Visit Visas And 10 Years Long Residence ILR

• Published date: 03 August 2021
• Subject Matter: Immigration, General Immigration, Work Visas
• Law Firm: Richmond Chambers Immigration Barristers
• Author: Ms Stefania Patuto

The 10 years long residence route to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) provides a route to settlement based on continuous lawful residence in the UK for a period of 10 years. This post provides an update in the case law addressing continuous lawful residence requirement for 10 year long residence ILR in light of the case of R (Mungur) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1076. Specifically the court considered whether time spent in the UK as a visitor would count towards 10 years continuous residence.

Definition of continuous residence

Paragraph 276A of the Immigration Rules confirms that 'continuous residence' for the purposes of paragraphs 276B to 276D and 276ADE and 399A is

(a) "continuous residence" means residence in the United Kingdom for an unbroken period, and for these purposes a period shall not be considered to have been broken where an applicant is absent from the United Kingdom for a period of 6 months or less at any one time, provided that the applicant in question has existing limited leave to enter or remain upon their departure and return, but shall be considered to have been broken if the applicant:

(i) has been removed under Schedule 2 of the 1971 Act, section 10 of the 1999 Act, has been deported or has left the United Kingdom having been refused leave to enter or remain here; or

(ii) has left the United Kingdom and, on doing so, evidenced a clear intention not to return; or

(iii) left the United Kingdom in circumstances in which he could have had no reasonable expectation at the time of leaving that he would lawfully be able to return; or

(iv) has been convicted of an offence and was sentenced to a period of imprisonment or was directed to be detained in an institution other than a prison (including, in particular, a hospital or an institution for young offenders), provided that the sentence in question was not a suspended sentence; or

(v) has spent a total of more than 18 months absent from the United Kingdom during the period in question.

Continuous residence is not considered broken if the applicant had existing leave to enter or remain when they left and when they returned. The Long Residence Guidance confirms that "if the applicant had existing leave to enter or remain when they left and returned to the UK, the existing leave does not have to be in the same category on departure and return".

The facts in R (Mungur) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1076

Mr Mungur came to the UK in...