Migratio United Kingdom · Guides · Find advisers · For advisers

ILR absences: the 180-day rule explained

For most routes to indefinite leave to remain, the Rules say you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period, counted on a rolling basis for permission granted since 11 January 2018. A short list of absences does not count, and time on long residence before 11 April 2024 follows older limits.

The 180-day rule is the part of settlement that trips up people who have done everything else right. Appendix Continuous Residence says that to meet the continuous residence requirement, an applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. It applies to Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, Long Residence, Private Life, Settlement Family Life and several other routes. The Home Office decides it from passports, travel records and what the applicant tells it on the form.

This guide explains how the limit is measured, which days count, which absences are set aside, and what else can break continuous residence. It describes the Rules and the Home Office's published caseworker guidance (version 10.0, 8 October 2026) as they stand on 10 October 2026. It does not work out any person's days, and it does not tell anyone when to travel or apply.

What the rule says and where it applies

The basic rule is paragraph CR 3.1 of Appendix Continuous Residence: an applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period, unless one of the listed exceptions applies. GOV.UK puts it for Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker and similar holders as: "You must have spent no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months." Exactly 180 days is within the limit. The test is "more than" 180.

The appendix says it applies to applications under these routes:

  • Appendix HM Armed Forces (only settlement as a partner or child);
  • Appendix Skilled Worker;
  • Appendix Representative of an Overseas Business;
  • Appendix Global Talent;
  • Appendix Innovator Founder;
  • Appendix T2 Minister of Religion;
  • Appendix International Sportsperson;
  • Appendix UK Ancestry;
  • Appendix Domestic Worker in a Private Household;
  • Appendix Temporary Work - International Agreement;
  • Appendix Scale-up;
  • Appendix Settlement Family Life;
  • Appendix Private Life (settlement only, apart from a child born in the UK applying to settle);
  • Appendix Hong Kong British National (Overseas);
  • Appendix Long Residence;
  • Appendix ECAA Settlement; and
  • Part 6A, for Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) and Tier 1 (Investor) only.

Routes that are not on this list, and citizenship, are governed by their own rules. Citizenship, for example, has different limits and counts days differently, and our article on when to apply for citizenship after ILR explains that.

The qualifying period itself is counted back from whichever date is most beneficial to the applicant out of the date of application, any date up to 28 days after the date of application, or the date of decision (CR 1.1). The qualifying period varies by route: five years for Skilled Worker, ten for Long Residence, and so on.

How the 12-month window is measured

There are two methods, and which one applies depends on when the permission being counted was granted.

  • Permission granted on or after 11 January 2018: absences are measured on a rolling basis. The Home Office guidance says "absences are considered in any 12-month period they may fall within." That means there is no fixed year to reset the count. Any 12 months that includes your absences can be looked at.
  • Permission granted before 11 January 2018: CR 3.2 and the guidance treat absences during that earlier permission in consecutive 12-month periods ending on the date of the application. The guidance gives an example of someone whose permission ran from 1 July 2015 to 28 July 2018 and who applied on 30 June 2020: absences in the first period are looked at in separate 12-month blocks, and absences in the later period on the rolling basis.

Only whole days are counted. The guidance says part-day absences of less than 24 hours are not counted, and gives an example: if someone was absent for 180 days, started the journey back on day 180 and arrived on day 181, day 181 is not a day of absence and the period does not exceed 180 days.

Here is a simple illustration, not a calculation of any real case. Suppose someone spends 100 whole days outside the UK on one trip and 85 whole days on another, and both trips start inside the same 12 months. Together they come to 185 days within a single 12-month window, which is over the limit unless one of the exceptions below covers some of those days. The same two trips spread more than 12 months apart would not add together.

The windows overlap. A trip in March falls inside every 12-month window that contains it, so it can add up with a trip the previous autumn and with a trip the following summer, in different windows. That is what "any 12-month period" means in practice.

What counts as being outside the UK

The guidance says any period outside the UK counts towards the limit, including any period:

  • when the person's permission remained valid;
  • when they did not hold permission;
  • while an application for entry clearance or permission to stay was being considered; and
  • before they entered the UK, once entry clearance had been granted.

So a person with a valid visa who is abroad is still absent. For someone who is applying as soon as they qualify, the guidance treats the time between entry clearance being granted and arrival in the UK as lawful residence on that route, but it also says that same time counts towards the total of absences.

The word "UK" is also narrower than many people expect. The guidance says it means Great Britain and Northern Ireland only. The Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) are not part of the UK, although time spent lawfully there on a route equivalent to a UK one can be treated as time in the UK, provided the person's most recent permission was granted in the UK on the relevant route. A trip to the Republic of Ireland is time outside the UK for this purpose. Work carried out offshore beyond the 12 nautical mile limit of UK waters, for example on a ship or oil rig, is counted as an absence.

Evidence is built partly from passports. The guidance tells caseworkers to compare the absences listed on the form with passport pages and travel documents, and it also says not all absences are recorded in a passport or travel document. Entry through an eGate, for instance, may leave no stamp, and people who travel in through Ireland do not pass through UK immigration control. Where records and the form disagree, the guidance says the caseworker should ask for clarification and give the applicant an opportunity to explain.

Absences that do not count

Paragraph CR 3.4 lists absences that are left out of the count entirely. They are:

  • assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, and, if the person is on a sponsored route, the sponsor agreed to the absence for that purpose;
  • travel disruption due to natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic;
  • compelling and compassionate personal circumstances, such as the life-threatening illness of the applicant, or the life-threatening illness or death of a close family member;
  • research activity by a Skilled Worker, approved by their sponsor, where the job is in one of nine listed science and research occupation codes (2111, 2112, 2113, 2114, 2115, 2119, 2161, 2162 and 2311);
  • research activity by a person on the Global Talent route who was endorsed by the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering or UKRI, or who qualified through a prize in table 6 of Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes;
  • 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 maintained a family life in the UK and the UK remained their place of permanent residence; and
  • where the applicant's partner is absent on Crown service (as a regular member of HM Armed Forces, an employee of a UK or devolved government, or a permanent member of the British Council) and the applicant goes with them.

The guidance says there is no specified evidence for a permitted absence, but gives examples of what caseworkers might expect. For a sponsored research absence, that is a letter from the sponsor with the start and end dates and payslips or bank statements covering the period. For compelling and compassionate circumstances it is a letter setting out the circumstances together with documents such as medical certificates. For a family-life absence under Settlement Family Life it can be an employer's letter, payslips, evidence of study, or evidence of why a relative overseas needed support, together with evidence the home and family life in the UK continued.

Dependants have their own provision. Under CR 5.1, a partner or child applying as a dependant who was absent for a CR 3.4 reason while accompanying the person they depend on does not have that absence counted towards the 180-day limit.

Long residence and absences before 11 April 2024

Appendix Long Residence has a transitional rule. CR 3.3 says that for a Long Residence application the applicant must not have:

  • spent a total of more than 548 days outside the UK during the qualifying period, where that 548-day total was reached before 11 April 2024; and
  • been outside the UK for more than 184 days at any one time during the qualifying period, where that absence started before 11 April 2024.

From 11 April 2024 the ordinary 180-days-in-any-12-months limit applies to absences that start on or after that date. GOV.UK's long residence page states the older limits the other way round: a person will not have continuous residence if they were abroad for more than 184 days in a row, or 548 days in total, and only periods of time abroad that started before 11 April 2024 count towards the 548 days.

The caseworker guidance includes a worked example of someone with five absences across a ten-year period, three completed before 11 April 2024, one running from 1 April 2024 to 1 July 2024 (which straddles the change) and one from 1 August 2024 to 20 January 2025. It shows each absence tested against the limit that applied when it began. Where an absence began before 11 April 2024 and the person did not return until on or after that date, the guidance says the 12-month rolling period does not begin until the start of the next absence. Our article on long residence ILR covers the rest of that route.

What else breaks continuous residence

Paragraph CR 4.1 lists the events that break continuous residence apart from excessive absence. In summary they are:

  • conviction for an offence with a sentence of imprisonment (suspended sentences do not count), or being directed to be detained in an institution other than a prison, with a different treatment under Settlement Family Life and Private Life for sentences of 12 months or less (CR 4.4);
  • being subject to a deportation order, exclusion order or exclusion direction;
  • being subject to removal directions under section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (or, for Long Residence, being removed);
  • not having, or not having had, permission, with several listed exceptions (for example where the overstayer exceptions in Part Suitability apply, or the 1 to 31 August 2020 grace period after the Covid extension);
  • being absent for longer than the permitted periods where no exception applies;
  • being removed or deported; and
  • leaving the UK voluntarily after a refusal of permission or settlement where any permission held at the time has expired.

Time spent with leave extended by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 while an in-time application or review is pending counts as time with permission on the route, according to the guidance. Our articles on section 3C leave and on overstaying explain how that interacts with gaps.

The guidance also tells caseworkers to refuse where the requirement is not met and no discretion is being exercised, and to say why in plain language. The guidance sets the burden: the applicant must show they meet the continuous residence requirement, but where the Home Office does not accept that a period counts, the burden of proof is on the Home Office on the balance of probabilities.

Travelling while a settlement application is pending, and after you settle

GOV.UK is firm on one point for applicants who have already applied. On the Skilled Worker and long residence pages, it says you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. The Skilled Worker page says "Your application will be withdrawn if you do." The long residence page adds that you will not get a refund of the application fee.

After settlement is granted, a different rule applies. GOV.UK says you can lose indefinite leave to remain if you stay outside the UK for more than two years at a time, and that you may need a Returning Resident visa before you can come back. That is separate from the 180-day limit, which is a test for getting settlement in the first place.

If you are working out your own travel history, the Home Office form asks you to list absences. The guidance says the Home Office will check its own records. Passport pages, tickets, boarding passes and emails are the usual starting point, and a gap or inconsistency can lead to a request for clarification rather than an automatic refusal. Because the question is about days in any 12 months, not days in a year, a full list of every trip with dates is the document that matters.

Finding a regulated adviser

Whether a particular absence is covered by an exception, how a set of dates falls across the older and newer rules, and whether an application should be made now or later are all questions of immigration advice. Only a person the law qualifies, such as a solicitor, a barrister or an adviser registered with the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly the OISC), may give it. GOV.UK explains how to find an immigration adviser.

The Migratio directory lists IAA-registered advisers (with their level) and SRA-regulated solicitors, each with their regulator and registration number. Migratio is not regulated by the IAA or the SRA and does not give immigration advice. This page explains how the rules work; it does not tell you what to do in your case.

Questions people ask

How many days can you be outside the UK for ILR?

For most routes the limit is no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period, measured on a rolling basis for permission granted on or after 11 January 2018. Exactly 180 days is within the limit; more than 180 breaks continuous residence unless an exception applies.

Does the 180-day rule reset each year?

Not for permission granted since 11 January 2018. The guidance says absences are considered in any 12-month period they fall within, not in fixed calendar years. For earlier permission, consecutive 12-month periods ending on the application date are used.

Do the days I leave and return count as absence?

The guidance says only whole days are counted and absences of less than 24 hours are not. Its example is a person who starts the journey back on day 180 and arrives on day 181: day 181 is not a day of absence.

What absences are ignored for the 180-day limit?

Paragraph CR 3.4 lists them: helping in a humanitarian or environmental crisis, travel disruption from disaster, conflict or pandemic, compelling and compassionate circumstances, certain approved research absences, family-life absences under Settlement Family Life, and accompanying a partner on Crown service.

Can I travel after applying for ILR?

GOV.UK says not to travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. On the Skilled Worker page it says the application will be withdrawn if you do; the long residence page says no refund of the fee.

Is the 180-day rule the same for British citizenship?

No. Naturalisation uses its own limits: no more than 450 days outside the UK in the five years and 90 days in the last 12 months, or 270 and 90 on the spouse route. Our article on when to apply for citizenship after ILR explains the difference.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-10.

Related guides

  • Long residence ILR: 10 years' lawful UK residence — Long residence is a route to indefinite leave to remain for people who have lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years. Most permission counts, visitor and some other time does not, dependants cannot be included, and the application fee is £3,226 (£1,407 for a two-year extension if English or Life in the UK is not met).
  • Section 3C leave: your status while a decision is pending — If you apply to extend or change your UK leave before it expires, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends that leave on the same conditions until the application is decided, and while an appeal or administrative review is possible or pending. It does not apply to late or invalid applications, and it ends if you leave the UK.
  • Overstayed your UK visa: what the rules say — Overstaying means staying after your permission has ended. Under Part Suitability a short gap can be disregarded in limited cases (an application within 14 days with a good reason beyond your control, or after an in-time application was refused or rejected). Overstayers have no right to work, rent or claim benefits, and leaving can trigger re-entry bans of 12 months to 10 years.
  • ILR after a Skilled Worker visa: the 5-year test — Settlement as a Skilled Worker needs 5 continuous years with permission on listed work routes, absences of no more than 180 days in any 12 months, a sponsor that still approves and pays you at least the settlement salary, and the Life in the UK Test. Rule SW 22A.1 adds B2 English for applications made on or after 26 March 2027. The fee is £3,226 per person.
  • Settling as a partner after 5 years: ILR and form SET(M) — A partner on the 5-year route can apply for indefinite leave to remain after 60 months of continuous residence on partner permission with the same partner. The application costs £3,226, uses the online form SET(M), and needs the financial requirement, English and Life in the UK test evidence again.
  • When you can apply for citizenship after ILR — Under section 6(1) of the British Nationality Act 1981, most people must have held indefinite leave to remain for 12 months and have lived in the UK for 5 years, been in the UK on the exact day five years before the Home Office receives the application, and not been outside it for more than 450 days in the 5 years or 90 days in the last 12 months. People married to a British citizen use a different route.
  • ILR refused: what happens to your status — Refusal of indefinite leave to remain (ILR) does not by itself tell you how long you can stay: that depends on whether your current permission has expired and whether you applied before it did. If you did, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends your leave while a review or appeal could be brought or is pending. A new application made within 14 days of the refusal, or of the review or appeal window ending, is not treated as overstaying (SUI 13.1).