As of 11 April 2024, the Immigration Rules have added a new section, Appendix Long Residence, which can be viewed here. This appendix outlines the requirements for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for those who have lawfully lived in the UK for ten years or more. Previously, these rules were unclear and rarely referenced, leading to legal challenges and criticisms. The new appendix significantly revises the 10-Year Long Residence ILR route, introducing both expansions and restrictions.
The March 2024 Statement of Changes announced the planned change, and the Explanatory memorandum set out:
Appendix Long Residence includes a policy change whereby applicants must have had their current permission for one year (or have been exempt from immigration control within the 12 months immediately before their application) to qualify for settlement on this route. This aligns the requirements of this route with wider requirements for settlement.
Since 11 April 2024, the following rule has therefore been introduced into the Long Residence Immigration Rules:
LR 11.3. Subject to LR 11.4, 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.
LR 11.4. If the applicant’s current permission was granted before 11 April 2024, LR 11.3. does not apply.
Consequently, the Home Office has opted to reduce flexibility and potentially extend the processing time for some 10-year Long Residence ILR applications. According to rule LR 11.3, individuals granted permission after 11 April 2024 may need to wait beyond the tenth anniversary of their arrival to meet the new requirement of having held their current visa for at least 12 months before qualifying for Indefinite Leave to Remain based on long residence.
Additionally, this adjustment disqualifies Long Residence ILR applications from short-term students, visitors, and others who hold permissions for less than 12 months. The rationale for requiring permission under a current route for over 12 months, rather than simply being granted permission on any route for the same duration, remains unclear
The new Long Residence Rules set out:
LR 11.1. 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).
Under the pre-11 April 2024 Long Residence ILR rules, the last Long Residence Caseworker Guidance (Version 19.0) published on 05 October 2023 stated:
‘When considering a long residence application, however, you should apply discretion and count time spent in the UK as lawful residence for an EU or EEA national, or their family members exercising their treaty rights to reside in the UK.
Sufficient evidence must be provided to demonstrate that the applicant has been exercising treaty rights throughout any period that they are seeking to rely on for the purposes of meeting the long residence rules.’
On a positive note, It is beneficial that the Immigration Rules now specifically include the exercise of Treaty rights as qualifying for a ten-year Indefinite Leave to Remain application. This clearer approach is preferable to relying solely on caseworker guidance.
Moreover, any overstaying during the ten-year period disrupts continuity. This was already the policy before 11 April 2024 and has been maintained in the new appendix.
LR 11.2. The following periods will not count towards the qualifying period for Long Residence:
(a) time spent on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release; an
(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.
Paragraph LR 12.1 of the Long Residence rules states as follows:
LR 12.1. The applicant must have met the continuous residence requirement set out in Appendix Continuous Residence for the entirety of the qualifying period.
A significant and positive change is the new method for calculating absences in a 10-year long residence ILR application. Historically, the ten-year route allowed for absences totalling 548 days, but this will no longer be the case moving forward.
The current approach to absences for a 10-year long residence ILR application is summarised in the Home Office guidance as follows:
This modification will likely be advantageous for those who arrived in the UK as young students and often have extended holidays due to family living abroad.
In accordance with Appendix Continuous Residence,
any period spent outside the UK will not count towards the period of absence where the absence was for any of the following reasons:
(a) the applicant was assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, providing if on a sponsored route their sponsor agreed to the absence for that purpose; or
(b) travel disruption due to natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic; or
(c) compelling and compassionate personal circumstances, such as the life-threatening illness of the applicant, or life-threatening illness or death of a close family member; or
(d) research activity undertaken by a Skilled Worker which was approved by their sponsor and where the applicant was sponsored for a job in one of the following SOC 2020 occupation codes:
(e) research activity undertaken by a person on the Global Talent route who was endorsed by:
(f) research activity undertaken by a person on the Global Talent route who qualified on the basis of a prize listed in table 6 of Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes; or
(g) for an applicant under Appendix Settlement Family Life, absences for work, study or supporting family overseas, so long as the family have throughout the period of absence maintained a family life in the UK and the UK remained their place of permanent residence; or
(h) where the applicant’s partner is absent from the UK on Crown service as:
Therefore, excess absences due to reasons such as COVID will not interrupt the continuity required for a long residence ILR application.
Additionally, Appendix Continuous Residence clarifies that time spent in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man does not count as time spent in the UK for the purposes of Appendix Long Residence.
However, this change is not entirely favourable. The more generous absence provisions will not be applied retrospectively. While future applicants will benefit from increased permitted absences, those nearing the end of their ten-year period must still adhere to the previous 548-day maximum for absences accrued before 11 April.
CR 2.2A. Where the application is under Appendix Long Residence, for any qualifying period before 11 April 2024, the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 184 days at any one time, and must not have spent a total of more than 548 days outside the UK during that qualifying period, subject to CR 2.3.
The transitional arrangements within the Rules and guidance are somewhat complex, but they maintain that continuous residence is considered broken if an applicant was absent from the UK for more than 184 days at any one time, or for a total of more than 548 days overall, if such absences commenced before 11 April 2024.
During the 10-year qualifying period, you do not have continuous residence if you were abroad for more than:
For any absences that commence after 11 April 2024, the 180 day maximum absences in 12 months applies.
A further restriction is emphasised in the new long residence guidance, which sets out:
Paragraph CR 6.1. of Appendix Continuous Residence sets out that the continuous residence periods will be calculated by counting back from the relevant date. This means that an applicant cannot rely on a historic 10-year qualifying period, outside of the limits defined in CR 6.1. See more detail in the Continuous residence guidance.
Paragraph CR 6.1 sets out:
The continuous residence periods in CR 2.1, CR 2.2. and CR 2.2A. will be calculated by counting back from whichever of the following dates is the most beneficial to the applicant:
(a) the date of application; or
(b) any date up to 28 days after the date of application; or
(c) the date of decision; or
(d) for a person applying for settlement on the UK Ancestry route, the date of their last grant of permission.
This indicates that the previous flexibility allowing long residence ILR applications based on historical residence has been discontinued. This was often a beneficial option for individuals who had accumulated long periods of residence but had not applied for whatever reason.
This still requires the Life in the UK test to be passed, but makes English language slightly easier as Appendix English Language permits reliance on GCSE / A-Levels.
The modifications to the rules for obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain based on a 10-year long residence will substantially simplify the settlement process for many young students and individuals with significant absences over an extended period. However, these changes also disadvantage individuals who had accumulated ten years of residence under the previous rules but had not yet applied.
By eliminating the option for ‘historic’ ten-year ILR applications, the Home Office has removed a beneficial provision that frequently aided EU citizens, who historically were less likely to have formal documentation, as they were not subject to immigration control prior to Brexit. This, combined with the challenges of submitting late EU Settlement Scheme applications since August 2023, significantly narrows the pathways for EEA citizens with established UK connections.
Going forward, applicants for long residence ILR will need to navigate these rules with precision, ensuring they meet all current requirements and fully understand the transitional provisions
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