Use these guides to understand published UK immigration requirements and questions to check. Confirm the current rule on GOV.UK and obtain regulated advice for your own circumstances.
The useful starting point
These routes solve different immigration problems
Do not assume all lawful time counts toward every five-year route. Build a complete immigration timeline before comparing settlement pathways.
Side-by-side
Key differences
Qualifying residence in a specific route, such as an eligible work or family pathway.
A qualifying period of continuous lawful residence across eligible permissions.
Only residence allowed by that route’s settlement rules.
Different categories of lawful residence may be relevant under the long-residence rules.
Absence and continuity conditions specific to the route apply.
Long-residence continuity and absence rules apply.
Current route, sponsor or family conditions plus residence history.
Complete immigration and travel history across the qualifying period.
Confirm the current rules
Read both official route pages
Know when a guide is no longer enough
Eligibility assessments, evidence reviews, application preparation and representation should be handled by a suitably regulated professional.