ILR absence tracker
ILR absence calculator: log your trips and see if you went over 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12 months. Your travel log stays on your device.
A better-informed decision.
Complete the form to see your breakdown.
This ILR absence calculator checks the continuous residence rule before you apply for indefinite leave to remain: you must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. Log your completed trips and the tool finds the worst 12-month window in your record and your days away in the last 12 months. It does arithmetic only. It does not decide whether you qualify for settlement.
Who it is for
Skilled Worker visa holders whose permission was granted under the rules from 11 January 2018 and who want to check their travel before an ILR application. It is not built for citizenship, long residence or family routes.
The rule the tool checks
Appendix Continuous Residence of the Immigration Rules says an applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. The Home Office caseworker guidance (version 9.0, published 5 June 2026) explains that for permission granted on or after 11 January 2018, absences are assessed on a rolling basis, not in fixed years from your visa date. Permission granted before that date is assessed in consecutive 12-month periods ending on the date of application, which is why the tool only accepts dates from 11 January 2018.
How the tool counts
- Whole days only. The departure day and the return day are not counted. The guidance says part-day absences of less than 24 hours are not counted.
- Rolling window. For every day you were away, the tool looks at the 12 months ending on that day and counts the absent days inside it. It shows the highest number and the dates of that window.
- Last 12 months. It counts the days away in the 12 months ending today and subtracts them from 180.
- Checks. It rejects overlapping trips, trips ending after today and dates before 11 January 2018. You can log up to 200 trips.
A worked example
Three trips, checked on 24 September 2026:
| Departure | Return | Whole days away |
|---|---|---|
| 1 March 2025 | 1 April 2025 | 30 |
| 10 July 2025 | 20 September 2025 | 71 |
| 15 December 2025 | 15 February 2026 | 61 |
- Total whole days: 162.
- Most days in any 12-month window: 162, from 15 February 2025 to 14 February 2026. All three trips fall inside it.
- In the last 12 months: 61 days, because the first two trips have dropped out of the window.
- Arithmetic headroom: 119 days.
Add a fourth trip from 1 April to 10 May 2026 (38 whole days) and the total becomes 200, with a worst window of 170 days (10 May 2025 to 9 May 2026). Still under 180, but close. Separate trips can stack up inside one window.
What the tool does not do
- It does not decide ILR eligibility or check the other requirements of your route.
- It does not apply exceptions. The rules allow some absences to be excluded, such as a life-threatening illness of you or a close family member, or travel disruption from a natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic. These need evidence and professional advice.
- It cannot know about a trip you forgot to enter.
Settlement rules may change
The government’s earned settlement consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026. It proposes that settlement should be earned rather than granted automatically after a fixed period. As of 24 September 2026 no outcome has been published on the consultation page. Check the GOV.UK pages below before you apply.
Common mistakes
- Counting by calendar year. The rule is about any 12 consecutive months, not 2025 as a year.
- Working from memory. Check passport stamps and bookings first.
- Treating headroom as permission to travel. 119 days of headroom does not make a 119-day trip safe, because the window moves.
- Clearing browser data without a backup. Your log lives only in this browser. Export it as JSON.
Frequently asked questions
Do the travel days count as absences?
No. Only whole days count, so the tool leaves out the day you leave and the day you return.
Are my trips sent to the website?
No. The log is stored in your browser. You can export it and import it on another device.
What if a window shows more than 180 days?
Do not apply before speaking to an SRA-regulated solicitor or an IAA-registered adviser. An exception may or may not apply to you.
Can I use it for British citizenship?
No. Naturalisation has different absence requirements, which this tool does not calculate.
Sources
- Immigration Rules: Appendix Continuous Residence ↗
- Continuous residence caseworker guidance ↗
- Earned settlement consultation ↗
Next step
Read the absence records guide to see what evidence to keep, and add your travel log to My UK plan. For legal advice, start with immigration lawyers in the directory.
Reviewed 24 September 2026.