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Hello everyone,

I am seeking some clarification regarding the continuous residence / lawful residence qualifying period for Long Residence ILR.

I believe I am approaching my 10-year qualifying period in the UK and intend to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain. While reviewing similar cases online, I came across some scenarios and wanted to confirm how my situation is assessed.

My timeline is as follows:

My first UK visa was granted on 23/09/2016 and was valid until 05/11/2019. I left the UK on 03/11/2019 (two days before expiry). I subsequently made a new student visa application from outside the UK, which was approved on 09/01/2020. I re-entered the UK on 17/01/2020 and have continuous visas since.

The issue I am trying to understand is whether the gap of approximately 73 days between leaving the UK and re-entering counts towards the qualifying period. I believe this falls under CR 4.1(d)(iii), where an applicant leaves the UK before their permission expires and later returns within 180 days. I understand that this does not break continuous residence; however, CR 4.2 of Appendix Continuous Residence states that this period is not counted towards the qualifying period.

However, Section 5 of the Continuous Residence Caseworker Guidance (Lawful Presence) states that:
“An applicant will not be lawfully present where the applicant required permission and did not have it and none of the overstaying exceptions in CR 4.1(d) apply.”

I have come across several posts showing both interpretations, with some suggesting that it is counted towards the qualifying period and eventually got their ILR and others saying it is not.

Given this, I would appreciate clarification on how this gap is treated when calculating the qualifying period for ILR under the 10-year long residence route

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration ... -residence

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... l-presence

Thank you.

Covered many times before

viewtopic.php?t=359463#p2206066

viewtopic.php?t=358347

Hi Zimba,

Thank you for your reply. Section 5, *“Lawful Presence”*, paragraph 3 of the caseworker guidance states that where any of the exceptions in 4.1(d) apply, the period is counted as lawful residence. However, when looking at CR 4.2 more generally, it does not clearly specify whether it applies to people who had no permission while in the UK or those who were outside the UK, which is what caused my confusion.

To be on the safe side, I could wait another 70 days before applying, which would take me to the end of October. However, I have a family event and need to travel abroad in the first week of October. Given the uncertainty around the changes expected to be announced in the autumn, it is also unclear whether there will be any transitional arrangements for the Long Residence route. This is why I am quite stressed about whether we need to wait for the gap to be fully covered, or whether it is acceptable to apply now if the period is counted as both an absence and lawful residence.

Additionally, could you please check my dates below and confirm whether my eligibility date—taking into account the 28-day rule and using the first date of approval—would be **26 August 2026**?

1. Entered the UK on 6 October 2016 on a Tier 4 Student visa (date of approval: 23/09/2016)
2. Left the UK on 3 November 2019 (visa expiry: 5 November 2019)
3. Re-entered the UK on 17 January 2020 on a Tier 4 Student visa ( date of approval: 09/01/2020)
4. Switched to the Graduate route in August 2022
5. Switched to the Skilled Worker route in June 2023
6. Skilled Worker extension granted in June 2026

Thank you very much for your help.

There are already transitional arrangements in place. That is why paragraph CR 4.2 (when it comes to the long residence) will be subjected to the transitional arrangements in place. This does NOT appear under the rules but only in the long residence guide.

The transitional arraignment kept/preserved the long residence rules as they were before, for applicants who had permission when they left the UK and returned to the UK with a valid permission, following the changes in 2024:

Appendix Continuous residence 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 more than 548 days in the 10-year qualifying period, where that absence was before 11 April 2024.

Appendix Continuous Residence also preserves the position in the rules as of 10 April 2024 for applicants who had permission when they left the UK and returned to the UK with a valid permission, provided they do not exceed the limit of permissible absences.

Long residence guide: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... accessible

Here is a similar case, where the transitional arrangements applied successfully: viewtopic.php?t=358309#p2202217

Make sure to read --> Long Residence settlement route (effective 11 April 2024)

Your earliest date of ILR eligibility is 23/09/2016 + 10 years - 28 days which is what you got