UK Residency Requirement for closed categories

Entrepreneur Route

As of March 29, 2019, the Entrepreneur category was closed to new entrants; however, migrants have until April 5, 2023, to submit extension requests. Applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain are accepted until April 5, 2025.

Individuals falling under the Entrepreneur category but having previously been granted leave in the Graduate Entrepreneur category are subject to different rules. The application deadline for individuals falling under this category to enter the Entrepreneur route was extended until July 5, 2021. Applications for extensions are accepted until July 5, 2025, and applications for indefinite leave to remain are accepted until July 5, 2027.

After holding a Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa for a continuous period of five years with leave, individuals are eligible for an application for settlement in the UK. After a continuous three-year period, individuals may be eligible for an application for accelerated Tier 1 Entrepreneur ILR if they satisfy additional requirements.

The qualifying period, which may be three or five years, starts on the date that the initial application was approved. However, in order to fulfil the continuous residence requirement, Tier 1 Entrepreneur leave cannot be combined with leave in any other visa category.

Investor Route

The Investor category closed to new entrants on 17 February 2022. The application deadline for extensions is 17 February 2026, and the application deadline for indefinite leave to remain is 17 February 2028.

An Investor visa holder may become eligible to apply to settle permanently in the UK after two years if they invest £10 million, after three years if they invest £5 million, or after five years if they invest £2 million. Any dependent family members that you bring with them must wait five years before they are eligible for settlement.

Sole Representative of an Overseas Business Route

The category for the Sole Representative of an Overseas Business was closed on April 11, 2022. Application deadlines for extensions and indefinite leave to remain have not yet been specified.

To qualify for settlement, applicants must have spent a period of five years of continuous residence, also known as the ‘qualifying period’, in the UK with permission as the sole representative of an overseas business to be eligible for settlement.

Calculating Continuous Period

The continuous period requirement is the minimum amount of time that a migrant must have spent here continuously and lawfully with leave to enter or remain, either in employment or being active in the UK economy.

ILR will be refused if the applicant does not meet the continuous period requirement set out in the Immigration Rules.

For eligible individuals seeking to apply for ILR after five years, it will be crucial that they have accurately calculated the duration of their continuous residence and that it satisfies Home Office requirements, especially in regard to absences from the United Kingdom.

The period between entry clearance being issued and the applicant entering the UK may be counted toward the qualifying period. Any absences between the date of issue and entry to the UK count towards the 180 days allowable absence in the continuous 12-month period. The applicant does not need to provide evidence to demonstrate the reason for delayed entry.

Consequently, individuals who want to apply at the earliest possible time must account for their absences between grant and entry in their calculations.

When calculating the earliest possible date, applicants should be aware of any route-specific requirements. For example, the time necessary for job creation may affect the timelines of entrepreneurs, while the date investors first made their investments may have an impact on their timelines.

Calculating days of absence from the UK

The amount of time a person can spend outside the UK is determined by the Home Office’s ‘continuous residence requirement’. It is this rule that states those with limited leave to remain who wish to apply for ILR must not spend more than 180 days outside the UK in any consecutive 12-month period.

If your ILR qualifying period includes permission granted by the Home Office prior to 11th January 2018, your absences are considered in consecutive 12-month periods ending on the date of application. This means you will need to count back 365 days from the date you apply to ensure you did not exceed the 180-day cap in that period and so on until you reach the start of the required residence period in the UK.

If your ILR qualifying period includes permission granted by the Home Office on or after 11 January 2018, your absences are considered on a rolling basis over any 12-month period. This means that you must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period (i.e. the 12-month periods are not fixed).

Excessive Absences

Only absences taken in support of a national or international environmental or humanitarian crisis while travelling abroad will not count towards the 180-day limit for individuals falling into these categories. Every other absence, including those justified by business, will be considered like any other absence.

There is an exception in the guidance where someone has excessive absences but there are compelling or compassionate reasons for this absence which is beyond the applicant’s control.

The relevant guidance states:

• ‘Serious or compelling reasons will vary but can include:
• serious illness of the applicant or a close relative
• a conflict
• a natural disaster, for example, a volcanic eruption or tsunami

The applicant must provide evidence in the form of a letter which sets out the reason for the absence with documents of support. For example:

• medical certificates
• birth or death certificates
• evidence of disruption to travel arrangements

In all circumstances, the need to ensure that you are well aware of the rules around absences is essential and you should consult an immigration specialist as soon as you have concerns that you might exceed your allowable absences.

Continuous Residence Requirement as a dependent partner and children

To meet this requirement, you must have completed 5 years of continuous lawful residence in the UK as a dependent partner. The period of 5 years must be unbroken continuous residence in the UK. You must not be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period unless exemptions apply. For permissions granted before 11 January 2018, absences will not count towards the 180-day limit if they were a dependent partner.

Children can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain when both parents are eligible, but they are not subject to any residence requirements. This implies that the applications for any dependent children may be delayed if, for example, the dependent parent has a high number of absences and is not qualified for Indefinite Leave to Remain.