How is my settlement date worked out?

From the qualifying period your route carries and the date your continuous residence began. The calculator returns a projected date, not a decision — the Home Office assesses absences, gaps in leave and the conditions attached to each grant, and any of those can move the date.

Do time abroad and changes of route affect it?

Both can. Continuous residence has limits on days spent outside the UK, and switching routes can reset or preserve time depending on which routes are involved. Treat the projection as a planning date and confirm your own history against the guidance.

What is this based on?

The settlement guidance published on GOV.UK, read on 15 August 2026. The link above is the authority for the qualifying periods used here.

All calculators

Date projection

UK ILR and settlement-date calculator

Projects when you can apply for indefinite leave to remain and then for British citizenship, and checks your absences against both sets of limits.

Create a free account to use this calculator

The grid, the source and the method are above — this is the tool that runs them against your own answers.

A free account is enough. We do not charge to calculate, and your answers are not stored against your account.

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What this grid asks

The criteria below are the ones the published grid scores, grouped the way the authority groups them. They are restated here from the source linked above, so you can see what the calculator will ask before you start.

Your route

Which route are you on?: Skilled Worker · Global Talent — exceptional talent · Global Talent — exceptional promise · Innovator Founder · Scale-up Worker · UK Ancestry · Partner — five-year route · Partner — ten-year route · Long residence (ten years)
Date your continuous residence began: Yes or no

Time outside the UK

Most days spent outside the UK in any single 12-month period: 0–366
Total days outside the UK across the whole period: 0–3660
Days outside the UK in the last 12 months: 0–366

Citizenship requirements

Are you married to, or the civil partner of, a British citizen?: Yes or no
Have you passed the Life in the UK test?: Yes or no
Do you have English at B1 or above?: Yes or no

Notes and caveats

You will need to pass the Life in the UK test before you can settle or naturalise.
You will need to evidence English at B1 or above for settlement and for naturalisation.
The government has proposed lengthening the standard settlement period. That is a proposal and not the law today — these dates use the rules currently in force.

Common questions

How is my settlement date worked out?: From the qualifying period your route carries and the date your continuous residence began. The calculator returns a projected date, not a decision — the Home Office assesses absences, gaps in leave and the conditions attached to each grant, and any of those can move the date.
Do time abroad and changes of route affect it?: Both can. Continuous residence has limits on days spent outside the UK, and switching routes can reset or preserve time depending on which routes are involved. Treat the projection as a planning date and confirm your own history against the guidance.
What is this based on?: The settlement guidance published on GOV.UK, read on 15 August 2026. The link above is the authority for the qualifying periods used here.

Fursa is an independent information service, not a law firm or a registered immigration adviser. These tools implement published rules; they are not legal advice and they do not decide anything.