When do you apply for ILR (indefinite leave to remain)? How do the 28-day rule and the 180-day absence limit work?

Who does this apply to?

• This is general information. It does not assess anyone's personal situation. It is for people working out the continuous period needed for ILR (indefinite leave to remain). Rules vary by route. This post rests only on the GOV.UK guidance "Indefinite leave to remain: calculating continuous period in UK".

The 28-day rule

• The guidance says applicants can submit a settlement application up to 28 days before they would reach the end of the specified period.
• GOV.UK route pages repeat it: for Skilled Worker, "the earliest you can apply is 28 days before you've been in the UK for 5 years". The same pages say not to wait until your visa expires, and that an earlier application may be refused.
• For applications made after 24 November 2016, the gap allowed for re-applying after leave has expired is 14 days. The 28 days for that gap applied under the older rules.

Where does the period start?

• The guidance says the period between entry clearance being issued and your entry to the UK may count towards the continuous period. If that delay is longer than 180 days, only the time after entry counts. No evidence of the reason is needed for that gap.
• The guidance does not settle "visa start date" versus "entry date" in one sentence; you need to read the section for your route. People in groups say "we used the visa date and it was approved". That is personal experience and should not be read as a rule for everyone.

Time spent outside the UK

• According to the guidance, no more than 180 whole days of absence are allowed in a consecutive 12-month period. Only whole days count; periods under 24 hours do not.
• For leave granted on or after 11 January 2018, this is assessed over rolling 12-month periods.
• For some routes, absence over 180 days needs serious or compelling reasons. Long absence for work or economic activity is not treated as exceptional.
• Someone in the group described a refusal after spending 183 days in Türkiye. Such cases are individual, which is why counting the dates day by day before applying matters.

Points to watch

• A priority service is not available on every route. In groups it was said there is none for the Ankara Agreement (ECAA) route. Check the official GOV.UK page for that.
• Official guidance can change. This post is a general summary.

What can you do?

• Read the calculating continuous period guidance.
• Look at the page for your route, for example Skilled Worker ILR or family route ILR.
• For personal immigration questions, find a registered adviser: GOV.UK: Find an immigration adviser. Money paid to an unregulated adviser cannot be recovered.