The Appendix Continuous Residence sets out the rules Home Office caseworkers use to assess whether an ILR applicant meets the continuous residence requirement. It explains what continuous residence means, how to calculate it, what absences are allowed, and which visa categories are covered.
According to the Appendix, continuous residence means the applicant must have been physically present in the UK for a set qualifying period without lengthy gaps or absences. This is a key requirement for most UK settlement (ILR) applications, as it helps the Home Office determine whether the applicant has genuinely made the UK their permanent home.
Most applicants applying for ILR under a route that leads to settlement must meet the requirements of Appendix Continuous Residence, including:
- Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa (BNO visa)
However, Appendix Continuous Residence does not apply to every UK settlement route. For example, the following are assessed under different rules:
- Spouse visa under Appendix FM – Applicants do not need to meet the rules in Appendix Continuous Residence, though they must still show that they have lived in the UK lawfully on this route
- Victims of domestic abuse routes – Such applications focus on other eligibility criteria, not continuous residence
- Children – In some categories, such as a child applying to settle with a parent who is already settled, evidence of continuous residence is not required.
How to meet the continuous residence requirements
In general, to meet the continuous residence requirement you must provide evidence to show that
- You have completed the required qualifying period on a route to settlement
- Your time in the UK counts as lawful presence
- You have kept within the absence limits
Each of these is explained in more detail below.
What is the qualifying period?
The ‘qualifying period’ is the minimum amount of time that an applicant must spend in the UK before they can apply for ILR. For most routes, this is 5 years, but some visas provide faster pathways to settlement. These include:
- Global Talent visa – 3 years (if endorsed for ‘exceptional talent’), otherwise 5 years
- Innovator Founder visa – 3 years
The qualifying period is calculated from the date that you first entered the UK with valid leave on the relevant route (or, if switching from another visa, the date you were first granted leave that counts towards settlement).
When calculating whether you meet the qualifying period for settlement in the UK, it is important to bear in mind the following rules:
- Any time spent in the UK waiting for an extension of your visa counts towards the continuous residence qualifying period. As long as you submitted an in-time extension or switching application and your leave was extended under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971, this period is counted as lawful residence and therefore forms part of the qualifying period.
- Periods spent with permission to stay in the Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) can also count as continuous residence for ILR purposes, as long as you had leave in line with the UK immigration system.
What does lawful presence mean?
To meet Appendix Continuous Residence, you must have been in the UK lawfully throughout your qualifying period. Lawful presence means holding valid permission to enter or remain under the Immigration Rules.
Periods spent without valid leave, such as overstaying after a visa expiry without a pending application, will break continuous residence. Similarly, any time spent in the UK as a visitor does not count towards settlement.
What are the absence limits?
Absences from the UK are permitted but subject to strict limits. For most settlement routes (Skilled Worker, Global Talent, etc.), absences must not exceed 180 days in any rolling 12-month period during the qualifying period.
For the 10-year ‘Long Residence route’, the rules may be different depending on when the absence occurred. Under this pathway to ILR, you can leave the UK for up to 180 days in any 12-month period and still keep your continuous residence. However, if you had absences before 11th April 2024, you will not meet the continuous residence requirement if you were abroad for more than 184 days in a row or 548 days in total across the 10-year period.
Absences count towards the limit if you were physically outside the UK, whether for work or personal reasons. Certain absences may be disregarded, such as where an applicant was assisting with a national or international humanitarian crisis. The Home Office may also exercise discretion in exceptional cases, but this is rare.
Proof of continuous residence
When applying for ILR, you will be asked to provide evidence that you have lived in the UK continuously for the qualifying period. The documents required will vary depending on the visa route, but may include:
- Tenancy agreements, mortgage statements, or council tax bills
- Utility bills
- Bank statements showing day-to-day transactions in the UK
- Payslips and P60s
- GP or NHS records
- Letters from employers or educational institutions
The Home Office may request additional documents if there are gaps or if the evidence provided is not sufficient.
FAQs about Appendix Continuous Residence
What happens if I break the continuous residence by exceeding the absence limit?
If you break continuous residence, the qualifying period for ILR resets. This means that time spent in the UK before the break will not count towards ILR. You would need to start building a new qualifying period from the date of your return.
How are absences in the continuous residence rule calculated?
Absences are assessed on a rolling 12-month basis, not by calendar year. This means that for any given 12-month consecutive period, the total absences must not exceed 180 days (unless applying under the Long Residence route, which has different rules).
Does Appendix Continuous Residence apply to British citizenship applications?
No. British citizenship applications have their own residence requirements under the British Nationality Act 1981, which are separate from Appendix Continuous Residence. These state that you must have lived in the UK for at least 5 years before the date of your application. In addition, you must not have spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the 5 years before your application or spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months.
Do work trips abroad count towards the absence limit?
Yes. Work-related travel outside the UK counts as an absence, even if this was required by your employer. There may be exceptions to this rule, however. For example, under Appendix Settlement Family Life, absences of more than 180 days in a 12-month period may still be permitted if they were for work, study, or supporting family overseas, as long as the applicant’s family life was maintained in the UK and the UK remained their permanent home.
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