For most UK settlement (ILR) routes, you must not have spent more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period during your qualifying period. Add your trips and this calculator finds the busiest 12 months and tells you whether you’re within the limit.
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How to use it
- Enter the start of your qualifying period, usually the date you were granted or entered on the visa that leads to settlement.
- Enter the date you plan to apply.
- Add every trip with the date you left and the date you returned. Check passport stamps, airline emails or your travel history.
How days are counted
- Only whole days count. The day you leave and the day you return are not counted as absences.
- Leaving on Monday and returning on Wednesday counts as 1 day away (Tuesday).
- The 12-month periods are rolling, not calendar years, so the calculator checks every 12-month window in your qualifying period.
Worked example
A Skilled Worker leaves on 10 March and returns on 2 April (22 days away), then leaves on 1 August and returns on 28 September (57 days away), then spends 20 days away over Christmas. Even though no calendar year exceeds 180 days, the calculator checks every rolling window. Here the busiest 12 months total 99 days, well within the limit. Add a long trip of 90 days the following spring, though, and a window that includes it, August and Christmas reaches 167 days: still within, but close.
Absences for some reasons, such as serious illness, a natural disaster, travel disruption or certain research, may not count under CR 3.4. Keep evidence and take advice if you’re over the limit.
Before you apply
Settlement rules for several routes are being reformed, and some older visas and routes (such as Long Residence) have different absence rules. Always check the current rules for your route on GOV.UK, and speak to an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority if your case is close to the limit. Count shorter trips with the date difference calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many days can I be outside the UK for ILR?
For most routes, no more than 180 days in any 12-month period during the qualifying period, under Appendix Continuous Residence CR 3.1.
Do the days I travel count as absences?
No. Only whole days outside the UK count, so departure and return days are not counted.
Is it calendar years or any 12 months?
Any 12-month period, so check rolling windows, not just calendar years. This calculator checks every window.
Is this legal advice?
No. It’s a guide to the published rule. Get advice from a regulated immigration adviser for your own case.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence
- GOV.UK: Indefinite leave to remain: calculating continuous period in UK
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