How is the continuous residence days for permanent residency calculated? Full-day absence and submission date.

The series of entry and exit stamps on the passport, the day you left and the day you returned, are they considered to be outside the UK?

This difference is significant. Six round-trip journeys in a year would add twelve days in total, and over five years, this would accumulate to about sixty days, which could turn an originally acceptable record into an over-limit one. The current "Continuous residence" case guidance (June 2026 edition) states that counts only full days, and any part of a day less than 24 hours is not counted as absence .

Those two days of leaving, are they considered as being outside?

On the day of departure, the person was still in the UK for a period of time; the same applies on the day of return. According to the guidance's full-day approach, these two days do not count as absence days.

Left on March 1, landed on March 10, the full time spent overseas was from March 2 to March 9, eight days. The guidelines also include a more straightforward example: someone who is absent once within a 12-month period and returns to the UK on day 181, this absence does not count as exceeding 180 days. Therefore, people whose numbers are right at the limit, just by using the correct algorithm, the conclusion may change from "exceeded" to "not exceeded".

Which 12 months does the 180 days fit into?

The original text of CR 2.2 uses "any 12-month period," with the window sliding throughout the entire eligibility period, not resetting with the visa year or calendar year. The same long holiday may fall into several windows simultaneously.

People who have lived continuously for ten years (Appendix Long Residence) should be read in two parts: absence starting after April 11, 2024, is assessed based on a rolling 12-month period of 180 days; the qualification period before this date applies to the old standard of CR 2.2A, with a single absence not exceeding 184 days and the total absence not exceeding 548 days. Both sets of standards coexist within the same application, neither covering the other.

Is the first day of five years the best day to apply?

Appendix Continuous Residence's eligibility period calculation provisions (Part CR 1) provide four optional end dates: the application date; any day within 28 days after the application date; the decision date; and a special case for the UK Ancestry route, which is the date when the most recent such visa expired. The rule requires counting backwards from the "most favorable" date for the applicant. Its practical effect is that the end of the eligibility period is not fixed; if the end date is moved forward by one day, the earliest date rolls out of the eligibility period, and the earlier excess 12-month window may fall entirely outside the eligibility period.

My judgment: For those who missed the deadline, the submission date should be determined by the window schedule calculated on a daily basis, rather than by the "first day of five years" or "before the permit expires." If an application has already been submitted and it is later found that only a few days are missing, there is no need to urgently withdraw and reapply. Instead, a written explanation can be provided in the application, requesting the case reviewer to calculate based on the most favorable anchor point. This is the algorithm provided by the rules themselves, and does not constitute an appeal.

Which absences are not counted towards ILR qualification period

CR 3.2, CR 3.3 are for a narrow set of circumstances: assistance to national or international humanitarian, environmental crises abroad; travel disruptions caused by natural disasters, military conflicts, or pandemics; and urgent humanitarian situations that threaten life, such as the applicant suffering from a life-threatening illness, or a close family member being critically ill or deceased.

The guidance does not list a fixed evidence checklist, but leaves the burden of proof on the person claiming exclusion: they must provide official documents that can be independently verified, clearly stating the time and reason; if travel was obstructed, they should explain how this particular trip was affected, and the adjudicator will verify whether the event actually occurred using public sources such as FCDO travel advice; compassionate circumstances are usually assessed based on medical records and death certificates. Ordinary business trips, visiting relatives, or maternity leave are not included in this category of exceptions and are counted as full days.

Four situations more difficult to handle than exceeding the number of days

There is also a "break" aspect to continuous residence: being convicted and imprisoned, being deported or subject to an exclusion order, being issued a removal order, or not having a permit during the period when one should have held a permit. These four situations result in interruption of the eligibility period, which needs to be recalculated. They are different from the "over 180 days in a certain 12-month window" criterion, and should be checked separately when assessing eligibility.

Record each entry and exit in a daily ledger, then place the rolling window and the deliverable day on the same table. The issue of days is basically reduced to an arithmetic problem. The only thing left to determine is which day to deliver.

📎 [Data Source]

Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence: www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-continuous-residence

Home Office "Continuous Residence" Caseworker Guidance (June 2026 Edition): www.gov.uk/government/publications/continuous-residence-caseworker-guidance

This document is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

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