ILR Rules 2024

The journey to securing Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) just got a new set of ILR rules 2024. Staying ahead of these updates is crucial for anyone dreaming of permanent residency in the UK. Don’t let confusion or missed details derail your plans. In this blog, read about ILR 2024 UK and how to prepare for a seamless application.

Overview of ILR Rules 2024

On April 11, 2024, the immigration rules were amended to include an additional appendix titled “Appendix Long Residence. “

If you live lawfully in the UK for 10+ years, you may qualify for Long Residence ILR. The ‘long residence’ provisions had long been buried in an almost inactive part of the Immigration Rules. This path had been the subject of heated litigation and criticism for unclear wording in previous years.

The new appendix significantly alters the 10-year Long Residence ILR route. There have been some major revisions that greatly expand the path and further limit it. 

What are the Changes to the 10-Year Long Residence ILR Immigration Rules?

Must have current permission (from 11 April 2024) for 12 months or more

The March 2024 Statement of Changes revealed the proposed change, and the Explanatory brief explained:

According to the new policy in Appendix Long Residence, in order to be eligible for settlement through this method, applicants must have had their present authorisation for a year, or have been exempt from immigration control within the 12 months before their application. This ensures that the requirements of this route are consistent with the broader requirements for settlement.

Consequently, authorities added the following regulation to the Long Residence Immigration Rules as of 11 April 2024:

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.

The Home Office has so chosen to limit flexibility and may postpone certain 10-year Long Residence ILR applications. As a result of rule LR 11.3’s requirement that applicants must have had permission in their current visa for at least 12 months. Those granted permission after 11 April 2024 may need to wait a few months beyond the tenth anniversary of their entry before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain based on long residence.

Short-term visa holders, like visitors or short-term students, cannot apply for Long Residence ILR. It’s unclear why authorities require authorisation under an existing route for over 12+ months of permission.

Long Residence settlement qualification period Requirement

Below are the ILR new rules 2024 UK:

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) 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 11 pm 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).

According to the latest Long Residence Caseworker Guidance (Version 19.0), published on 05 October 2023. These provisions applied to Long Residence ILR rules before 11 April 2024.

‘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.’

It is beneficial and encouraging that the Immigration Rules recognize the exercise of Treaty rights. This is now a specified requirement for a ten-year indefinite leave to remain application. Compared to depending on caseworker instruction, this is a better and more obvious position.

When the ten-year period is overstayed, continuity is broken. This was the case right up until April 11, 2024, and it is still going on in the new appendix. 

LR 11.2. The following periods will not count toward the qualifying period for Long Residence:

• time spent on immigration bail, temporary admission, or temporary release; an
• 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 
• 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
• any current period of overstaying where paragraph 39E applies.

Settlement through the Long Residence route requires continuous residence

The following is stated in the UK ILR rules 2024, paragraph LR 12.1:

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.

Elimination of 548-day absence limit

Improving the method for calculating absences for a 10-year residence ILR application is a major step in the right direction that will help a lot of people in the future. Notably, after considerable legal review, the ten-year resident route only allowed a total of 548 days of absence. From now on, this will not be the case.

The Home Office guidance summarises the current approach to absences for a 10-year residency ILR application as follows:

The maximum duration for a single absence beginning before April 11, 2024, cannot exceed 184 days.

There is no 548-day limit for 10-year periods that end on or before April 11, 2024, but there is a 548-day limit for 10-year periods that conclude on or after April 11, 2024.

Starting from 11 April 2024, applicants must maintain a maximum of 180 days outside the UK within any 12 months.

People who came to the UK as students when they were young usually have longer vacations because their families are overseas, so this move is going to be great for them.

As per the guidelines provided in the Continuous Residence Appendix

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 who was approved by their sponsor and where the applicant was sponsored for a job in one of the following SOC 2020 occupation codes:

2111 Chemical scientists

2112 Biological scientists

2113 Biochemists and biomedical scientists

2114 Physical scientists

2115 Social and humanities scientists

2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified

2161 Research and development (R&D) managers

2162 Other researchers, unspecified discipline

2311 Higher education teaching professionals; or

(e) research activity is undertaken by a person on the Global Talent route who was endorsed by:

(i) The Royal Society; or

(ii) The British Academy; or

(iii) The Royal Academy of Engineering; or

(iv) UKRI; or

(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 has 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:

•  a regular member of HM Armed Forces (the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Army (including the Brigade of Gurkhas) and the Royal Air Force); or
• an employee of the UK Government, a Northern Ireland department, the Scottish Administration, or the Welsh Government; or
• a permanent member of the British Council, and the applicant accompanies them overseas.

Consequently, a lengthy residence ILR application would not be affected by excessive absences, such as those caused by COVID. Appendix Long Residence is not applied to time spent in the UK when one is in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, as stated in Appendix Continuous Residence.

Transitional  Measures

Still, there’s some bad news: authorities will not apply the more lenient absence requirements retrospectively in cases where the qualifying period ended before April 11, 2024. Applicants who finish their 10-year period before April 11, 2024, will have restrictions. They cannot be absent for more than 548 days in total. They also cannot be absent for more than 184 days on any one occasion. Even though authorities will allow more leave in the future, this rule still applies.

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 revised lengthy residence guidelines highlight an additional restriction by outlining:

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.

Section 6.1 of the CR lays out: 

The continuous residence periods in CR 2.1, and 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:

• the date of application; or
• any date up to 28 days after the date of application; or
• the date of decision; or
• for a person applying for settlement on the UK Ancestry route, the date of their last grant of permission.

Authorities no longer allow long residence ILR applications on a historical basis. People who had lived in one place for a long time without applying for anything often found this application helpful.

Long Residence settlement requires English and UK life skills

Passing the Life in the UK test is still necessary. However, Appendix English Language makes using GCSEs or A-Levels for English language requirements slightly easier.

Final Thoughts

For many young students and those with significant absence rates over a long period, the modifications to the criteria are important. These changes allow for indefinite permission to remain based on ten years of residency. This would truly make settlement much easier to acquire.

The changes aim to penalise those who had not applied earlier. This includes individuals who have lived in the UK for ten years, meeting the old long residence rules.

The Home Office took away a useful feature for many people when they got rid of the “historic” ten-year ILR choice. This has been a popular path for EU residents in recent years. They traditionally faced fewer documentation requirements than other migrants. Before Brexit, they were not subject to immigration control. The Home Office has closed several pathways for EEA individuals with long-standing UK ties. This includes ending the old ten-year ILR option and making ‘late’ EU Settlement Scheme applications more difficult since August 2023.

Long residence ILR applications will require thorough consideration in the future. This will ensure that you meet all necessary conditions and correctly understand the transitional rules.