Years of residence needed for permanent residence, by country
Five years of continuous lawful residence is the usual starting point: Germany, Austria and Spain state it in the statute. Norway asks for three years on an ordinary permit but five for people who hold a protection or humanitarian permit, while Sweden counts four of the last seven years for work-based permits. Germany shortens the wait to three years for skilled workers, and Japan states no number of years at all, only that the person has good conduct and can support themselves.
| Country | Years of residence | Conditions named in the statute | Shorter or longer routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 5 years of uninterrupted settlement | The five-year period restarts if the person spends more than ten months in total, or more than six months in a row, outside Austria | |
| Germany | 5 years holding a residence permit | Secure livelihood and sufficient knowledge of German | Skilled workers: 3 years |
| Spain | 5 years of continuous temporary residence | Conditions set by regulation | |
| Japan | Good conduct and enough assets or skills to live independently | ||
| Norway | 3 years; 5 years for protection and humanitarian permits | Oral Norwegian test, social studies test and 12 months of self-support | Five years instead of three for permits under sections 28 or 38 |
| Sweden | 4 of the last 7 years on a work-based permit | Able to support oneself | Self-employment: 2 years if the business is established |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Niederlassungs- und Aufenthaltsgesetz § 45
- This section is the EU long-term residence title for third-country nationals. The list of conditions that follows the opening sentence is not in the ingested text, so none is claimed.
- The title “may” be granted (kann), so the wording is discretionary on its face.
Drittstaatsangehörigen, die in den letzten fünf Jahren ununterbrochen tatsächlich niedergelassen waren, kann ein Aufenthaltstitel „Daueraufenthalt – EU“ erteilt werdenDie Fünfjahresfrist gemäß Abs. 1 wird durchbrochen, wenn sich der Drittstaatsangehörige innerhalb dieser Frist insgesamt länger als zehn Monate oder durchgehend mehr als sechs Monate außerhalb des Bundesgebietes aufgehalten hat Germany
- Rule
- Aufenthaltsgesetz §§ 9 and 18c
- Section 9(2) lists further conditions (pension contributions, housing, knowledge of the legal system); only two are shown here.
- Section 18c gives a skilled worker a settlement permit after three years with a qualifying permit, provided the further conditions of that section are met.
Einem Ausländer ist die Niederlassungserlaubnis zu erteilen, wenn 1. er seit fünf Jahren die Aufenthaltserlaubnis besitzt2. sein Lebensunterhalt gesichert ist7. er über ausreichende Kenntnisse der deutschen Sprache verfügt 1. sie seit drei Jahren im Besitz eines Aufenthaltstitels nach den §§ 18a, 18b, 18d oder § 18g ist Spain
- Rule
- Ley Orgánica de Extranjería art. 32
- Long-term residence lets the holder live and work in Spain indefinitely on the same terms as Spaniards.
- The statute leaves the detailed conditions to regulations, which are not ingested.
Tendrán derecho a residencia de larga duración los que hayan tenido residencia temporal en España durante cinco años de forma continuada, que reúnan las condiciones que se establezcan reglamentariamenteLa residencia de larga duración es la situación que autoriza a residir y trabajar en España indefinidamente, en las mismas condiciones que los españoles Japan
- Rule
- 出入国管理及び難民認定法 第22条
- The statute states no number of years. The Minister of Justice may grant permission only if the person meets both conditions and permanent residence is in Japan’s interest.
- Spouses and children of Japanese nationals, permanent residents or special permanent residents need not meet both conditions.
一 素行が善良であること。 二 独立の生計を営むに足りる資産又は技能を有すること。 Norway
- Rule
- Utlendingsloven § 62
- The three-year rule applies to a temporary permit that forms the basis for permanent residence and needs no more than seven months abroad in total.
- The five-year rule also covers family members of people granted permits on those grounds.
En utlending som de siste tre årene har oppholdt seg i riket med midlertidig oppholdstillatelse som danner grunnlag for permanent oppholdstillatelse, har etter søknad rett til permanent oppholdstillatelsedersom utlendingen de siste fem årene har oppholdt seg i riket med midlertidig oppholdstillatelse som danner grunnlag for permanent oppholdstillatelseutlendingen har bestått muntlig prøve i norskutlendingen har vært selvforsørget de siste tolv månedene Sweden
- Rule
- Utlänningslag 5 kap. 5 and 7 §§
- The four-year rule covers work, research, EU Blue Card, ICT and seasonal-work permits. Rules for other routes are not shown.
- Section 8 lifts the support requirement for children and for people entitled to a state pension, among others.
Ett permanent uppehållstillstånd får beviljas en utlänning som i sammanlagt fyra år under de senaste sju åren har hafttvå år har ett tidsbegränsat uppehållstillstånd för näringsverksamhet, om verksamheten är etablerad Ett permanent uppehållstillstånd får beviljas endast om 1. utlänningen kan försörja sig Countries not in this table yet
The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and the Netherlands are left out: their permanent-residence timelines sit in regulations, immigration rules or acts that are not ingested, and the ingested French text covers only some residence cards.
How this table was built
Every row is taken from the official, consolidated text of the statute, which LawAsked loads from each government’s legislation service.
Each figure is tied to a passage quoted word for word from that text. When the page is served, it checks that every quoted passage is still in the current text of a law that is in force; if a law is amended and its wording changes, that row is hidden until a person reviews it again.
The table shows the statutory minimum only. Collective agreements, awards and individual contracts often give more than the statute, and some countries let a collective agreement set different terms.
Use this data
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit LawAsked and link to this page. Quoted statute text stays under the terms of its official source.
How to cite this page
LawAsked, “Years of residence needed for permanent residence, by country”, https://lawasked.com/guides/permanent-residence-years (reviewed October 25, 2026).
Important Legal Disclaimer
General legal information, not formal legal advice. The information provided on LawAsked does not constitute formal legal advice and creates no attorney-client relationship. If you require legal assistance, please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.