Scope of advice
- 10 year lawful residence calculations
- Complete immigration status chronologies
- Section 3C leave and outstanding applications
- Historic gaps and overstaying
- Pre and post 11 April 2024 absence rules
- Excluded immigration routes
- First instance evidence and representations
- Refusal, appeal, administrative review and judicial review strategy
01 / The approach
Reconstruct every grant, application, decision and appeal.
The analysis begins with a dated status chronology supported by Home Office records, passports, application evidence and decision notices. A visa-label summary cannot establish whether leave was extended by section 3C, whether a gap counts, or when appeal rights were exhausted.
02 / The approach
Apply the correct continuity rule to each period.
Long residence now combines Appendix Long Residence with Appendix Continuous Residence and transitional absence rules. Time may fail to count without breaking continuity, while excluded routes and excessive absences can have different consequences. Each period must be classified rather than averaged.
03 / The approach
Choose the remedy from the legal character of the refusal.
A long residence refusal does not always produce the same remedy. The decision letter, whether a human rights claim was decided, the applicant’s current or section 3C leave, any variation under Appendix Long Residence and any certification determine whether the next step is an appeal, administrative review, judicial review or a fresh application.
Questions before proceeding.
Does every day spent lawfully in the UK count towards the 10 years?
No. Appendix Long Residence excludes specified routes and periods. Visitor, Short-term Student, Seasonal Worker and Appendix Ukraine Scheme permission do not count, and excluded permission can also affect continuity. The complete immigration history must be classified under the rules applying to each period.
Can a gap in leave be disregarded?
Some overstaying may be disregarded for continuity under the relevant rules and guidance, but a disregarded period does not itself count as lawful residence. The facts, application date and rule in force at the time must be established precisely.
How are absences before 11 April 2024 treated?
Appendix Continuous Residence preserves transitional tests for older absences, including the historic 184 day single absence and 548 day aggregate provisions. Absences beginning on or after 11 April 2024 are generally assessed against 180 days in any rolling 12 month period. The complete travel schedule must be divided at the correct date.
Must I hold my current route for 12 months before applying?
LR 11.3 generally requires permission on the current route for at least 12 months at the application date. LR 11.4 disapplies that requirement where the current permission was granted before 11 April 2024. Other requirements still apply.
Can a long residence refusal be appealed?
Not automatically. A statutory appeal ordinarily depends on refusal of a human rights claim. The decision may instead attract administrative review, public law challenge or a fresh application. The decision letter and the legal basis on which the claim was considered must be analysed before a remedy is chosen.
Primary material
Rules and official guidance.
Immigration Rules Appendix Long ResidenceImmigration Rules Appendix Continuous ResidenceHome Office long residence caseworker guidanceHome Office continuous residence caseworker guidanceHome Office rights of appeal guidanceContinue your reading.
Which absences and gaps break long residence?Indefinite leave to remainRefusal, review or a fresh applicationComplex immigration casesContinue within this subject
Classify the decision, preserve the remedy and protect the objective.
A refusal, status problem or enforcement step should be analysed before a challenge or repeat application is chosen. Procedure, evidence and timing must be controlled together.
Decision and remedy review
Preserve the available response before taking the next step.
Quastels can analyse the decision, chronology, operative deadline, evidence and whether review, challenge, a fresh application or another protective step best serves the objective.
Review the decision and available response ↗︎