Build an absence list from your own evidence
Add the travel records you have, even if they are in different formats. Emails and boarding pass screenshots can sit alongside passport stamp photos or a spreadsheet. The tool suggests UK departures and returns, then places the latest trip first. A missing return or conflicting date appears in yellow.
Review the UK border dates for each journey. An overseas flight departure is not necessarily the date you arrived in the UK. Confirm each row with Looks right or Edit, and record why you were away. You can use the list to organize your evidence before completing the relevant application.
What the 180-day rule covers
For routes covered by Appendix Continuous Residence, CR 3.1 generally limits absences to 180 days in any 12-month period, subject to the provisions and exceptions it identifies. It is not a rule for every kind of UK settlement or nationality application. Appendix Continuous Residence, scope and CR 3.1
A rolling period can cross December and January. Checking each calendar year separately can miss a concentration of travel around that boundary. Our rolling total adds the absence days falling inside each relevant 12-month window. It does not count an entire trip against every window that happens to touch it.
Read the route named in your application before interpreting a total. The tool reports a number from your confirmed dates; it does not choose the legal rules that apply to your immigration history. A low total alone cannot establish that all settlement requirements have been met.
Only whole days outside the UK count
Home Office guidance counts whole days of absence. The day you depart and the day you return are excluded. Continuous residence guidance: Count whole days
If you leave on June 1 and return on June 10, the absence contains eight whole days: June 2 through June 9. Use the date you reached the UK when reviewing an overnight return flight. Keep both travel dates in the list even though the calculation leaves those dates out.
A journey can have a zero-day count while still being a journey you need to record. The calculator keeps the travel facts separate from the arithmetic. See our methodology for the date convention and how we handle uncertain rows.
The 11 April 2024 change is specific to Long Residence
Under the Long Residence transitional provisions, absences beginning before 11 April 2024 have a 184-day individual limit, and the pre-change portion of the qualifying period has a 548-day total limit. Appendix Continuous Residence, CR 3.3 Absences starting on or after that date use the rolling 180-day test. Home Office Long Residence guidance
For an absence that started before the change and ended afterwards, Home Office guidance starts the rolling test with the next absence. Continuous residence guidance: Calculating absences Keep the complete dates visible. A single rolling-total display cannot settle the treatment of a history that crosses the change.
There are also separate provisions for permission granted under rules in place before 11 January 2018. Appendix Continuous Residence, CR 3.2 Review the relevant official text rather than treating April 2024 as the date when every ILR route changed.
Add a reason to every absence
Our ILR list includes a reason for each trip. Write a short factual description, such as visiting family in Spain or attending a work meeting in Germany. If one journey had more than one purpose, describe what happened without trying to turn the reason into a legal conclusion.
Home Office guidance tells caseworkers to assess the reasons provided in the application or supporting documents. Assessing reasons for absences Follow the questions in your own application and retain supporting records. The tool does not infer your personal circumstances from a ticket destination.
Exceptions need the official guidance
Some absences receive different treatment under the published provisions. Consult the official rules and guidance for exceptions and the evidence they require. Appendix Continuous Residence, permitted absences We do not automatically remove days because a reason contains a particular word. A label in a spreadsheet cannot establish an exception.
Check the list and preview the PDF
The full list and watermarked preview are free. Review dates, destinations and reasons before exporting. Five PDF exports cost $6.99 as a one-time purchase. Payment supplies an unlock code; there is no registration or subscription.
Uploaded documents are read on our server and deleted after the dates are read. The editable list is stored in your browser. Google Maps Timeline exports are parsed there without upload. Finished PDFs are stored for 24 hours for download and email, then deleted. TravelHistoryTool is independent software run by one person, not a law firm or Home Office service. Calculations do not determine eligibility or replace advice from a regulated immigration adviser.