When does the 5-year clock start for Skilled Worker ILR? Grant date, not application date
Your 5-year clock for Skilled Worker ILR starts on the date your Skilled Worker permission started, not the date you submitted your visa application, not the date your Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) was assigned, and not the date the approval email arrived. For a visa granted from overseas, that means the start date of your entry clearance (the "valid from" date on your vignette or eVisa). For an in-country switch, it means the date your Skilled Worker permission was granted. Under paragraph SW 21.1 of Appendix Skilled Worker you need "a continuous period of 5 years in the UK", and Appendix Continuous Residence then lets you count back from your application date, any date up to 28 days after it, or even the decision date, whichever helps you most.
- SW 21.1 requires a continuous period of 5 years, made up of time with permission on qualifying routes
- The clock starts when your Skilled Worker permission started, not when you applied or when your CoS was assigned
- For entry clearance, permission runs from the grant of entry clearance; time between that date and the day you actually entered the UK counts as an absence, not a gap
- CR 1.1 counts the 5 years back from the most beneficial of: the date of application, any date up to 28 days after it, or the date of decision
- That count-back rule is what creates the so-called 28-day early window, and it also absorbs small shortfalls of a few days
Why the application and CoS dates do not count
This question comes up constantly in visa groups: "can I apply for ILR 28 days before the 5th anniversary of the date I submitted my first Skilled Worker application?" The premise is wrong. SW 21.2 says the qualifying period "must consist of time with permission" on the Skilled Worker route (or another listed route). Before your permission was granted you had no permission, so nothing was accruing.
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That rules out three dates people commonly reach for:
- CoS assignment date. A CoS is a sponsorship document, not permission. If your CoS was assigned in November 2021 but your visa was granted later, the CoS date is irrelevant.
- Application submission date. Time between applying and being granted does not count.
- BRP issue or approval-letter date. These are paperwork dates, not the start of your qualifying period.
The date that counts is the start of the permission itself. Check your eVisa or the "valid from" date on your original vignette.
Entry clearance vs switching in the UK
If you were granted your Skilled Worker visa from overseas, the Home Office continuous residence guidance is explicit: "the time between the grant of entry clearance and the date of arrival is a period during which they had permission on that route and should be treated as a period of lawful residence." So your clock can start before you set foot in the UK. The catch is that the guidance also says the time between the grant of entry clearance and the date you entered the UK "counts towards the total of absences", so a long delay before travelling eats into your 180-day absence allowance for that year.
If you switched in the UK, for example from a Student visa to Skilled Worker, your Skilled Worker permission started on the date the switch was granted. Time on the Student route does not count towards the 5 years, because Student is not a qualifying route under SW 21.2. This is why someone whose CoS was approved in November 2021 can find their 5 years completing on a different date than they assumed.
How the 28-day early window actually works
The 28-day window is not a separate concession. It comes from paragraph CR 1.1 of Appendix Continuous Residence, which says the qualifying period is calculated by counting back from whichever of these is most beneficial to you: the date of application, any date up to 28 days after the date of application, or the date of decision. In practice that means you can submit your ILR application up to 28 days before you complete 5 years from your permission start date. We cover the general rule and worked dates in our guide to applying for ILR early under the 28-day rule.
Work the calculation forwards: permission start date, plus 5 years, minus 28 days, equals your earliest safe application date. Anchor it to the grant date, never to your application or CoS date.
What if you have a one-day shortfall?
A shortfall of a day or two on the day you apply is normally absorbed by CR 1.1: the qualifying period can be counted back from a date after your application, so the shortfall disappears. If your current visa expires just before your 5 years complete, apply before it expires: an in-time application extends your existing permission by law under section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971, and the caseworker guidance confirms 3C time counts as permission on the route for continuous residence.
The 28-day count-back only rescues you if the 5 years complete within 28 days after your application date. Applying earlier than that risks refusal without a fee refund, and your ILR application does not extend your visa the way an extension would if it is refused as premature. If you are outside the window, the safer play is usually to wait, or extend your Skilled Worker visa first.
If the shortfall is bigger than the window allows, do not gamble the application fee. Recalculate from your true permission start date, and if the maths still falls short, extend and apply once you are safely inside the window.