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

How many years of permanent residency in the UK? It doesn't depend on how long you have lived here, but rather on which category your visa falls into during these years: three, five, or ten years. The same person may fall into two categories at the same time, and in this case, you should apply for the one that comes first.

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-year requirement for the permanent residency under the current Appendix Skilled Worker does not have to be all in one company or all on the same route: the permanent residency provisions under Appendix Skilled Worker allow combining time spent as Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, Scale-up, T2 Religious Workers, International Sportspersons, Overseas Business Representatives, and Tier 1 (excluding Graduate Entrepreneur). Therefore, switching from an Innovator visa to a Skilled Worker 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 maturity date can differ by an entire year.

Calculate a real and common timeline: studied 4 years for undergraduate and master's degree 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 visa, and permanent residency is obtained in the 11th year after entry. The same period of experience, when calculated as ten years of long-term residence, both student visa and Graduate time are counted as legal residence, which is enough for 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 limits, while after that date, it is reviewed based on a rolling 180 days every 12 months. The long holidays during student years are most likely to cause problems here, as three months plus another three months fall within the same rolling window, making the ten-year rule invalid immediately. My judgment is that people who studied abroad should calculate both expiry dates and submit the one that comes first; for those who directly entered on a pure work permit, calculating only one is sufficient, and there is no need to pay extra for consulting about long-term residency.

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 by the above-mentioned designated route list; 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 belongs to, it's more reliable to spend £5 on justiscript.com to get a written answer from a British practicing lawyer, rather than deducing the date based on 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 a line by line; calculate the first expiry date according to the route's duration; then calculate the second one by connecting all legal stays. Only after obtaining both dates, it comes to checking the respective departure rules. 永居计算器 APP can calculate both lines down to the day.

There is another layer of pressure in terms of time. The consultation on 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 benchmark period for most people to 10 years. As of today, the official response from the government and the corresponding Statement of Changes have not been released yet, and the current 3-year and 5-year tiers remain fully valid. Those who are approaching the expiration date face increased 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 expiry 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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