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Can someone clarify the 2 year rule for those with ILR please?

My understanding is that people who have ILR can leave the UK for no more than 2 years and still keep their ILR.

Is there a minimum amount of days they must spend in the UK during this time, or is the counter reset everytime they return?

I ask as my parents retired a few years ago and have gone back home to spend time with their families and ejoy some sun. The last time they were here was in March 2017, so they've been gone for 1 year and 9 months.

They had ILR for more than 20 years.

Thanks

In the case of your parents, as they spent 20 years as ILR before leaving the country, they can return the UK for sure within two years. However, there are no strict rule that how many days you must stay in the country, every two years of leaving.

What is quite certain is:

you cannot come back for 1-2 weeks and leave for nearly two years as a cycle. The first/ second time you may be still granted the entry, but possibly be rejected because the custom may believe that you are not genuinely stay in the UK as a resident, even you hold ILR. The ILR can be revoked in this case.

Thanks for the reply!

They'll most likely be back for 6-8 weeks this time around, as my sister got married the last time they were here, and now they're looking to start a family, they'll want to be around for that.

The last time they arrived, they had some issues at immigration however, the officer told them they needed to be in the UK for a certain amount of days, this is why I had asked previously. My mother did say she felt the officer was out to get to get them, so they may have tried to use some scare tactics on them.

Note: 18.

(iv) now seeks admission for the purpose of settlement.