How long is the permission normally granted for, how is it renewed, and what longer-term residence direction exists if officially stated?
SSW(ii) has no overall cap on cumulative stay. It remains a status of residence subject to renewal and is not automatically permanent residence. The current Immigration Control Enforcement Regulations list SSW(ii) periods of three years, two years, one year or six months. Renewal must be applied for before the granted period expires, in order to continue the same activity. SSW(ii) does not follow automatically from SSW(i); it can be obtained directly by demonstrating the skills. Permanent residence: one of the requirements is ten years of continuous residence, including at least five continuous years with a work or residence status (excluding technical intern training and SSW(i)); time as SSW(i) does not count towards those five years, time as SSW(ii) does.
See recorded sources
Limits of the record- The source establishes the current legally enforced consolidation as of25September2026; it does not date the first historical introduction of these period options or establish all transitional arrangements.