In long-term melanoma survivors, tracking of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cell clonotypes over years reveals their persistence as tissue-resident memory cells with effector capabilities (TRM-IFN) in vitiligo-affected skin and as effector memory T cells (TEM) circulating in the blood. TRM-IFN subset was the most significant positive prognostic indicator relative to the other TRM subsets, TRM-TOX and TRM-JUN, with features of exhaustion, and TCR activation, respectively.