Methodology
How our planning tools approach ILR dates
The tools are deliberately conservative: choose a route first, record every trip, and verify the version of the rules that applies to the relevant period.
Route before arithmetic
An ILR date is not a universal five- or ten-year calculation. The calculator first asks which route you intend to rely on because a Skilled Worker, partner, BN(O) or Long Residence application can have different qualifying permissions, evidence and continuous-residence rules. Where the facts may support more than one route, the responsible output is a comparison prompt, not a single claim that one route wins.
The result is a planning estimate based on the information entered. It does not verify grant letters, section 3C history, the route classification of past permission, sponsor compliance, relationship evidence, suitability or discretion. Those questions require the current official material and, where needed, regulated advice.
Absences: complete days and rolling checks
For absence planning, enter every overseas trip in the qualifying period, including business travel. The site follows the common guidance convention of considering complete days outside the UK: departure and return days are treated differently from full days abroad. The output is only as reliable as the travel record, so users should reconcile passports, booking confirmations, employer records and their own calendar.
Where a route uses a rolling twelve-month absence test, a yearly total is not sufficient. The tool is intended to inspect overlapping windows across the qualifying period and flag a possible breach for checking. It does not decide an exception or historic transitional position; those are legal questions driven by the exact route and dates.
Versioned rules and transparent uncertainty
| Status we use | Meaning |
|---|---|
| In force | Official rule or guidance that is currently operative for the described group. |
| Published future change | Official text with a future date; transition wording still needs checking. |
| Proposal | Policy announcement, consultation or reporting that is not current eligibility law. |
| Unknown | A point not answered by official material; we do not fill the gap with a prediction. |
Immigration Rules change over time. We use review dates, link primary sources and state where historic or transitional wording may change an outcome. A later rule change is not automatically applied backwards, and a news headline is not treated as law merely because it is widely repeated.
Review and improvement
We review time-sensitive material against GOV.UK sources, test calculations with representative scenarios and correct substantive errors when supported by reliable evidence. See sources for the primary-source starting points and how to report an error. The methodology explains the tool’s limits; it cannot turn general information into advice about your case.