ILR and Absences: How to Count Your Days Outside the UK

ILR and Absences: How to Count Your Days Outside the UK

Applying for indefinite leave to remain is a milestone, and one of the most common reasons for trouble is too many days abroad. The rule looks simple: no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. The detail is in how the days are counted. The ILR Absence Days Calculator does it for your list of trips.

The rule

For many routes to settlement, you must not have been absent from the UK for more than 180 days in any consecutive 12-month period during the qualifying period. "Any" means every rolling 12-month window, not just calendar years. Spending 100 days away in November and December and another 100 days in the following January to March would break the limit if the two trips fall within one 12-month window, even though neither calendar year is over 180.

How days are counted

Only the full days outside the UK count. The day you leave and the day you return are not counted. A trip from 1 March to 25 March is 23 days. Days are counted by checking your passport stamps, tickets and travel records. If you travelled by sea, rail or air, the date of departure and arrival at the UK border is what matters.

Using the calculator

Enter the start date of your qualifying period. Then list your trips, one per line, in the format "2024-03-01 to 2024-03-20". The tool counts the days of each trip, checks every 12-month window across the period and reports the worst window, the date on which that window ends, the margin to the limit and the date on which the qualifying period ends. A table lists each trip with the days counted. The limit and the qualifying years are editable.

An example

A person began in September 2021 and made four trips: March 2022 (23 days), July to August 2023 (40 days), December 2024 to January 2025 (27 days) and August to September 2025 (43 days). The total is 133 days over four years, and no 12-month window has more than 70 days, which is far below 180. Another person spent seven months abroad in one trip in 2022, which gives about 211 days in the worst window, over the limit.

The qualifying period

For many routes it has been five years. Policy has been moving towards a longer period of earned settlement for many categories, up to ten years in some cases, and your route may be different. The tool leaves this as an editable number. Look at the current Home Office guidance for your route and the date you applied, since transitional arrangements can apply.

Exceptions

The Home Office can use discretion for absences caused by compelling or compassionate reasons, such as serious illness of you or a close relative, or a crisis in another country. You must provide evidence and explain it. Absences for work for some categories, such as a posting abroad by your UK employer, can be treated differently.

Gathering evidence

Prepare a travel history from passport stamps, e-tickets, boarding passes, bank statements and, if possible, a subject access request for travel records held by the Home Office. Compare them with your own list and fix errors before you apply.

Limits

This is a counting tool and does not determine whether you qualify. The Home Office decides. It is not immigration advice, so consult a regulated adviser for your own case.

Quick answers

Do days spent abroad for work count? Yes, unless your route allows an exception for work abroad. Check the guidance for your category.

What if I was stuck abroad during a crisis? Explain it with evidence in your application; the Home Office may use discretion.

Can I check my travel history? You can ask the Home Office for your records with a subject access request, and compare them with your passport stamps.