How is the 10-year UK settlement calculated? This 7 periods of time in the UK do not count.

"Exactly ten years have passed since my first entry into the UK. Can I apply for permanent residency with Long Residence?"

You cannot just look at the first entry date. You need to list each period of status, waiting for decision, and period without status during the ten years: some days when the person was in the UK with a valid visa still do not count towards the ten years; some gaps may be exempted by the rules and do not break continuous residence, but the missing days still need to be made up later. My judgment is clear: any time there was a visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker, Ukraine Scheme, overstay or immigration bail within the ten years, SET(LR) should not be submitted before daily audit is completed.

Here, it is necessary to distinguish between two consequences: "not counted" may only delay the maturity date, or it may also break the continuous residence. The difference between the two is not just a few months, but whether the entire ten years can continue to be used.

① Which days will the British ten-year clock skip?

The current Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence's LR 11.1 lists the qualifying periods, and LR 11.2 specifies the exclusion periods. The guidance titled "Long residence" updated on Home Office August 3, 2026, clearly sets out several types of periods that are most easily confused.

The "old route is also excluded" in the table is crucial. The rule states "current or predecessor routes," and it cannot be considered as a valid status just because the visa name from ten years ago has been discontinued.

② Both are asked to sign, but the results may be completely opposite.

The common saying in the industry that "student visas do not lead to permanent residency, so study time does not count as ten years" is inaccurate. Appendix Student, old Tier 4, and earlier general student visas can, in principle, be counted as Long Residence; the excluded ones are Short-term Student and its previous routes. The course may last only a few months, and the length of the course alone cannot be used to determine it.

The most reliable documents for verification are the original visa decision letter, the visa page of the passport, BRP records and the UKVI account, rather than the university acceptance letter. If the decision letter states "Student" or "Tier 4", it is usually considered as a qualifying period; if it states "Short-term Student", the months spent in the UK attending classes still cannot be counted towards the ten-year period. Entering the UK on a Standard Visitor visa to attend a course of no more than six months will not result in this period being counted as a qualifying "Student" period.

③ The days of waiting for the endorsement will inherit the old identity.

This is an insider detail that is easy to overlook. If the applicant submits a valid application before the original permission expires, the Immigration Act 1971 section 3C may extend the original permission. Whether the period under 3C counts toward the ten years depends on the extended old status: if the old status belongs to a calculable route such as Student, Graduate, or Skilled Worker, the days waiting for a decision are usually counted continuously; if the old status belongs to Visitor, Short-term Student, Seasonal Worker, or Ukraine Scheme, the 3C waiting period is also excluded.

The original text states: After the excluded route's permission is extended under Section 3C, the extended period remains excluded. The applicant cannot infer from "I submitted on time, so it has always been legal" that "the waiting period must enter the ten years." Legal stay and qualified residence are two separate judgments.

④ Being exempted does not mean getting the days back.

If there is a period of overstay between two permits, even if it meets the Exceptions for overstayers in the current Part Suitability, the relevant gap will not be counted towards the ten years. The effect of the exemption may be to avoid this period of overstay from directly breaking the continuity, but it will not turn days without permission into lawful residence. For example, if there is a 10-day qualifying gap after the original permit ends, and then the application is processed for several months, the entire period cannot be automatically included in the ten years when calculating.

The COVID period still requires distinguishing between Coronavirus Extension Concession and exceptional assurance. Home Office current guidelines confirm that exceptional assurance is not a permission, and its coverage period cannot be used to meet the Long Residence years; specific CEC coverage periods are handled separately. Just because you received an email stating "you can continue to stay" at the time does not mean that period can be counted, it is necessary to check the file name and applicable dates.

The consequences of imprisonment are more severe. Actual incarceration within the UK usually interrupts continuous residence, and the time before imprisonment and the period of imprisonment cannot be combined into Long Residence; a suspended sentence without actual imprisonment does not interrupt in the same way. If you have ever entered prison, young offender institution or secure hospital, you cannot simply add a few months from the date of release, but should reconfirm the ten-year starting point.

⑤ Recalculate Long Residence Maturity Date

做一张按日期排列的身份表，每次身份变化单独一行：许可开始日、许可结束日、路线名称、是否按时续签、3C起止日、境外行程和证据来源。碰到不计入但未打断连续性的空档，把满期日按实际缺口向后推；碰到会打断连续性的身份或事件，则从后续重新形成合格居住的日期起算。不要用“英国住了十个自然年”替代这一步。

反向核对也能避免误删：普通Student、Tier 4、Graduate、Skilled Worker及多数其他permission可以组合累计；符合规则的海峡群岛或马恩岛居住也可能纳入。曾是英国公民后主动renounce citizenship的人，其公民期间原则上可计；若英国国籍后来被deprived，那段时间被排除。

还要检查LR 11.3：当前permission若在2024年4月11日或之后获批，申请Long Residence settlement时，通常须已在当前路线持有permission至少12个月；当前许可在该日之前获批的，规则设有例外。十年数字算够了，也不能跳过这一层。

我会把“首次入境日”只当作资料检索起点，不把它当作默认满期日。真正可靠的日期，应当能由每一份决定信、每一段3C状态和每一个排除期逐项复算出来。差一天都不行。

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

[Data Source] Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence (updated to August 3, 2026); Home Office "Long residence" caseworker guidance (version dated August 3, 2026); Home Office "Continuous residence" caseworker guidance.

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