The Home Office has opened a 12‑week consultation on significant reforms to the UK settlement regime (Indefinite Leave to Remain, or ILR). Branded “earned settlement”, the proposals would replace the largely time‑served five‑year route for most categories with a contribution and compliance‑based model anchored to a longer baseline qualifying period.
The consultation opened on 20 November 2025 and is scheduled to close at 23:59 on 12 February 2026. The Home Office has indicated an intention to begin implementing changes from April 2026, subject to the consultation and the usual Immigration Rules process.
What is settlement?
Settlement can be known as indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or permanent residence in the UK. It is an immigration status that allows individuals to live in the UK permanently without any immigration restrictions.
Settlement is usually granted to an individual who has spent a qualifying period in the UK under a specific UK immigration category and subject to a number of eligibility requirements. Once granted, the permission provides security to an individual with an application for British citizenship being the remaining application, should they wish to pursue this. Otherwise this status can only be lost in very specific circumstances (such as a prolonged absence from the UK). It allows an individual to remain in the UK on a permanent basis and continue to build a life here without having to consider the conditions of their permission or incur future immigration costs.
Summary of proposals
Under the proposals, the Home Office is seeking to manage and reshape the long-term UK immigration landscape following a surge of Skilled Worker applications following the reduction of the skill level and introduction of the Health and Care visa post Brexit and Covid-19 from 2021 to 2023. The intended effect is to reduce the number of overseas national remaining in the UK permanently. This is in line with measures announced in the Immigration White Paper and rolled out over the last few months.
The most significant change and starting point for other measures is that Settlement will have a baseline qualifying period of 10 years – doubling the current qualifying period of 5 years. From the baseline period, individuals may be able to reduce or increase the qualifying period depending on a number of factors, with reference to the newly introduced ‘pillars’, designed to ensure applicants make a meaningful contribution to UK society and showing they meet clear and measurable standards.
The proposed model and mandatory criteria
The four pillars that the Earned Settlement framework will be built around are:
- Character: Ability to show a clean criminal record, compliance with immigration law and that the applicant has no current litigation, NHS, tax or other government debt.
- Integration: English at B2 level and passing the Life in the UK Test to reflect meaningful engagement with British society.
- Contribution: Evidence of sustained economic participation to show sustained and measurable economic contribution to the UK. Current proposals are set as annual earnings above the income tax/NICs threshold (currently £12,570) for a minimum of 3 to 5 years, with limited exemptions under consultation as well as accelerated paths to settlement for high earners in the UK.
- Residence: The need for lawful, continuous residence in the UK however it will not be the basis of qualification for settlement alone.
Failure on any mandatory element would bar settlement, regardless of residence length.
Time adjustments: Reductions and extensions
From the baseline qualifying period of 10 years, the proposal is that individuals will be able to reduce the qualifying period in one of the following ways.
| Pillar | Attribute | Reduced qualifying period |
| Integration | English language competency at Level C1 | 9 years |
| Contribution | Taxable income of £125,140 for 3 years | 3 years |
| Contribution | Taxable income of £50,270 for 3 years | 5 years |
| Contribution | Employment in specified public service occupation for 5 years | 5 years |
| Contribution | Working in the community (volunteering) | 5-7 years |
| Entry and residence | Permission as a parent/partner/child of a British citizen or as a BNO | 5 years |
| Entry and residence | Permission as Global Talent or Innovator Founder migrant for 3 years | 3 years |
Alternatively, applicants face an increase in the qualifying period if one of the following attributes apply:
| Pillar | Attribute | Increased qualifying period |
| Contribution | Working in an RQF Level 3-5 role (medium skilled) | 15 years |
| Contribution | Receipt of public funds for less than 12 months | 15 years |
| Contribution | Receipt of public funds for more than 12 months | 20 years |
| Entry and residence | Arrived in UK irregularly (via small boat or clandestine) | 30 years |
| Entry and residence | Entered the UK on a visit visa | 30 years |
| Entry and residence | Overstayed immigration permission for 6 months or more | 30 years |
Only the single largest reduction and the single largest extension would apply in any given case, and extensions take precedence over reductions when both are engaged.
The following immigration categories will not be impacted by the proposed changes to settlement or are not part of this consultation:
- Existing ILR holders;
- EU Settlement Scheme migrants;
- Windrush Scheme migrants;
- British National (Overseas) migrants from Hong Kong;
- Partners/parents/children of British citizens on a 5-year Family route;
- Member of HM Armed Forces and family members; and
- Children in care and care leavers.
Points for consultation
The key issues the government is seeking consultation include the following:
- Whether earnings should be linked to the reduction of the baseline qualifying period.
- The extent of the reduction of the baseline qualifying period in relation to the contribution-based criteria.
- Whether to introduce a longer baseline qualifying period of 15 years for those sponsored to work in roles below RQF level 6 (typically below Bachelors degree level and including many former Health and Care roles).
- Whether to attach a ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) condition to some grants of settlement, shifting some entitlements to the British citizenship stage.
The proposals and consultation raise a number of significant questions and concerns for individuals and employers in the UK. Some key points for attention are:
- Transitional arrangements – It is yet to be determined whether there will be transitional arrangements for migrants currently in the UK with permission or whether the changes will be applied retrospectively. The Home Office has indicated the start of implementation of some proposals from April 2026. This is of course going to result in heightened anxiety about a worker’s long-term future in the UK.
- Partners – Dependants will no longer be linked to their partner’s UK immigration application and will have to satisfy requirements on a separate basis. With this in mind, the contribution pillar requires further consideration particularly due to the emphasis on the earnings. Groups such as low-income families, part-time workers, adult dependants, those with caring responsibilities are likely to be adversely affected by these proposals as they stand.
- Children – Dependant children are not mentioned in much detail as to whether they would be treated separately, like dependant Partners, or be tied into their parent’s UK immigration route to settlement. Either option is problematic with the potential for staggered settlement routes for different members of the same household.
- Health and Care workers – Should individuals with permission under this category have to complete a 15-year route to Settlement after serving the most vulnerable members of our community?
- Increased costs – Individual migrants are not only affected with these changes. Employers and business may have to deal with the increased costs of longer sponsorship periods as well as the administrative and compliance burdens in an increasingly enforcement-led environment.
- Long Residence category – The Home Office intends to scrap the current 10-year long residence category which is often used by international students who come to the UK at an early age.
- Future changes to citizenship – The rollout of Earned Settlement will lead to reforms to British citizenship being introduced which will involved changes to primary legislation.
Practical implications
For employers and sponsors
- Recruitment and retention: longer routes for mid‑ and lower‑paid roles may reduce the UK’s attractiveness. Conversely, accelerated timelines for high earners and certain public‑service roles could be a competitive advantage.
- Compliance and workforce planning: longer sponsorship horizons increase exposure to reporting obligations, audits and change‑management risks. Payroll accuracy and HMRC alignment will matter more where taxable income evidences contribution.
- Policy and support: consider how pay progression, role changes, periods of statutory leave or reduced hours could affect employees’ settlement trajectories; anticipate higher volumes of staff queries and documentation requests.
For individuals and families
- Expect longer timelines, stricter baselines and greater evidential demands. Minor lapses—e.g., a period of benefit reliance—may materially extend the qualifying period.
- Those within reach of settlement (including under long residence) should consider whether they can apply under current rules before changes take effect.
- Plan proactively for English language, Life in the UK, income continuity and record‑keeping (payslips, HMRC records, debt clearance letters).
- Family units should consider the potential for diverging timelines across adult dependants and older children.
Next steps
Nothing has changed in law yet. We recommend:
- Mapping potentially affected individuals and employees, including dependant partners and children.
- Identifying those eligible (or soon eligible) for settlement or long residence under the current rules and considering accelerated filings by Spring 2026.
- Preparing for higher evidence standards on English, contribution and debt clearance.
- Considering a response to the consultation before 12 February 2026 to ensure sector and household impacts are reflected.
Engaging with the consultation
We are encouraging contacts and clients to ensure they participate in the consultation and respond online.
Stakeholders may wish to raise evidence on workforce impacts, equality and proportionality, especially for sectors with structurally lower pay or atypical earnings patterns (e.g., part‑time work, portfolio careers, entrepreneurship).
The Immigration team at Winckworth Sherwood is working with clients and contacts and will be responding to the consultation. We would be delighted to hear from you and answer questions or address any concerns in this area. Please feel free to contact us at immigration@wslaw.co.uk