"I landed five years ago and my work permit has not been terminated for a day. Why does the lawyer say that I may have to start my permanent residence all over again?" - A message in the backend last week. The problem is not the visa, but the number of days out of the country . Many people think that "no more than 180 days per year" is stable, but they end up stuck on an algorithm they have never heard of: rolling 12 months (rolling 12 months) .
Continuous residence is the most underestimated and most easily overturned aspect of British permanent residence (ILR / Indefinite Leave to Remain). Today I will break it down to the "sky" and explain clearly how to calculate the current situation in 2026.
Core of continuous residence for permanent residence in the UK: rolling 12 months and 180 days
The current rules are collected in Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence. For most five-year pathways (Skilled Worker, Spouse Visa, Global Talent, etc.), the red line is only one sentence:
The number of days spent outside the UK must not exceed 180 days in any rolling 12-month period of .
The key word is "rolling", not "calendar year", nor "visa year". The picture in many people's minds is: Go out for 170 days in the first year, and then go out for 170 days in the second year. Each one is within the limit and is safe. is wrong.
Since January 11, 2018, Home Office has changed to a rolling window calculation: the review officer will push forward from the day you apply, and measure each consecutive 365-day window as a ruler. You go out for 100 days from July to November 2022, and another 100 days from April to July 2023 - although it spans two calendar years, it falls in the same 12-month window, which is 200 days, which is directly over the line.
How to calculate the number of days out of the country? The day of departure and the day of return are not counted.
This can save a lot of people, but it can also deceive a lot of people. Home Office only counts the whole day : The day you leave the UK and the day you return to the UK are not included in the days of absence. Days of absence = number of complete full days between departure and return.
For example: fly away at 5 am on Monday morning and land at 10 pm on Wednesday evening. Monday (leave) and Wednesday (return) do not count, only the whole day of Tuesday counts - record 1 days . If you leave on Monday and return on Tuesday without a full day in between, then you will be absent for days for 0 days.
Don't underestimate this rule. People who travel to and from China four or five times a year can easily scare themselves into thinking they have exceeded the standard by using the rough calculation of "include the head and the tail"; while recalculating according to the official "cut off the head and tail" often still leaves a margin. On the other hand, if you are visiting relatives for a long-term stay of two or three months, you won’t be able to save a few days even if you don’t count the beginning and the end, so you should still exceed the limit.
10-year Long Residence permanent residence: Don’t ignore the changes in 2024
Those who take the 10-year long-term residence (Long Residence) path to obtain permanent residence must leave one more historical node. Before April 11, 2024, there was an old algorithm in the rules that "a single transaction shall not exceed 184 days, and the total shall not exceed 548 days"; From April 11, 2024, the 548-day total limit will be canceled , and will be unified into the standard of "rolling 12 months shall not exceed 180 days".
This means: If part of your absence occurs before April 11, 2024, the ad litem officer will use the "old ruler" to measure that period (single 184 days/total 548 days); for subsequent absences, use the "new ruler" (rolling 180 days). The two rulers of are applied segmentally to . This is also where the calculation of the long-term residence path is most likely to be miscalculated. If you are not sure, be sure to check by time points.
What circumstances will cause your permanent residence to be "cleared and reset"?
Exceeding 180 days is just one of the breaks. What's even more serious is the identity gap: If you renew your legal visa in the UK after it expires, "take off the visa" in the middle, or get a new visa after leaving the country and re-enter, the clock of continuous residence may restart from the date of when the new visa is approved - five or ten years and start all over again.
There are a few other points that are often overlooked:
📌 The reason for absence may also be reviewed - some absences due to business, epidemic, and family emergencies can be exempted under certain conditions, but they require evidence and are not automatically released.
📌 When changing visa types, whether the previous period of residence can be accumulated into permanent residence depends on the path rules and cannot be taken for granted.
📌 The date of each entry and exit must be documented. It is best to keep records of air tickets, boarding passes, and passport stamps for a long time.
Home Office updated the Continuous Residence guidelines for case reviewers on June 5, 2026. The framework continues the current rolling 180-day caliber without overturning the underlying algorithm - so it is still the last word to control the number of days.
2026 permanent residence reform is on the way: continuous residence is still the foundation
You may have heard of "Earned Settlement (Earned Permanent Residence) " - the reform direction launched by the government in November 2025, which plans to extend the basic residence period for most economic immigrants from 5 years to 10 years, with a mechanism for "addition and subtraction of years" based on personal circumstances. The relevant consultation has ended in February 2026. For the specific implementation time and details, please refer to GOV.UK’s latest announcement.
But no matter how the years are changed, continuous residence of and is always the foundation for permanent residence - whether it is 5 years or 10 years, the question of the number of days spent abroad must be calculated day by day. By the way, the ILR application fee has been raised to £3,226 from April 8, 2026. If you make a mistake once and you are rejected and try again, you will lose more than just time.
Calculating the number of days is cumbersome and easy to miss. Instead of counting your fingers with a calculator, it is better to use 永居计算器APP to calculate the number of days for each entry and exit, and the scrolling window will automatically help you keep an eye on the red line. If you are not sure when applying the old and new rules in sections, you can also ask our licensed lawyers on WeChat, which is more worry-free than making up for it afterwards.
This article is for reference only. Please consult a licensed attorney (regulated immigration adviser) for specific cases.
💬 Chat in the comment area: How many days have you been abroad in total in the past five years (or ten years)? Ever worry about which periods fall into the same rolling 12-month window? Tell me about your situation, or the pitfalls you have stepped on/almost stepped on.
If you find it useful, please collect this article so that you can easily turn it out and calculate it next time when checking the number of days to leave the country.
[Data source] GOV.UK "Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence" and "calculating continuous period in UK" guidelines (updated on 2026-06-05): https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-continuous-residence
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