ILR Continuous Residence Calculator: 5 & 10 Year Rules Explained

Understanding continuous residence

Continuous residence means living lawfully in the UK without breaking the permitted absence thresholds. Under the standard 5-year ILR route, applicants must not exceed 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period. A potential 10-year rule would apply the same test across a longer baseline.

Rolling 12-month rule

The rule is applied daily: for each date in your qualifying period, caseworkers check the preceding 12 months of absences. If any rolling window exceeds 180 days, continuous residence is broken.

Bridging the 5- and 10-year baselines

If the baseline extends from 5 to 10 years, the mechanics remain identical: it simply increases the total period under review. Use the ILR calculator to model both timelines and confirm your earliest eligibility date.

Documentary evidence to keep

• Passports and travel records (stamps, boarding passes).
• Payslips, tenancy agreements and council tax bills.
• GP or school records that show ongoing residence in the UK.

One authoritative reference

For the official rules on continuous residence, see the GOV.UK guidance: GOV.UK: ILR continuous residence rules.

Quick checklist

• Track absences against the 180-day rolling limit.
• Save documentary evidence for each year of residence.
• Use the ILR calculator to confirm your eligibility date.

Related guides

• Absence Calculator Guide: counting absences & 180-day test
• Settlement Route Eligibility Guide: compare ILR pathways
• Income & Financial Requirements Guide

FAQs

What breaks continuous residence?

To qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain you must show “continuous residence” in the UK for the required period (typically 5 or 10 years). Continuous residence is a legal concept defined in Appendix Continuous Residence of the Immigration Rules. It can be broken in several ways, the most common being exceeding the absence limit.

Continuous residence is also broken immediately if:

• you are convicted of an offence and sentenced to a period of imprisonment (including a suspended sentence that is later activated);
• you are subject to a deportation order or exclusion order, or are removed from the UK by the border authorities;
• you leave the UK without a valid visa, or your visa expires while you are outside the UK and you do not apply for a new visa within 14 days (subject to the overstaying rules).

Applying for discretion for excessive absences

If your continuous residence is technically broken by absences of more than 180 days in a rolling 12-month window, you must make a formal request for caseworker discretion. You need to show that the excess absences were due to serious, compelling and unavoidable circumstances.

When drafting your explanation, set out a clear timeline of events. If you were stranded overseas by a travel ban or a medical emergency, provide hospital letters, flight cancellation notices and embassy statements. The Home Office assesses these requests case by case, and a comprehensive, well-structured pack of supporting documents is critical to approval.

The rolling 180-day absence test

For applications submitted under the current rules, the limit on absences is 180 days in any rolling 12-month period. Caseworkers apply the test by checking every possible 12-month block across your qualifying residence.

This is a major change from the pre-2018 rules, which counted absences in discrete 12-month blocks counted back from the date of application. Under the rolling rules, a period of heavy travel in 2023 is checked against the rolling window even if your travel in 2024 and 2025 was very low. Use our absence tool to audit your trip records to ensure compliance.

How gaps between visas affect residence

If you switched visa categories inside the UK (from a Student visa to a Skilled Worker visa, for example), the gap between the expiry of the old visa and the grant of the new one must be analysed. If you submitted the new application before the old visa expired, you are protected by Section 3C of the Immigration Act and your continuous residence remains intact.

If you applied after your visa expired, you are treated as an “overstayer”. The Home Office allows a 14-day grace period for overstaying with good reason, but that period does not count towards continuous residence. Any period of overstaying breaks your qualifying clock and forces you to restart the 5-year count.

Evidence of continuous presence in the UK

As well as checking your passports for travel stamps, caseworkers may ask for evidence that you were physically living in the UK during your qualifying years. This applies especially to applicants who have spent significant time working from home or who have a complex travel history.

The best evidence to compile includes:

• tenancy agreements or mortgage statements covering each year of residence;
• utility bills (gas, electricity, water, council tax) showing continuous billing;
• bank statements showing regular local debit card transactions in UK supermarkets and on transport networks;
• employment contracts and letters from your employer confirming your physical work location.

Continuous residence checklist

Verify your continuous residence status with these check steps:

• Audit visa gaps: review every historical visa application date and approval date to confirm there are no gaps.
• Absence log: double-check every rolling 12-month period to confirm that no block exceeds 180 days.
• Section 3C compliance: verify that all extensions were submitted prior to the expiry of the preceding visa.
• Physical address log: compile a complete list of your UK residential addresses for the last 5 or 10 years.
• Official records: run a Home Office SAR to compare your entries and exits against the official border database.