Free UK ILR Calculator: Check Your Settlement Eligibility

This free ILR calculator shows when you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and whether your trips abroad could stop you. Enter your visa start date, your qualifying period and each absence from the UK. The calculator returns your qualifying date, the earliest date you can apply under the 28-day rule, and the most days you spent outside the UK in any 12-month period.

It is built for people on the Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, British National (Overseas), Innovator Founder, Global Talent and 10-year Long Residence routes. Employers can also use it to plan settlement for sponsored staff. Conroy Baker Ltd is IAA-regulated (formerly OISC), Ref F202200094, Level 1. We built the calculator from the Immigration Rules published on gov.uk and last checked those rules on 11 September 2026.

The result is an estimate, not legal advice. Absence exceptions, gaps in your permission and suitability issues need an adviser to review them before you apply.

The calculator follows the order a Home Office caseworker uses: the length of your stay first, then your absences. Have your passport stamps, travel bookings or airline records to hand before you start.

1. Enter your visa start date. Use the start date of the first visa on your current settlement route. Time on a different route may not count, so check the route rules below if you have switched visas.
2. Choose your qualifying period. Select 5 years for most work routes and the BN(O) route, 3 years for Innovator Founder and some Global Talent holders, and 10 years for Long Residence.
3. Add every trip outside the UK. Enter the date you left and the date you returned for each trip. Use “+ Add another” for more rows, and include short trips as well as long ones.
4. Read your result. The calculator tells you whether you look on track, are close to the limit, or may have broken your continuous residence. It also shows the dates behind that result.

Only whole days count as absences. The day you leave and the day you return are treated as days in the UK. This follows the Home Office guidance on calculating the continuous period in the UK. A trip that leaves on 1 March and returns on 10 March counts as 8 days outside the UK.

The calculator then checks every possible 12-month period, not just each visa year or calendar year. Appendix Continuous Residence states that you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period (CR 3.1). Two trips in different visa years can still fall inside the same 12 months.

A Skilled Worker visa holder started their visa on 1 July 2021 and made two long trips:

• Trip 1: left the UK on 1 March 2022 and returned on 31 May 2022, which is 90 whole days outside the UK.
• Trip 2: left the UK on 1 August 2022 and returned on 1 December 2022, which is 121 whole days outside the UK.

Counted visa year by visa year, the totals are 90 days and 121 days, both under 180. Checked on a rolling basis, the 12 months from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022 contain 211 days outside the UK. That is over the limit, and the calculator flags it.

A Skilled Worker visa started on 15 March 2022. The 5-year qualifying period completes on 15 March 2027. Using the 28-day rule, the earliest date to apply is 15 February 2027, provided the absences stay within the limit.

A Long Residence applicant started their lawful residence on 1 June 2016. Two different trips show why the date of each absence matters:

• A trip from 1 January 2019 to 11 July 2019 is 190 whole days outside the UK. It began before 11 April 2024, so the 184-day limit for a single absence applies, and this trip breaks it.
• A trip from 1 May 2024 to 15 November 2024 is 197 whole days outside the UK. It began after 11 April 2024, so the 180-day limit in any 12 months applies, and this trip breaks it.

Most work routes, the BN(O) route and the Long Residence route share one absence rule. You must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period during your qualifying period (Appendix Continuous Residence, CR 3.1). For permission granted on or after 11 January 2018, this is checked on a rolling basis. For permission granted before that date, consecutive 12-month periods are checked (CR 3.2).

Appendix Continuous Residence covers routes including Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, UK Ancestry, Hong Kong British National (Overseas) and Long Residence. It does not cover the partner route under Appendix FM, which has its own continuous residence rules. Partners can use the calculator for their dates, but should ask us to check their absences.

Business travel counts. A trip your employer asked you to take is still an absence unless it falls within one of the exceptions below. If your job involves regular travel, keep a running log from the start of your visa rather than rebuilding it at the end.

Appendix Continuous Residence lists specific reasons for an absence that do not count towards the limit (CR 3.4). They include:

• assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas
• 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
• approved research activity for certain sponsored researchers and some Global Talent holders
• accompanying a partner who is overseas on Crown service

You need evidence for any exception you rely on, such as medical letters or records of cancelled flights. The calculator counts every trip you enter, so if an exception applies, your real position may be better than the result shows.

You can apply for ILR up to 28 days before you complete your qualifying period. Gov.uk confirms that the earliest you can apply is 28 days before you meet the requirement for time spent in the UK (ILR guidance on gov.uk). Appendix Continuous Residence counts your qualifying period back from whichever date is most beneficial to you, including any date up to 28 days after the date of application (CR 1.1).

If you apply earlier than that, you have not met the residence requirement and the application risks refusal. The calculator shows the earliest date so you can plan around it.

Once you apply, you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Gov.uk states that your application will be withdrawn if you do (after you apply for ILR). A standard decision usually arrives within 6 months of your fingerprints and photo appointment, so plan any trips around that window.

Your route decides your qualifying period and which rules apply to your absences. The table summarises the main routes.

For a wider comparison, see our guide to ILR eligibility routes and our Indefinite Leave to Remain service.

• Time: 5 years in the UK, with no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12 months (gov.uk).
• Salary: when you apply for ILR, most applicants need a salary of at least £41,700 a year and the going rate for their job. Lower thresholds, such as £33,400 for jobs on the Immigration Salary List, apply in some cases (Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 24.3).
• Your job: your employer must still need you in the role, and you must continue to meet the salary requirement (gov.uk).
• Time on other visas: time spent in the UK as a partner or child on someone else’s visa does not count towards your own 5 years.
• Tests: you need to pass the Life in the UK Test if you are 18 to 64. You do not currently need to prove your English again when settling on this route, but most settlement applicants will need English at B2 level from March 2027.

Salary thresholds changed on 22 July 2025. Our summary of the Skilled Worker visa changes explains the detail, and our Skilled Worker visa and Health and Care Worker visa pages cover the routes in full.

• Time: a continuous period of 60 months with permission as a partner (Appendix FM, E-ILRP.1.3).
• Income: if you first applied as a partner on or after 11 April 2024, the minimum income is £29,000 a year. If you were first granted permission as a partner before 11 April 2024, the lower £18,600 threshold continues to apply (gov.uk; Appendix FM, E-LTRP.3.7).
• Relationship: you need evidence that the relationship is genuine and continuing across the whole period.

Absences on this route are assessed under Appendix FM rather than Appendix Continuous Residence. See our UK spouse visa page for more on this route.

Partners and children can usually be included on the same ILR application as the main applicant, if they are eligible (gov.uk). A dependent partner needs their own continuous period of 5 years in the UK with permission as a partner (Appendix Skilled Worker, SW 42.1). Run the calculator separately for a partner, using their own visa start date and their own trips.

Children must meet the requirements in Appendix Children. See our Skilled Worker dependant visa and Health and Care Worker dependant visa pages for family members.

BN(O) visa holders can apply to live in the UK permanently after 5 years (gov.uk). Absences are assessed under Appendix Continuous Residence, so choose the 5-year period in the calculator.

From 8 October 2026, dependent children on the BN(O) route will no longer need to complete their own 5-year continuous residence period. They will be able to settle alongside parents who meet the settlement requirements (Statement of Changes HC 584).

Innovator Founder visa holders may be able to apply to settle once they have been in the UK for 3 years (gov.uk). Global Talent visa holders may be able to settle after 3 or 5 years, depending on their field and how they applied (gov.uk). Choose the 3-year option only if your route and endorsement allow it. Our Innovator Founder visa page explains the route for founders.

• Time: 10 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK (gov.uk).
• Absences before 11 April 2024: continuous residence is broken by an absence of more than 184 days at any one time. It is also broken by more than 548 days of absences in total in the 10-year period (Long Residence guidance, version 25.0).
• Absences from 11 April 2024: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period (Appendix Continuous Residence).
• Current route: you must have been on your current immigration route for at least 12 months when you apply, unless your current permission was granted before 11 April 2024.
• What does not count: time as a visitor does not count and breaks continuous residence. Disregarded periods of overstaying do not break continuous residence, but they do not count towards the 10 years.

Read our complete guide to the 10-year Long Residence route and our guide to switching visas on the way to ILR.

The government plans to change how long it takes to qualify for settlement. In a speech on 5 March 2026, the Home Secretary said the qualifying period for settlement should move, as a norm, from 5 years to 10. The speech also said the changes would apply to people in the UK who have not yet received settled status (gov.uk).

When we last reviewed this page on 11 September 2026, those changes were not in the Immigration Rules. The Statement of Changes laid on 3 September 2026 (HC 584) does not include them. One related change is confirmed: most settlement applicants will need English at A-level equivalent standard from March 2027 (gov.uk).

The calculator uses the rules in force today. If it shows you are eligible now or soon, consider applying once you qualify rather than waiting. Employers can read our guide to the proposed 10-year ILR rule to plan for sponsored staff.

Home Office fees below apply from 8 April 2026 (Home Office fees table).

Priority decision times are set out on gov.uk. Our ILR fees and processing times guide covers the full cost breakdown.

• Life in the UK Test: required if you are 18 to 64, and costs £50 (gov.uk).
• English language: the requirement depends on your route, and the standard rises to A-level equivalent for most applicants from March 2027.
• Route requirements: for example, the salary requirement on the Skilled Worker route or the income requirement for partners.
• Lawful residence: gaps in your permission can break continuous residence.
• Suitability: the Home Office also considers matters such as criminal convictions and your immigration history.

• British citizenship: you must usually have lived in the UK for 12 months after getting ILR before you apply. If you are married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, you can apply as soon as you have ILR. You must have lived in the UK for the last 3 years (gov.uk).
• Keeping ILR: you lose ILR if you have been outside the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for more than 2 continuous years (gov.uk).

When you are ready for the next step, see our British citizenship by naturalisation service.

Watch our short video on how the 180-day rule catches ILR applicants, and how to check your own dates with this calculator.

Use the calculator result as a starting point. Ask an adviser to check your dates if:

• your result shows you are close to or over the 180-day limit
• you have switched visa categories or had a gap in your permission
• you are relying on an absence exception
• you are applying with a partner or children
• you are on the partner route or the 10-year Long Residence route

Our fixed-fee ILR Continuous Residence Audit reviews your travel history, visa history and evidence before you submit. If you have already received a refusal, see our ILR refusals and appeals support.

Get your ILR application checked before you submit

Important Notice: Use of this Free ILR Calculator

Reviewed by Hemang Laaheru, Conroy Baker. Last reviewed: 11 September 2026. Calculator version 1.1.

Rules used: Appendix Continuous Residence, Appendix Skilled Worker, Appendix FM, the Home Office Long Residence guidance (version 25.0) and Home Office fees from 8 April 2026, all published on gov.uk.
This Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) Calculator is a complimentary online tool provided for informational and preliminary assessment purposes only. The results generated are estimates based solely on the data you enter and are not a guarantee of eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Conroy Baker Ltd is not liable for any action taken or not taken based on the results provided by this calculator. Immigration law is complex, highly detailed, and subject to frequent rule changes and subjective interpretation by the Home Office. Factors such as criminal history, character requirements, precise compliance with visa conditions, and complex absence exceptions (e.g., COVID-19 concessions or compulsory service) cannot be accurately assessed by any automated tool.

You must always seek professional, tailored legal advice from an IAA-regulated immigration adviser before submitting any application to the Home Office. By using this tool, you acknowledge this disclaimer and understand that no adviser–client relationship is created.