Do Brits realise how much immigrants structure their lives around visa rules?

Genuine question. I’ve been on a route that leads to settlement after 5 years, and one thing that surprised me is how much daily life ends up being shaped by immigration rules.

Not in dramatic ways, just subtle ones: thinking twice before accepting a job change, counting days outside the UK before booking flights, avoiding long trips even if you can afford them, feeling slightly “temporary” even after years here

From the outside, it probably just looks like normal life. But internally there’s always this background calculation running.

For those who’ve been through it, did that feeling go away after getting ILR?
And for British citizens - is this something you’d ever thought about?

Curious about perspectives.