ILR Calculator: When Can I Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain?

This calculator applies the published Immigration Rules to the dates you enter. It is not legal advice and does not tell you whether you qualify for settlement: that depends on your full immigration history, your documents and the other requirements of your route. Please ask a qualified immigration adviser to check your position before you apply.

Ask a lawyer to check your ILR date

How long before you can apply for ILR

Indefinite leave to remain is granted after a qualifying period of lawful residence on a route that leads to settlement. The length depends on your route:

Time on some routes can be combined. For example, a Skilled Worker can count earlier time on the Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up or T2 Minister of Religion routes towards the 5 years. Time as a visitor, a student or a Graduate visa holder does not count towards a 5-year route, but lawful time on most routes counts towards 10 years’ long residence. Read more on our indefinite leave to remain page.

When can I apply for ILR? The 28-day rule

Under Appendix Continuous Residence (paragraph CR 1.1), the Home Office counts your qualifying period back from whichever of these dates is most favourable to you: the date you apply, any date up to 28 days after the date you apply, or the date of the decision. In practice this means you can apply up to 28 days before your qualifying period is complete.

The calculator uses the anniversary of your start date as the day your qualifying period is complete, and shows the date 28 days earlier as the earliest application date. If your start date is 29 February, it uses 1 March.

Spouse and partner visas are different. The 5-year partner route sits in Appendix FM, which is not covered by Appendix Continuous Residence. Paragraph E-ILRP.1.3 requires 60 months with permission as a partner “at the date of application”, so the calculator shows the date your 60 months are complete. The Home Office sometimes accepts applications made up to 28 days earlier, but if the application is refused, the fee is not refunded. Time as a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner does not count.

When does the qualifying period start?

If you applied for your visa from abroad, your qualifying period starts on the date your visa became valid, shown on your vignette or eVisa. If you arrived in the UK later, the time between the start of your visa and your arrival counts as lawful residence, but each of those days counts as a day of absence. If you switched to the route from inside the UK, the period starts on the date of the decision on your new permission.

Time on 3C leave, while an in-time application is being decided, counts as lawful residence, but on your previous visa, so the rules of that route apply to that period. Tell your adviser if there was any gap between visas.

The 180-day absence rule for ILR

For most routes you must have continuous residence during the qualifying period. Under paragraph CR 3.1 you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. If you exceed the limit and no exception applies, your continuous residence is broken and the qualifying period may have to start again.

How absences are counted

• Any 12 months, not calendar years. For permission granted on or after 11 January 2018, the Home Office looks at every rolling 12-month period, not only the years of your visa. The calculator checks every 12-month window in your qualifying period and shows the one with the most days abroad.
• Whole days only. The Home Office guidance says only whole days count. The day you leave and the day you return are not counted, so a trip leaving on 1 May and returning on 10 May is 8 days of absence.
• Older permissions. For permission granted before 11 January 2018, absences are counted in consecutive 12-month periods ending on the date of application (CR 3.2). This now matters mostly for long residence.
• Counted back from your application. The qualifying period is counted back from the date you apply (or up to 28 days after it), not from the date your qualifying period was complete. If you apply later, trips after that date count too. Enter the date you plan to apply and any trips you have booked.

Absences that may not count

Under CR 3.4, time abroad does not count towards the limit if it was because of:

• assisting with a humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas (with your sponsor’s agreement, if you are sponsored);
• travel disruption caused by a 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;
• approved research by some Skilled Workers in research occupations and by Global Talent holders endorsed by the research bodies;
• on the 10-year family route, work, study or supporting family overseas, if your family life remained in the UK.

The calculator cannot judge whether an exception applies. If you have a long absence for one of these reasons, keep evidence and discuss it with an adviser. See our case study on ILR for Global Talent dependants after a long absence.

Long residence: the older limits

For long residence applications, absences that began before 11 April 2024 are assessed under the previous limits (CR 3.3): no single absence of more than 184 days, and no more than 548 days in total. Absences that began on or after 11 April 2024 are assessed under the 180-day rule. If an absence began before 11 April 2024 and ended after it, the whole absence is checked against the 184-day limit, only the days up to 10 April 2024 count towards the 548 days, and it is left out of the 180-day count, which starts with your next trip. Find out more about the 10-year long residence route.

Spouse and partner visas

There is no 180-day limit for partner visas, which is why the calculator shows your absences on that route for guidance only. But if you spend a lot of time abroad or live apart from your partner, be ready to explain the reasons for your absences, for example work or business overseas, with documents, and to show that you live together in the UK. See ILR as a spouse or partner of a British citizen.

Other requirements for indefinite leave to remain

Completing the qualifying period is only one requirement. Depending on your route, you will also need to meet:

• English language. For applications made before 26 March 2027, most routes require English at level B1 in speaking and listening. For applications made on or after 26 March 2027, the level rises to B2 (for example SW 22A.1, GT 13.1, UKA 15.1, LR 13.1 and SETF 5.1). Innovator Founder settlement has no English language requirement, because Innovator Founders already show English at level B2 when they apply for the visa. A degree taught in English or nationality of a majority English-speaking country can meet the requirement, and there are exemptions based on age and disability.
• Life in the UK test. Most applicants must pass the test (£50) unless they are exempt because of age or a long-term condition.
• Salary for Skilled Workers. Your sponsor must still hold a licence and confirm that it needs you for the foreseeable future and pays you at least the settlement salary threshold: usually £41,700 a year and the going rate for your job, with lower thresholds in some cases, such as £25,000 for certain health and education jobs (SW 24.3). See our guide to employment for the foreseeable future in ILR applications.
• Route conditions. Innovator Founders need a new endorsement letter, issued no more than 3 months before they apply, confirming that the business meets at least two of the settlement criteria; partners must meet the relationship and financial requirements, and Global Talent holders on the 3-year route must have been endorsed under the right criteria. Read about ILR on a Global Talent visa.
• Suitability. Criminal convictions, immigration breaches, unpaid NHS charges and some debts can lead to refusal.

ILR fees

A family of two adults and two children applying together pays £12,904 in Home Office fees before any priority service. See our guides to UK visa fees and the cost of British citizenship.

Earned settlement: what is changing

On 2 November 2026 the Government published its response to the earned settlement consultation and announced a new system. The Immigration Rules have not yet been changed. Until the new rules come into force, the current rules on this page apply. If you are already eligible for ILR, we recommend that you do not delay your application.

According to the Government’s announcement:

• the default qualifying period will rise from 5 to 10 years, with shorter periods for the highest earners and for people earning more than £50,271 and some public service workers;
• every applicant will need a clean criminal record, English at a high standard, no debt to the government and a record of National Insurance contributions;
• family members of British citizens, Hong Kong BN(O) holders and members of the armed forces keep their current pathways.

The Government will publish technical guidance and an impact assessment before the changes take effect. We will update this calculator as soon as the new rules are laid. Read what the announcement means for you in our earned settlement update, and our earlier analysis of the earned settlement framework.

Worked examples

These examples were calculated with the calculator above. Names are illustrative.

1. Skilled Worker: five years and a few short trips

Aisha’s Skilled Worker visa became valid on 12 March 2022 and she arrived in the UK the same day. She spent 24 whole days abroad in summer 2023, 18 days over Christmas 2024 and 17 days in April 2026.

• Qualifying period complete: 12 March 2027. Earliest application under the 28-day rule: 12 February 2027.
• Most days outside the UK in any 12 months: 24, well within 180.
• If Aisha applies before 26 March 2027, English at B1 is enough; from 26 March 2027 she would need B2.

2. Global Talent: three years for the main applicant, five for the partner

Daniel was endorsed by the Royal Academy of Engineering. His visa and his wife’s dependent partner visa became valid on 5 January 2024, and they arrived in the UK on 20 January 2024.

• The 15 whole days before they arrived count as lawful residence, so the qualifying periods still start on 5 January 2024, but they also count as 15 days of absence.
• Daniel’s 3-year period is complete on 5 January 2027; he can apply from 8 December 2026.
• His wife needs 5 years as a dependent partner: complete on 5 January 2029, earliest application 8 December 2028, at English level B2.

3. Absences over 180 days in a rolling 12 months

Marco has been a Skilled Worker since 1 September 2023. He was abroad from 1 November 2024 to 20 January 2025 (79 whole days), from 15 June to 10 September 2025 (86 days) and from 10 October to 12 November 2025 (32 days).

• No calendar year exceeds 180 days, but the 12 months from 27 October 2024 to 26 October 2025 contain 181 days abroad. The worst window, 2 November 2024 to 1 November 2025, contains 187.
• Under the rules his continuous residence would be broken unless an exception applies. Marco should take advice before booking more travel or applying.

4. Long residence with an older long absence

Lena came to the UK as a student on 10 September 2016 and has had permission ever since. Her 10 years were complete on 10 September 2026, so the 28-day rule allowed her to apply from 13 August 2026.

• In 2019 she spent 199 whole days abroad in a single trip. Because that absence began before 11 April 2024, it is assessed under the old limit of 184 days for one absence, and it exceeds it.
• Her later 39-day trip in 2024 is assessed under the 180-day rule and causes no problem.

5. Spouse visa: 60 months and English at B2

Sofia’s spouse visa became valid on 20 June 2022, the day she arrived in the UK.

• Her 60 months are complete on 20 June 2027, and that is the earliest date the rules allow her to apply. The Home Office sometimes accepts applications up to 28 days earlier, but if the application is refused, the fee is not refunded.
• Any application she makes will be after 26 March 2027, so she will need English at B2 in speaking and listening.

6. Applying later than the earliest date

Ravi’s Skilled Worker visa became valid on 1 March 2021, so his 5 years were complete on 1 March 2026 and he could have applied from 1 February 2026. He did not apply then, and was abroad from 10 May to 15 November 2026: 188 whole days.

• If he applies on 1 December 2026, his 5 years are counted back from his application (up to 28 days after it), so his absences are checked from 29 December 2021 to 28 December 2026.
• The 188-day absence falls inside that period and exceeds the 180-day limit, so under the rules his continuous residence would be broken, even though the trip came after his 5-year date.

After ILR: British citizenship

Most people with ILR must usually wait 12 months before applying to naturalise as a British citizen. If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you can usually apply as soon as you have ILR. There are separate absence limits for citizenship. See how to apply for British citizenship after ILR and our naturalisation service.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate when I can apply for ILR?

Take the date your qualifying period started, usually the date your visa became valid, and add the qualifying period for your route: 5 years for Skilled Worker, 3 or 5 years for Global Talent, 3 years for Innovator Founder, 5 years for a spouse visa or UK Ancestry, 10 years for long residence. On most routes you can apply up to 28 days before that date. Then check that you have not spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period.

Can I apply for ILR 28 days early?

Yes, on routes covered by Appendix Continuous Residence, such as Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, UK Ancestry and long residence. The qualifying period can be counted back from any date up to 28 days after you apply. The 5-year spouse and partner route requires 60 months at the date of application. The Home Office sometimes accepts partner applications up to 28 days earlier, but if the application is refused, the fee is not refunded.

How are ILR absences calculated?

Count the whole days you spent outside the UK, leaving out the day you left and the day you returned. You must not exceed 180 days in any rolling 12-month period during your qualifying period, counted back from the date you apply. If your visa became valid before you arrived, the days before your arrival count as absence too. Absences for serious illness, a family emergency, travel disruption or some research work may not count.

What happens if I spent more than 180 days outside the UK?

Unless an exception applies, your continuous residence is broken and your qualifying period may have to start again from your return. Do not apply without advice: an adviser can check whether an exception applies and what evidence you need.

Do I need B2 English for ILR?

For applications made on or after 26 March 2027, most routes require English at B2 in speaking and listening. Applications made before that date are assessed at B1. Innovator Founder settlement has no English requirement, because B2 is shown when applying for the visa, and exemptions remain for age, disability and nationals of majority English-speaking countries.

How much does ILR cost in 2026?

The Home Office fee is £3,226 per person, including each dependant. You may also need the Life in the UK test (£50) and can pay £500 for priority or £1,000 for super priority processing. There is no Immigration Health Surcharge on an ILR application.

Is ILR changing to 10 years?

On 2 November 2026 the Government announced an earned settlement system with a default qualifying period of 10 years and shorter periods for high earners and some public service workers. The Immigration Rules have not yet been changed, so the current qualifying periods apply. If you are already eligible for ILR, we recommend that you do not delay your application. See our earned settlement update for the details.

Does time on a Graduate or Student visa count towards ILR?

Not towards a 5-year route such as Skilled Worker. Lawful time as a student or Graduate visa holder can count towards 10 years’ long residence.

Can I lose ILR if I live abroad?

Indefinite leave to remain normally lapses if you spend more than two continuous years outside the UK. You may then need a returning resident visa to come back.

Can Sterling Law check my ILR date and absences?

Yes. An ILR eligibility check is a consultation with our immigration team and costs £200 + VAT. We review your immigration history, travel record and documents. The cost of preparing your application depends on how complex your case is. Book a consultation using the form on this page.

If you are planning your settlement application, our ILR lawyers can check your dates, absences and documents before you apply.