ILR absence calculator
Settlement (indefinite leave to remain) limits how long you can spend outside the UK. The catch most applicants miss: it's a rolling 12-month window, not a calendar year. Add your trips and we'll find your worst 12-month stretch.
- 180 days max in any rolling 12 months
- Travel days don't count
- 5-year & 10-year routes
Checked against current gov.uk rules · 2026-06-10
Add your trips outside the UK
Enter each trip and we'll do the counting. Nothing leaves your browser.
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Skilled Worker, Health & Care, T2 and similar. You must not be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any rolling 12-month period.
Your trips outside the UK
0 countedFor guidance only — the Home Office decides.
This tool counts only the whole days you enter (your travel days don't count). It doesn't account for exempt or discretionary absences, and rules can change. Always check the official gov.uk guidance and your own circumstances before applying.
Rules checked: 2026-06-09Official gov.uk rules
How the 180-day rule actually works
For most work routes you must not be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period — and since 11 April 2024 this is assessed on a rolling basis, so any sliding 12-month window counts, not just each calendar year. Only whole days away count; the day you leave and the day you return don't. The 10-year long residence route uses different limits before 11 April 2024 (548 days total, 184 per trip). This calculator is a guide only — the Home Office has discretion over absences for serious or compelling reasons.
Also required
Heading for ILR or citizenship?
You'll also need to pass the Life in the UK test. Practise in your own language.
Next on your journey
Citizenship days calculator
Once you have ILR, check the 450 / 90-day limits for naturalisation.