Long Life oil is used whether the car is on 'time and distance' OR 'Longlife' service regime.
Time and Distance oil changes are due every 10,000 mls or 12months.
LongLife oil changes are due between 10,000 and 18,000 mls or 24months (approx)
I always assumed that when I had mine dealer serviced from new. The service schedule was marked LongLife oil used on the first 2 services. When I had 3rd service in January they didn't tick LongLife oil I asked them why not.
They gave some

we still used LongLife oil but VW say we don't have to enter it in the service schedule.
The service time is set when it had the PDI. This can be changed later by the dealer or with VAG-COM\VCDS if needs change later. Mine is set on time & distance 10k/12months which suits me.
You can also check the oil quality with VAG-COM\VCDS, In Instruments and Advanced Measuring Values showed
Oil Quality - Quality Poor considering it was only service 600 miles previously. I also noticed that you can set it back to Quality Good, I didn't bother.
I've also heard from a VW tech that this LongLife oil damages more engines than it fixes, so is it worth it?