Tuesday 2 April 2024

Changes are being made from 11 April 2024 to the ‘Long Residence’ route which allows individuals resident in the UK continuously and legally for 10 years to apply for permission to stay or settle.

Appendix Long Residence will replace the existing provisions contained in Part 7 (paras 276A-276D) of the Immigration Rules and Appendix Continuous Residence will apply to applications made under this route.

Currently, to satisfy the continuous residence requirement, applicants must not have spent more than 184 days outside of the UK in a row and not more than 548 days in total outside of the UK during their 10-year qualifying period of UK residence.

What has changed?

The requirement to have spent no more than 548 days in total outside of the UK during the 10-year qualifying period is being removed. Applicants will however, no longer be permitted absences of up to 184 days in a row as they will be subject to Appendix Continuous Residence which requires that they spend no more than 180 days outside of the UK in any 12-month period (subject to limited exceptions – this includes absences attributable to travel disruption due to COVID-19).

For those applying for settlement, a change is being introduced to require that applicants have held their current immigration permission for at least one year if it was obtained from 11 April 2024 (or they have been exempt from immigration control in the 12 months immediately before the date of their application).

Get in touch

We will be happy to answer any questions you may have about these upcoming changes and advise on your options. To learn more about upcoming changes to UK immigration law, please refer to our website, contact your assigned LDI lawyer, or email enquiries@lauradevine.com.