Prepare a reliable absence record

To keep your continuous residence for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), you must not be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. For permission granted on or after 11 January 2018, that period is rolling, not the calendar year. Only whole days count, so the days you leave and return are not normally absences. Your absence record therefore needs a departure and return date for every trip, backed by evidence.

Who the continuous residence rules apply to

Appendix Continuous Residence of the Immigration Rules, last publicly updated on 11 November 2025, applies to settlement on routes including Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, T2 Minister of Religion, International Sportsperson, Representative of an Overseas Business, UK Ancestry, Hong Kong British National (Overseas), Settlement Family Life, Private Life and Long Residence, and to partners and children on many of them.

Home Office caseworker guidance (version 10.0, published on 8 October 2026) lists 5 years of continuous residence for Skilled Worker settlement and many other routes (see working in the UK). But the government consulted from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 on “earned settlement”. Its consultation document says the default qualifying period will rise from 5 years to 10 years, with exceptions for certain groups, and asks about transitional arrangements. A higher English standard for most settlement applications comes into effect in March 2027. Check the GOV.UK page for your route before you apply.

How absences are counted

Permission granted on or after 11 January 2018

No more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period, considered on a rolling basis. In practice, for each day of absence you look at the 12 months ending on that day and count the absences inside it.

Permission granted before 11 January 2018

Absences are counted in separate consecutive 12-month periods, not on a rolling basis. If your history includes both, each part follows its own rule.

Whole days only

The guidance says part-day absences of less than 24 hours are not counted. Its example: someone absent for 180 days who starts the journey back on day 180 and arrives on day 181 does not have day 181 counted.

Which date you count back from

Whichever is most beneficial: the date of application, any date up to 28 days after it, or the date of decision. Some UK Ancestry applicants have an extra option.

The gap between getting your visa and arriving

The time between the grant of entry clearance and your arrival counts as absence, so record both dates.

Worked example: why calendar years mislead you

Enter these three trips in our ILR absence tracker to see the result:

Trip	Left the UK	Returned	Whole days absent
1	1 June 2025	30 August 2025	89
2	15 December 2025	10 January 2026	25
3	1 March 2026	20 May 2026	79

Trip 1 counts 2 June to 29 August, leaving out the travel days: 89 days.
Calendar 2025 totals 89 + 16 = 105 days; 2026 totals 9 + 79 = 88. Both are under 180.
But the rolling period from 20 May 2025 to 19 May 2026 contains all three trips: 89 + 25 + 79 = 193 days, over the limit.

The tracker searches for the worst 12-month window across your whole record and also shows the total for the 12 months ending today.

Absences that do not count towards the limit

The Appendix excludes absences, with evidence, for:

assisting with a humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas (with sponsor agreement on a sponsored route)
travel disruption due to natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic
compelling and compassionate personal circumstances, such as your own life-threatening illness, or the life-threatening illness or death of a close family member
sponsor-approved research by a Skilled Worker in certain occupation codes, and specific Global Talent research
for Appendix Settlement Family Life applicants, absences for work, study or supporting family overseas, as long as the family kept up its family life in the UK and the UK remained their place of permanent residence
certain absences where your partner is overseas on Crown service

For compelling circumstances, the guidance expects evidence such as a letter explaining what happened with medical certificates or records, or proof of your role as a carer. Close family members include a parent, partner, child, grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, uncle, aunt and grandchildren. Caseworkers weigh whether the reason is credible and evidenced, whether it was in your control, whether the trip was planned, and whether you were prevented from returning. Each case is judged on its merits.

What else breaks continuous residence

A prison sentence (unless suspended), a deportation or exclusion order, removal directions, or time without valid permission outside the listed exceptions can also break it. One exception covers people who left with permission and applied for entry clearance before it expired, or within 14 days, and were granted. If any of this applies, get professional advice.

Long Residence

On this route, older absences have separate limits: no single absence over 184 days that started before 11 April 2024, and no total over 548 days reached before then. Later absences follow the rolling 180-day rule. The tracker does not calculate this.

How to build an absence record that stands up

Start with your passports. Photograph every stamped page. The guidance notes eGates often leave no stamp, and entering through Ireland means no immigration control.
Collect flight bookings and boarding passes from email and airline accounts.
Use bank statements. The guidance lists them among evidence that shows a pattern of dates.
Add work evidence, such as holiday records, and keep your digital status up to date (see our eVisa and share code guide).
Request your Home Office data if needed. A subject access request is free, with a response within 1 month once all documents are received. It can include application and decision dates and landing cards, but not necessarily every trip.
Enter each trip in the tracker and check for overlaps.
Export a JSON backup after every update. The tracker stores data only in your browser.
Match your record to the application form, which the caseworker compares with your passport.

For family and private life applications, the form only asks you to list absences if you were away for 150 days or more in any 12 months; the limit is still 180.

What happens if the caseworker finds a mismatch

The guidance says caseworkers must give you a chance to explain inconsistencies and confirm correct dates, because trips get forgotten. Resolve conflicts before you apply, not after.

Common mistakes

Counting by calendar year. The rule is rolling.
Leaving out short trips. They add up.
Relying on passport stamps alone. Not every journey is stamped.
Forgetting the gap between visa grant and arrival.
Assuming a compassionate reason is accepted automatically.
Booking a long trip near your application date without checking.

What the tracker and this page do not do

The tracker checks one rule: 180 days in any rolling 12 months, for trips from 11 January 2018. It does not decide ILR eligibility, apply exceptions, calculate the pre-2018 or Long Residence rules, or cover citizenship. This is not legal advice. If you are over the limit or had a gap in permission, speak to an SRA-regulated solicitor or an Immigration Advice Authority-registered adviser through our immigration lawyers directory.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 180-day rule per year of my visa?

No. For permission since 11 January 2018, it is 180 days in any rolling 12-month period.

Do travel days count as absences?

No. Only whole days count, which is why the tracker leaves out the day you leave and return.

I travelled because a parent died. Do those days count?

A close family member’s death or life-threatening illness can be a compelling reason that excludes the absence, but it needs evidence and is assessed. Get advice if it would take you over the limit.

How much does ILR cost?

£3,226 per applicant from 8 April 2026, unchanged in the 8 October 2026 table, plus £50 for the Life in the UK test. See our visa cost guide.

Will the 5-year period change?

The earned settlement consultation says the default will rise to 10 years, with exceptions and possible transitional arrangements. Check your route’s GOV.UK page before applying.

Sources

Your next step

Enter your trips in the ILR absence tracker and export a backup, then estimate your application cost in the visa cost calculator.

Reviewed 17 October 2026.