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 now?"

You cannot just look at the date of first entry. 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 not break continuous residence, but the missing days still need to be made up afterwards. My judgment is clear: any application for SET(LR) should not be submitted before a day-by-day audit is completed, if there has been any period as a visitor, short-term student, seasonal worker, Ukraine Scheme, overstayer or immigration bail during the ten years.

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 英国永居十年钟会跳过哪些日子

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

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

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

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 ones excluded are Short-term Student and its previous routes. The course may last only a few months, and the duration of the course alone cannot be used to determine this.

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

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

This is an insider detail that is easy to overlook in this article. 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 towards the ten years depends on the extended old status: if the old status belongs to a category with 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 permission of the excluded route is extended under section 3C, the extended period remains excluded. The applicant cannot infer from "I submitted on time, so it has always been lawful" that "the waiting period must enter the ten years." Lawful stay and qualifying residence are two separate judgments.

④ Exemption does not mean getting back the days.

If there is a gap 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 directly breaking the continuity, but it will not turn days without permission into lawful residence. For example, if there is a 10-day eligible gap after the original permit ends, and the application processing takes 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; you must check the document name and applicable dates.

The consequences of serving a sentence are more severe. Actual imprisonment within the UK usually interrupts continuous residence, and the time before the sentence and the period of imprisonment cannot be combined with 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 release date, but should re-establish the ten-year starting point.

⑤ Recalculate Long Residence Maturity Date

Make a table of identity by date, with each identity change on a separate line: license start date, license end date, route name, whether renewed on time, 3C start and end dates, overseas travel and evidence source. If there is a gap that is not counted but does not break the continuity, push the expiry date forward according to the actual gap; if there is an identity or event that breaks the continuity, recalculate from the date when the subsequent qualified residence starts. Do not use "lived in the UK for ten natural years" instead of this step.

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。

It is also necessary to check LR 11.3: if the current permission is approved on or after April 11, 2024, when applying for Long Residence settlement, it is usually required that the permission has been held on the current route for at least 12 months; there are exceptions for current permits approved before that date. The ten-year digital count is sufficient, but this layer cannot be skipped.

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。

本文仅供参考，具体问题请咨询持牌律师。

[数据来源] Immigration Rules Appendix Long Residence（更新至2026年8月3日）；Home Office《Long residence》caseworker guidance（2026年8月3日版）；Home Office《Continuous residence》caseworker guidance。

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