Overview of the UK Long Residence
The Long Residence route provides a potential pathway to settlement for people who have lived legally and continuously in the UK for at least 10 years. Time spent in the UK on most immigration routes can potentially count towards the qualifying period, subject to the applicable rules.
Long Residence can be particularly relevant to people who have held several different types of UK immigration permission during their time in the country.
What Is Long Residence?
Long Residence recognises a person’s lengthy connection with the UK.
Unlike settlement routes that depend on spending a specific period on one particular visa, the Long Residence route can allow qualifying periods spent on different immigration categories to be combined.
For example, an individual may have spent different periods in the UK as a student, worker and under another qualifying immigration category and potentially combine those periods when calculating their 10-year residence.
However, the residence must meet the requirements of the Long Residence rules.
Ten Years of Continuous Lawful Residence
The main qualifying requirement is generally 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK.
The Immigration Rules state that the Long Residence route is for a person who has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years or more.
This means that simply having lived in the UK for 10 years is not enough.
Applicants need to consider whether their residence was lawful and whether their continuity of residence has been maintained.
Previous Immigration Categories
One of the main advantages of the Long Residence route is that qualifying residence can generally include time spent on most immigration categories.
This can be important for people whose immigration circumstances have changed during their time in the UK.
For example, someone may have:
- Studied in the UK
- Worked under a sponsored work route
- Held a family visa
- Changed employers
- Switched immigration routes
- Held different forms of permission over the ten-year period
The individual circumstances and applicable rules must be reviewed to determine which periods can count.
Continuous Residence
Continuous residence is one of the most important aspects of a Long Residence application.
Applicants need to examine their absences from the UK and establish whether they have remained continuously resident under the applicable rules.
This is particularly important for people who have travelled frequently for work, education or family reasons.
A complete travel history should be prepared before the application is submitted.
English Language and Life in the UK
Applicants aged 18 to 65 will generally need to meet the English language requirement and pass the Life in the UK Test when applying for settlement under Long Residence.
There are exceptions in certain circumstances.
Applicants who do not meet these requirements may, in some circumstances, be able to apply for further permission rather than settlement, provided the other relevant requirements are met.
Current Immigration Permission
An applicant generally needs to have valid immigration permission when applying for settlement under the Long Residence route.
The rules also contain provisions dealing with certain situations involving immigration breaches, overstaying and immigration bail. These rules have been updated recently, so the applicant’s circumstances should be assessed against the current requirements.
Long Residence and Family Members
Long Residence is an individual route.
There is no provision for dependants to simply be included in another person’s Long Residence settlement application. Dependants who want to rely on the Long Residence route generally need to make their own applications and satisfy the relevant requirements.
Family members may instead have other immigration options depending on their circumstances.
Evidence for a Long Residence Application
Evidence may include:
- Current and previous passports
- Immigration documents
- Travel records
- Home Office correspondence
- Evidence of previous visas
- Employment records
- Education records
- Address history
- Evidence of continuous residence
- Life in the UK Test result
- English language evidence
Applicants should take particular care when calculating their residence because even a small error in the qualifying period can affect eligibility.
Applying for Settlement
A Long Residence settlement application is made from within the UK.
Applicants need to complete the appropriate application, provide supporting evidence and complete the biometric process where required.
It is important not to travel outside the permitted territories while the application is being considered, as this can result in an in-country application being withdrawn.
If You Have Not Yet Reached Ten Years
A person who has lived in the UK for a long time but has not yet completed the required period may have other immigration options.
In some circumstances, a person who does not qualify for settlement may be able to apply for further permission to remain under the Long Residence provisions, provided the relevant requirements are met.
Other routes, including Private Life or family routes, may also be relevant depending on the person’s circumstances.
How We Can Help
SWM Solicitors can review your immigration history and assess whether you may qualify for settlement through Long Residence.
We can help calculate your qualifying period, review absences from the UK, identify potential gaps in lawful residence and assess the supporting evidence required.
Where you do not yet qualify for ILR, we can also advise on potential options for maintaining lawful immigration status.