ILR Qualifying Period Calculator

Researched and maintained by the ILR Calculator UK editorial team · Reviewed against the Immigration Rules in force on 24 June 2026 · General information about UK settlement, not regulated immigration advice. For advice on your own case, use an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) or a solicitor.

Your ILR qualifying period completes exactly 5 or 10 years after the date your qualifying leave was granted — the anniversary date — not on your visa’s expiry date. The two often differ because the Home Office adds a buffer to a grant of leave. You can then apply up to 28 days before the completion date under the early-application window. This calculator gives you both dates from the day your qualifying leave began.

Qualifying period vs visa expiry date

A common misconception is that your Indefinite Leave to Remain qualifying period ends on the expiry date of your current visa. It rarely does. Your qualifying period completes exactly 5 (or 10) years from the date your leave to enter or remain was granted. Confusing the two dates is one of the easiest ways to misjudge when you can apply.

Why the dates often differ

When the Home Office grants a visa it frequently adds a short buffer — often a month or two — to the end date. For example, if you were granted 5 years of leave on 15 December 2020, your visa might run until 31 March 2026, but your qualifying period for ILR completes on 15 December 2025. Use this calculator with the grant date, then confirm your earliest submission date with the 28-day calculator.

Which leave counts towards the qualifying period

Whether a period of leave counts depends on the route you are settling under. The table below shows the typical position.

Source: UK Immigration Rules — Appendix Continuous Residence, Appendix Long Residence and Home Office continuous residence guidance. The 5-year routes require the qualifying period to be spent on that specific route.

Start-date rules

For your qualifying period to start counting, you must have been granted leave that leads to settlement on the route you are using. If you entered on a Student or Standard Visitor visa and later switched to Skilled Worker, the time on the Student visa generally does not count towards the 5-year qualifying period — only the time on the Skilled Worker visa does. On the 10-year Long Residence route, by contrast, most lawful residence counts towards the decade.

Anchor dates and the 28-day window

You do not only count from the day you apply. The Home Office counts the qualifying period back from whichever date is most beneficial: the date of application, a date up to 28 days after it, or the date of decision. The 28-day figure here is the early-application window — apply too far ahead of it and the application is refused as premature.