10-Year Long Residence ILR: Does Your Student and Graduate Visa Time Still Count?

Key Takeaways

• Student and Graduate visa time still counts towards 10-year Long Residence ILR today. Paragraph LR 11.1 of Appendix Long Residence counts any permission except Visitor, Short-term Student (English language), Seasonal Worker and Ukraine Scheme permission, so time on the Student, Graduate, High Potential Individual, Youth Mobility, Global Business Mobility and Temporary Worker routes all counts. If you already have 10 years' continuous lawful residence, you can apply now.
• On 2 November 2026 the government decided that the Long Residence route will close. The government response A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP 1707) says that under earned settlement time on temporary routes will not count towards settlement, and it names Student, Graduate, High Potential Individual, Youth Mobility, Global Business Mobility, Temporary Worker, Seasonal Worker, Overseas Domestic Worker and Visit (pages 19 and 20).
• That decision is not law yet, and the route has not closed. No Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules has been laid since HC 584 on 3 September 2026 (checked on 10 November 2026). The Home Secretary told the Commons on 2 November 2026 that the changes "will begin to be laid from the December immigration rules" and will be implemented over 2027 (Hansard, column 593). No closure date has been given.
• No protection has been announced for people part-way to 10 years. The only transitional arrangements in CP 1707 cover care workers, some health and education workers below RQF 6 who arrived before the May 2025 White Paper, and Skilled Workers sponsored before April 2024 (pages 38 to 40). There is nothing for people building up Long Residence time.
• If you have 10 years now, or will within 28 days, apply now rather than wait for the December rules. Paragraph CR 1.1 of Appendix Continuous Residence counts your residence back from the date of application, any date up to 28 days after it, or the date of decision. CP 1707 (page 37) says that, unless transitional provisions are made, applications are ordinarily decided under the rules in force at the date of the settlement decision.
• One gap without permission, a spell on immigration bail or a visit visa can reset your 10 years. The Home Office Long Residence caseworker guidance (version 26.0, 8 October 2026) says these periods break continuous residence. Overstaying that is disregarded under paragraph SUI 13.1 of Part Suitability does not break it, but those days do not count.
• You must not have been outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period. That is paragraph CR 3.1. For absences that started before 11 April 2024, the older Long Residence limits in CR 3.3 also apply: no single trip of more than 184 days and no more than 548 days abroad in total.
• A recent change of visa can delay your application by up to a year. Paragraph LR 11.3 requires at least 12 months on your current route on the date you apply, unless your current permission was granted before 11 April 2024. Check this before you switch to Skilled Worker or any other route.
• Applications made before 26 March 2027 need B1 English, and applications made on or after that date need B2. This is confirmed law in paragraph LR 13.1. You also need the Life in the UK test (£50) unless an exemption applies, and the ILR fee is £3,226 on the 8 October 2026 fees table.
• Private Life is a separate route and not an easy fallback for students. Adults need more than 20 years' continuous residence or "very significant obstacles" to living abroad (paragraph PL 5.1), and then normally 10 years with permission on the route before settlement (paragraph PL 14.2).
• WorkPermitCloud checks your timeline and prepares 10-year Long Residence ILR applications. Our ILR 10-year route service counts every day, gap and absence against Appendix Long Residence and tells you whether you can apply under today's rules before they change.

Introduction

If you came to the UK as a student, the 10-year Long Residence route has probably been part of your plan. It lets you settle after 10 years of continuous lawful residence, adding together time on almost any visa, including the Student and Graduate routes that do not lead to settlement on their own.

On 2 November 2026 the government published its decision on earned settlement, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation (CP 1707). It says the Long Residence route will close and that time on temporary routes will no longer count towards settlement. Since then two opposite mistakes have spread. Some people say student time "never counted", which is wrong because it counts today. Others say the route "has already closed", which is also wrong because nothing has been written into the Immigration Rules.

This guide keeps two positions apart in every section. The law in force today is Appendix Long Residence, and under it Student and Graduate time counts. The decision of 2 November 2026 is government policy that has not been laid before Parliament, has no closure date and contains no protection for people part-way through. Where something has not been decided at all, we say so.

We then set out where you stand by position, from people who have already reached 10 years to people still on a Student or Graduate visa, and what to do now. Everything below was checked against GOV.UK, the Immigration Rules, the Home Office caseworker guidance and Hansard on 10 November 2026.

Two Mistakes to Clear Up First

"Student time never counted towards ILR"

This is wrong. Student and Graduate time does not count towards the five-year Skilled Worker route to ILR, because paragraph SW 21.2 of Appendix Skilled Worker lists only work and talent routes. But it has always counted towards Long Residence. Paragraph LR 11.1 counts any permission except the four excluded categories, and the caseworker guidance confirms that time under Appendix Student or the old Tier 4 rules counts, even short grants. CP 1707 says the same thing in its own words: time on Student and Graduate routes "can count towards settlement through the separate 10-year Long Residence route" (page 20).

"The Long Residence route has already closed"

This is also wrong. CP 1707 is a policy paper. The route closes only when a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules is laid before Parliament and the relevant change comes into force. The GOV.UK collection of Statements of Changes still shows HC 584 of 3 September 2026 as the latest, and Appendix Long Residence is unchanged. Applications made today are decided under it.

What the Long Residence Route Is

The Long Residence route is in Appendix Long Residence to the Immigration Rules, which replaced the old paragraphs 276A to 276D on 11 April 2024. GOV.UK calls it indefinite leave to remain if you've been in the UK for 10 years. It is a route to settlement for anyone who has lived in the UK lawfully and continuously for 10 years, whatever mix of visas got them there.

That is what makes it different from the other two routes people confuse it with. Route-based ILR, such as the Skilled Worker route, needs five years on that route or a short list of linked routes. The 10-year Family and Private Life routes need 10 years with a specific family or private life permission. Long Residence counts nearly everything.

The requirements under today's rules

To settle on the Long Residence route today you must meet each of these requirements in Appendix Long Residence:

• Qualifying period (LR 11.1 and LR 11.2). Ten years lawfully in the UK with permission on a counting route, exemption from immigration control, EEA free movement rights before 31 December 2020, or British citizenship that was not later deprived. Time on immigration bail, temporary admission or temporary release, and any period of overstaying, does not count.
• Twelve months on your current route (LR 11.3 and LR 11.4). You must have held permission on your current route for at least 12 months on the date you apply. This does not apply if your current permission was granted before 11 April 2024. The 12 months can be made up of more than one grant on the same route.
• Continuous residence (LR 12.1). You must meet Appendix Continuous Residence for the whole 10 years. We explain the gap and absence rules in detail below.
• English (LR 13.1). B1 in speaking and listening if you apply before 26 March 2027, and B2 if you apply on or after that date, unless an exemption applies. For which tests count, see our guide to the English tests UKVI accepts for ILR after 26 March 2027.
• Life in the UK (LR 14.1). You must pass the Life in the UK test unless you are exempt. GOV.UK says the requirement applies if you are aged 18 to 65. The test costs £50.
• Suitability (LR 10.1 and LR 10.2). You must not fall for refusal under Part Suitability, and you must not be in breach of immigration laws or on immigration bail when you apply, unless the Exceptions for overstayers apply.
• Validity (LR 9.1 to LR 9.3). You must be in the UK on the date you apply, use the form "Apply to settle in the UK – long residence", pay the fee and give biometrics.

The ILR fee is £3,226 per person on the Home Office fees table of 8 October 2026. GOV.UK says a decision is usually made within 6 months of your biometrics appointment, or by the end of the next working day if you pay £1,000 for super priority after a weekday appointment. You must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision, or your application is treated as withdrawn and the fee is not refunded.

If you have 10 years but are not ready for ILR

The route has a second step that many people miss. If you meet the qualifying period, continuous residence and suitability requirements but not the English and Life in the UK requirements, you can apply for permission to stay on the Long Residence route instead. Paragraph LR 7.1 grants 24 months, with work and study permitted and no access to public funds. The fee is £1,407 ("Leave to remain - Other" on the 8 October 2026 fees table), plus the Immigration Health Surcharge of £1,035 a year, so £2,070 for two years. You would then apply for ILR later, under whatever rules are in force at that point.

If an ILR application fails, the caseworker can vary it to a permission to stay application on the Long Residence route, or to Appendix FM or Appendix Private Life, under paragraph LR 15.2. You would not pay a second application fee, but the settlement fee is not refunded and you would have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Which Visas Count Today and Which Will Not

This is the table most readers need. The middle column is the law today under paragraph LR 11.1. The right-hand column is the 2 November 2026 decision in CP 1707, pages 19 and 20, which is policy and not yet law.

Two points stand out. First, the routes that lose out are exactly the ones former students use: Student, Graduate and High Potential Individual. Second, the routes that will count are the ones that already lead to settlement on their own. In practice, the decision means that only time on a route intended for long-term residence will build towards ILR.

What Was Decided on 2 November 2026

CP 1707 is the government's response to the earned settlement consultation, published on the GOV.UK earned settlement consultation page. On the Long Residence route it is short and direct. Page 19 says: "Under Earned Settlement, the Long Residence route will close." It adds that time on temporary routes will no longer build towards settlement "simply because an individual subsequently reaches 10 years of lawful residence", and that only time on "specified routes intended to support long-term residence" will count. For the wider framework, see our post on the earned settlement decision of 2 November 2026.

No transitional protection for Long Residence

Chapter 8 of CP 1707 deals with transitional arrangements. It protects three cohorts only: care workers who entered or switched into the route before the May 2025 White Paper, who keep five years (page 38); health and education workers below RQF 6 on national pay scales who arrived before that date (page 40); and Skilled Workers sponsored before April 2024, who can extend on their current terms until 2035 (page 40). It says these arrangements "do not create a wider exemption for everyone already living in the UK" (page 38). We read chapter 8 in full and found nothing for people building up Long Residence time. Our earlier post on what the Home Secretary has said about timing and transitional protection gives the background.

Date of application or date of decision?

This matters most if you are close to 10 years. CP 1707 (page 37) says: "The courts have recognised that, unless transitional provisions are made, applications are ordinarily considered under the Immigration Rules in force at the date of settlement decision." The Home Secretary used the same "decision" wording in her oral statement on GOV.UK. In the Commons debate she also referred to "the point of application and decision" (column 589), and the Home Office press release of 2 November 2026 says settlement rules will "continue to apply at the point of application".

The honest position is that the government has reserved the right to apply new rules to applications that are still waiting for a decision, unless the Statement of Changes says otherwise. Each Statement of Changes has its own implementation section saying which applications the new rules apply to, and we will not know what the earned settlement statement says until it is laid. That is why we advise anyone who qualifies now to apply now, with a complete application, rather than wait.

When will the changes start?

The written documents give no date. In the Commons debate on 2 November 2026, the Home Secretary said the changes "will begin to be laid from the December immigration rules" and "will be implemented over the course of 2027" (column 593). That does not mean the Long Residence route will close in December. A Statement of Changes is usually laid before Parliament before the changes in it take effect, and the closure of Long Residence could come in that statement or a later one.

The contribution test on the 10-year pathway

Under earned settlement, the default 10-year pathway needs earnings of at least £12,571 a year in five of the seven years immediately before you apply (CP 1707, page 12, and Table 1 on page 42). Chapter 2 also describes the minimum as at least three years at £12,571 (page 11). Couples can combine their earnings to reach a household figure of £25,142 (page 13). CP 1707 does not say whether earnings made while on a Student or Graduate visa count towards the test. In any case, residence on those routes will not count, so student-era earnings cannot rescue student-era years. The detail of how earnings will be measured is promised in guidance "before implementation" (page 6).

How Continuous Residence Works on the Long Residence Route

Most Long Residence refusals turn on continuity, not on the length of time. The rules distinguish between time that does not count and time that breaks your residence altogether. If your residence is broken, only the unbroken period after the break can count towards your 10 years. The table brings together Appendix Long Residence, Appendix Continuous Residence and the Long Residence caseworker guidance (version 26.0, published 8 October 2026) on the GOV.UK Long Residence caseworker guidance page.

The exceptions in paragraph CR 3.4 cover absences for compelling and compassionate reasons such as the life-threatening illness or death of a close family member, travel disruption caused by natural disaster, war or pandemic, and humanitarian or environmental crisis work. They do not cover ordinary holidays or long family visits. If you have ever been on immigration bail, read our post on immigration bail and the 14-day timing catch.

The caseworker guidance also says you cannot rely on a historic 10-year period. The 10 years must be counted back from the date of application, any date up to 28 days after it, or the date of decision. If you reached 10 years in 2024 but then had a gap, the earlier 10 years do not help you.

Private Life Is Not Long Residence

When people hear that Long Residence will close, the next question is whether they can use the "private life" route instead. Usually not, and certainly not quickly. Appendix Private Life is a separate route with much harder entry tests, and its settlement clock does not count Student or Graduate permission. You can read the current rules in Appendix Private Life.

For adults, residence for the 20-year test can include time with or without permission (paragraph PL 7.1), so your student years do count as time in the UK at that stage. But someone who came to study at 18 or older and has been here 10 years is nowhere near 20. The alternative test, very significant obstacles to integration abroad, is a high bar that most former students cannot meet, because they usually have family, language and education ties to their home country.

Even once you are granted permission, the settlement clock is different. For adults it is normally 10 years with permission on the routes listed in paragraph PL 14.3 (family and private life permissions). Paragraph PL 14.4 counts other routes only if they lead to settlement and you have held private life permission for at least a year. Student and Graduate are not settlement routes, so they do not count towards that 10-year settlement period. In plain terms, a former student who qualifies after 20 years would still face up to 10 more years on the route. That is why the 20-year private life route is a route for people who have built their whole life here, not a shortcut.

CP 1707 does not change that picture in your favour. It says Family and Private Life time will count only on the 10-year or 20-year pathways, never the 3-year or 5-year pathways (pages 19 and 20). It also says time on human rights routes, such as Article 8 routes, will not be combined with time on work or family routes (page 21). The exception is children: those who have spent seven years or most of their life in the UK keep their existing settlement arrangements (page 25).

Where You Stand: Worked Examples by Position

The examples below use invented people and dates to show how the rules apply. Your own dates, gaps and absences decide your position, so treat these as a guide only. Our free ILR Eligibility calculator gives a first estimate of your settlement date.

10 years done now or within weeks

Priya arrived on a Student visa on 20 September 2016, moved to the Graduate route in 2021 and has held a Skilled Worker visa since October 2023, with no gaps and few absences. She reached 10 years on 20 September 2026 and can apply for Long Residence ILR now. Because her Skilled Worker permission was granted before 11 April 2024, the 12-month current route rule does not apply to her, and she has more than 12 months anyway. On the Skilled Worker route alone she would not reach five years until October 2028, so Long Residence is her faster route by two years.

If you are a few weeks short, paragraph CR 1.1 lets you count up to 28 days after your application date. Someone who reaches 10 years on 1 December 2026 can apply from 3 November 2026. The caseworker guidance says an application considered more than 28 days before the 10 years are complete must be refused, so do not apply earlier than that.

8 to 9 years on a Student, Graduate and work mix

Ahmed arrived as a student in January 2018, spent 2021 to 2023 on the Graduate route and switched to Skilled Worker in March 2023. He reaches 10 years in January 2028. The Home Secretary has said the changes will be implemented over 2027, so the Long Residence route could close before he gets there, and nothing protects people in his position. His Skilled Worker route gives him a second chance under today's rules, with ILR due in March 2028, and if his job is below RQF 6, CP 1707 says workers sponsored before April 2024 will be able to extend on their current terms until 2035.

If you are in this group, the most important thing is to keep your options open. Stay on a route that leads to settlement in its own right, keep every renewal in time, keep absences well under the limit, and avoid changing route in the 12 months before your 10-year date. Prepare for B2 English now, because you will be applying after 26 March 2027.

On a Student or Graduate visa with 2 to 5 years

Lina arrived as a student in September 2022 and has been on the Graduate route since October 2025. Her 10 years would not be complete until September 2032, by which time the Long Residence route is very likely to have closed. Under the 2 November decision, her Student and Graduate years will not count towards settlement at all.

For Lina, the way to start a settlement clock is to move to a route that counts, usually the Skilled Worker visa. Under today's rules that gives ILR after five years on the route. Under CP 1707 it is "core permission", with a default 10-year pathway or five years if she earns at least £50,271 in three of the five years before applying. Graduate applications made on or after 1 January 2027 will get 18 months instead of two years (three years for a PhD stays the same), so read our post on the Graduate visa cut to 18 months and our guide to switching from the Graduate visa to the Skilled Worker visa.

Already moved Student to Graduate to Skilled Worker

Tomas arrived as a student in September 2019, held a Graduate visa from 2022 to 2024 and switched to Skilled Worker in August 2024. Today he has two routes. Skilled Worker ILR needs five years on that route, so August 2029. Long Residence needs 10 years in total, so September 2029. For Tomas, Skilled Worker ILR comes first and is the route to plan around. Under CP 1707, only his Skilled Worker years count, so his default date moves to August 2034, or stays at August 2029 if he meets the £50,271 test. Our post on what counts towards the 5-year ILR qualifying period explains the Skilled Worker side.

Watch the 12-month rule if your switch was recent. Sam reaches 10 years in February 2027 but switched to Skilled Worker in June 2026. His current permission was granted after 11 April 2024, so paragraph LR 11.3 stops him applying until June 2027. By then he needs B2 English, and the route may already be closing.

Partners and children of students

There is no dependants category on the Long Residence route. GOV.UK says family members must apply separately if they qualify, and if they do not, they can apply to stay as the partner or child of a settled person once you have ILR. A partner who has held permission as a Student dependant for 10 years has their own Long Residence time today, because that permission counts under LR 11.1.

CP 1707 lists the Student route as one that will not count and does not treat dependants differently, so we assume a dependant's time on a temporary route will not count either. Children are the main exception. A child with seven years' continuous residence, or a young adult who has spent half their life here, may qualify under Appendix Private Life, and CP 1707 keeps the existing settlement arrangements for children in that position (page 25).

What to Do Now

Whatever your position, these steps protect the time you already have and keep today's route open for as long as it lasts.

• Build a full timeline. List every grant of permission with its start and end dates, every application date and decision date, and every trip abroad since you first arrived. Use your passports, eVisa history, travel records and Home Office letters.
• Check every gap since 24 November 2016 and before. Any day without permission must fall within the Exceptions for overstayers in paragraph SUI 13.1, or your continuous residence is broken. Gaps before 24 November 2016 are treated differently, so check them separately.
• Check your absences. Count days outside the UK in every rolling 12-month period against the 180-day limit, and check any trips that started before 11 April 2024 against the 184-day and 548-day limits.
• Never let permission lapse between visas. Apply in time, before your current permission ends. An in-time application keeps you lawful under section 3C while you wait. Do not leave and come back as a visitor between two visas, because visitor time breaks your residence.
• Check the 12-month current route rule before you switch. If your 10-year date is less than 12 months away, a switch of route may push your application back by up to a year.
• Book your English test and Life in the UK test now. B1 is enough for applications made before 26 March 2027, and B2 is needed from that date. Leave time to resit if needed.
• Keep evidence of every grant. You need your current passport, all the passports you have held during your time in the UK, and your BRP or an eVisa share code, plus certified translations of anything not in English or Welsh.
• Do not travel after you apply. Travel outside the Common Travel Area before a decision means your application is treated as withdrawn.

When a switch to Skilled Worker makes sense

A switch to Skilled Worker makes sense if you are on a Student or Graduate visa with several years to go before 10 years, because your current route will not count under the new system and the switch starts a clock that will. It also makes sense if you are on Graduate or HPI and your visa ends before your 10-year date, because you need a further visa anyway. It makes less sense, or needs careful timing, if your 10-year date is less than 12 months away and your current permission was granted after 11 April 2024, because of paragraph LR 11.3. Check the sponsor, salary and new entrant rules before you commit; our post on what to do when your Graduate visa is expiring sets out the options.

How Can WorkPermitCloud Help?

WorkPermitCloud is an IAA-regulated immigration adviser (F202100311) that prepares and submits 10-year Long Residence ILR applications for people who came to the UK as students, graduates and temporary workers. Our ILR 10-year route service builds your full timeline, checks every gap, absence and route change against Appendix Long Residence and Appendix Continuous Residence, and tells you whether you can apply now under today's rules.

If you are not yet at 10 years, we can plan your next step, whether that is a Graduate visa, a switch to Skilled Worker or a Student visa extension, so that your time keeps counting. For other settlement routes, see our indefinite leave to remain page.

Conclusion

For now, the 10-year Long Residence route is open and your Student and Graduate years count towards it. That is the law in Appendix Long Residence, and it will stay the law until a Statement of Changes closes the route.

The 2 November 2026 decision makes clear that closure is coming, that temporary-route time will stop counting, and that no protection has been offered to people part-way through. The Home Secretary has pointed to the December 2026 rules as the start and 2027 for implementation, but no closure date has been set.

If you have 10 years now, apply now. If you are close, protect your continuity and plan around the 12-month rule and the English deadline. If you are early in your time here, plan a move to a route that leads to settlement in its own right. We will update this guide as soon as the rules are laid.

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