days of the expiry of the previous permission; and
• (c) any period of overstaying between periods of permission on or after 24 November 2016 even if paragraph 39E applies to that period of overstaying; and
• (d) any current period of overstaying where paragraph 39E applies.

The applicant must have had permission on their current immigration route for at least 12 months on the date of application, or have been exempt from immigration control in the 12 months immediately before the date of application.

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Frequently Asked Questions for SET (LR) Application