ICT to Skilled Worker: Does Your Time in the UK Count Toward ILR?

ICT & Skilled Worker· April 2025· 6 min read

This is one of the most searched questions about ILR, and one of the most painful answers.

If you switched from an ICT visa to a Skilled Worker visa, your ILR clock reset on the day your Skilled Worker visa started. Your ICT time does not count. Not one day of it.

Why ICT time does not count

The 5-year ILR route requires 5 continuous years on a qualifying visa. ICT is not a qualifying visa for this route. It was designed as a temporary transfer route. The Home Office never intended ICT holders to settle permanently via the 5-year route.

So if you spent 3 years on an ICT visa and then switched to Skilled Worker, your qualifying period starts from your Skilled Worker visa start date. You need 5 more years from that point.

A worked example

The clock reset: Arjun
ICT
January 2018 – January 2021 (3 years) Arjun works in the UK on an ICT visa. This time does not count toward ILR.
SW
February 2021: Skilled Worker visa starts Arjun's 5-year ILR clock starts here, not in 2018.
ILR
February 2026: ILR eligible 5 years of Skilled Worker time complete. Those 3 years on ICT are not added on top.

Does ICT time count toward anything?

Yes, possibly. ICT time may count toward the 10-year long residence route.

The 10-year route allows almost any continuous lawful residence to count, including ICT, Student, and other visa types. If you have been in the UK continuously and lawfully for 10 years across different visa types, you may qualify via that route instead.

The same 180-day absence rule applies. Your residence must also stay continuous and lawful, so a gap in your leave can break it unless it is covered by Section 3C leave or the 14-day Paragraph 39E grace period.

Check both routes. If your 10-year long residence anniversary comes before your 5-year Skilled Worker anniversary, the 10-year route could be faster. Compare both dates before deciding which to apply on.

What to do next

  1. Find your Skilled Worker visa start date. This is your qualifying period start date for the 5-year route
  2. Add 5 years and subtract 28 days to get your earliest application date
  3. Check your absence history from your Skilled Worker start date onward. ICT absences do not count toward the 180-day limit on the 5-year route either
  4. If your 10-year continuous residence anniversary comes before your 5-year Skilled Worker date, check whether the 10-year route is faster

Find your ILR date, free

Enter your visa history once. Settle Easy UK checks both the 5-year Skilled Worker route and the 10-year long residence route and shows you which date comes first.

Check my ILR date →

Related guides

This article is for general information only. Immigration rules change frequently. Always check the current rules on GOV.UK and speak to a qualified immigration solicitor before making any application. Settle Easy UK is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.