How many years of residence are required for permanent residency? 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year comparison table

How many years of permanent residency in the UK, it's not about how long you have lived here, but which category your permit falls into during these years: three, five or ten years. The same person may fall into two categories at the same time, in which case the one that arrives first should be submitted.

Overview of the Duration of Permanent Residency in the UK: Who is Eligible for 3 Years, 5 Years, and 10 Years

The number itself is not complicated; the third column is prone to errors.

The five years for the work visa do not have to be all in one company or all in the same category: The current permanent residency provisions under Appendix Skilled Worker allow combining time in Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, T2 Religious, International Sports Person, Overseas Business Representative, and Tier 1 (excluding Graduate Entrepreneur) to form a continuous five years. Therefore, switching from an Innovator visa to a work visa, or vice versa, usually does not reset the countdown. The list does not include Graduate or Student.

Same to finish reading and then work, the expiration date can differ by an entire year.

Calculate a real and common timeline: studied 4 years for undergraduate and master's in the UK, then 2 years of Graduate, then switched to Skilled Worker. According to the work visa route, five years are counted from the day of switching work visas, and permanent residency is obtained in the 11th year after entry. The same period, when calculated as ten years of long-term residence, both student visa and Graduate time are counted as legal residence, which is enough in the 10th year.

This year's difference does not come from any discount terms, but only from which rule is used.

There is a cost to this ten-year rule: for long-term residents, there is no requirement for salary, but the calculation of time outside the country is divided into two parts with April 11, 2024 as the boundary. Before that date, it is reviewed based on the cumulative maximum and single maximum, while after that date, it is reviewed based on a rolling 180 days every 12 months. It's easiest to have problems here during long holidays back home in student years, because three months plus three months fall within the same rolling window, making the ten-year rule invalid immediately. My judgment is that people who come from studying should calculate both expiry dates and submit the one that comes first; for those who directly enter with a pure work permit, calculating one is enough, no need to spend extra money consulting for long-term residence.

Graduate, those two years, five years not counted, ten years counted

These two sentences are often memorized as one, but they belong to two different sets of rules. The five-year period for a work permit and permanent residency can only be composed of the designated route list mentioned above; Graduates are not included in the list. The ten-year long-term residency exclusion applies only to visitors, Short-term Students (language courses), and seasonal workers, while Students and Graduates are counted normally. Home Office The 2026 August 3rd version of the "Long residence" case guidance clearly states this. The same period of Graduate time gives opposite answers on the two lines, it's not that one version of the rules is outdated.

Scale-up is another example that is easily overshadowed by the timeline. This route is only guaranteed for the first 6 months, after which it is no longer tied to the employer, yet this period without guarantee still counts toward the five years; the cost comes at the permanent residency stage - the current Appendix Scale-up requires applicants to have at least 24 months of monthly PAYE income meeting the corresponding threshold in the three years prior to application. Flexibility and the burden of proof are two sides of the same coin.

Not sure which line your particular license falls under, it's more reliable to spend £5 on justiscript.com to get a written answer from a British practicing lawyer, rather than working backwards from forum conclusions.

Write down both dates before submitting ILR

The specific actions are only three steps: flip eVisa with the old passport, list each segment's start and end dates and route name in rows; calculate the first expiry date according to the route duration; then calculate the second one by connecting all legal stays. Only after obtaining both dates, it comes to checking the respective exit rules. 永居计算器 APP can calculate both lines down to the day.

There is also a time pressure. The consultation of Home Office's "A Fairer Pathway to Settlement" ended on February 12, 2026, and the government stated in the same month that it would generally promote the "earned settlement" model, extending the baseline period for most people to 10 years. As of today, the government's formal response and the corresponding Statement of Changes have not been published yet, and the current 3-year and 5-year tiers remain fully valid. Those who are approaching the deadline face the risk of rule changes each time they push the date back.

Which line is the time of "Student" or "Graduate" on your hand now counted into? If the difference between the two expiration dates is within one year, which one will you prepare the documents for? Let's discuss your timeline in the comments section.

This document is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

[Data source] gov.uk/indefinite-leave-to-remain; gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-long-residence; gov.uk/government/publications/long-residence/long-residence-accessible

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