Immigration Rules Appendix Continuous Residence

CR 1.1. The continuous residence requirement is met if the applicant has spent the qualifying unbroken continuous residence period required by their route lawfully in the UK.

CR 2.1. To meet the continuous residence requirement the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period (unless CR 2.2. or CR 2.3 applies).

CR 2.2. For any absences from the UK with permission granted under the rules in place before 11 January 2018, the applicant must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days during any consecutive 12-month period, ending on the same date of the year as the date of the application for settlement.

1. CR 2.3. When calculating the 180 days in CR 2.1. or CR 2.2. any period spent outside the UK for reasons (a) to (h) below will not count towards the 180-day limit, if the absence was for any of the following reasons:
   1. (a) the applicant was assisting with a national or international humanitarian or environmental crisis overseas, providing if on a sponsored route their sponsor agreed to the absence for that purpose; or
   2. (b) travel disruption due to natural disaster, military conflict or pandemic; or
   3. (c) compelling and compassionate personal circumstances, such as the life-threatening illness of the applicant, or life-threatening illness or death of a close family member; or
   4. (d) research activity undertaken by a Skilled Worker which was approved by their sponsor and where the applicant was sponsored for a job in one of the following occupation codes:
      1. 2111 Chemical scientists
      2. 2112 Biological scientists and biochemists
      3. 2113 Physical scientists
      4. 2114 Social and humanities scientists
      5. 2119 Natural and social science professionals not elsewhere classified
      6. 2150 Research and development managers
      7. 2311 Higher education teaching professionals; or
   5. (e) research activity undertaken by a person on the Global Talent route who was endorsed by:
      1. (i) The Royal Society; or
      2. (ii) The British Academy; or
      3. (iii) The Royal Academy of Engineering; or
      4. (iv) UKRI; or
   6. (f) research activity undertaken by a person on the Global Talent route who qualified on the basis of a prize listed in table 6 of Appendix Global Talent: Prestigious Prizes; or
   7. (g) for an applicant under Appendix Settlement Family Life, absences for work, study or supporting family overseas, so long as the family have throughout the period of absence maintained a family life in the UK and the UK remained their place of permanent residence; or
   8. (h) where the applicant’s partner is absent from the UK on Crown service as:
      1. (i) a member of HM Forces (as defined in the Armed Forces Act 2006); or
      2. (ii) an employee of the UK Government, a Northern Ireland department, the Scottish Administration or the Welsh Government; or
      3. (iii) a permanent member of the British Council, and the applicant accompanies them overseas.

CR 2.4. Any time the applicant spent lawfully in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man is treated for the purpose of this Appendix as time spent in the UK provided the applicant’s most recent grant of permission was in the UK.

CR 2.5 Absences before 20 June 2022 will not be counted when calculating the continuous residence period for settlement applications under Appendix Settlement Family Life if the applicant was subsequently granted permission as a partner or parent under Appendix FM or under paragraph 276ADE or 276BE(2), following those absences.

CR 3.1. Where the applicant’s partner or parent, on whom they are dependant, was absent for a reason in CR 2.3. that period of absence will not count towards the 180- day limit when calculating the dependent’s continuous residence period.

1. CR 3.2. Where a dependent partner was absent during a period of permission granted before 11 January 2018, that period of absence will not be counted towards the 180- day limit when calculating the dependent applicant’s continuous residence period if the person on whom they were dependant (the main applicant) was on one of the following routes:
   1. (a) Tier 1; or
   2. (b) Tier 2; or
   3. (c) Tier 5 (Temporary Worker); or
   4. (d) Global Talent; or
   5. (e) Start Up; or
   6. (f) Innovator Founder.

1. CR 4.1. An applicant’s continuous residence period will be broken if any of the following apply:
   1. (a) the applicant is convicted of an offence and sentenced to a period of imprisonment (unless it is a suspended sentence) or directed to be detained in an institution other than a prison, unless the applicant is applying for settlement under Appendix Settlement Family Life or Appendix Private Life and CR 4.4. applies; or
   2. (b) the applicant is subject to a deportation order, exclusion order or exclusion direction; or
   3. (c) the applicant is subject to removal directions under section 10 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; or
   4. (d) the applicant does not, or did not have permission, unless:
      1. (i) the applicant made a successful application for permission to stay where paragraph 39E of Part 1 of these rules applied; or
      2. (ii) the applicant had permission when they left the UK, applied for entry clearance before that permission expired, or within 14 days of that permission expiring, and that application for entry clearance was successful; or
      3. (iii) CR 4.2. applies; or
   5. (e) the applicant is absent from the UK for longer than the periods permitted under CR 2.1. and CR 2.2., and none of the exceptions in CR 2.3. to CR 2.4. or CR 3.1. and CR 3.2. apply.

1. CR 4.2. Any period without permission under CR 4.1.(d) before 24 November 2016 will break the continuous residence period unless:
   1. (a) the applicant made a successful application for permission (either in or outside the UK) within 28 days of the date their previous permission expired: or
   2. (b) the applicant had permission when they left the UK, applied for entry clearance before that permission expired and that application for entry clearance was successful.

CR 4.3. Where CR 4.1(d) applies, any period of time where the applicant did not have permission will be disregarded when calculating the continuous residence period in CR 6.1.

1. CR 4.4. Where an applicant applying for settlement under Appendix Settlement Family Life or Appendix Private Life is:
   1. (a) convicted of an offence and sentenced to imprisonment in the UK for 12 months or less; or
   2. (b) directed to be detained in an institution other than a prison for 12 months or less,
2. that period of imprisonment or detention will not break the applicant’s continuous residence during the qualifying period of 10 years for the purposes of SETF 2.3, SETF 11.3, PL 12.3., or PL 27.3, but the time spent in prison or detained in an institution other than a prison will not count towards continuous residence.

1. CR 5.1. The applicant will not be regarded as lawfully present in the UK under CR 1.1:
   1. (a) during any period of imprisonment or detention under CR 4.1.(a); or
   2. (b) during any period where they required permission and did not have it, unless paragraph 39E applies or, before 24 November 2016 the applicant made a successful application for permission (either in or outside the UK) within 28 days of the date their previous permission expired.

CR 5.2. Where CR 4.1. applies the applicant will not be regarded as lawfully resident for any period during which those circumstances apply (and the exceptions in CR 2.3. to CR 2.5. will not apply).

1. CR 6.1. The continuous residence periods in CR 2.1 and CR 2.2. will be calculated by counting back from whichever of the following dates is the most beneficial to the applicant:
   1. (a) the date of application; or
   2. (b) any date up to 28 days after the date of application; or
   3. (c) the date of decision; or
   4. (d) for a person applying for settlement on the UK Ancestry route, the date of their last grant of permission.               
   5.  Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-continuous-residence