UK Earned Settlement: Understanding the Proposed Changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain

The UK Government is proposing significant changes to the way migrants qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), introducing a new system known as Earned Settlement.

Under the proposals, the standard qualifying period for settlement would increase from five years to ten years for many migrants. However, the new framework would also allow certain individuals to qualify more quickly, depending on their earnings, occupation, contribution to public services and immigration route.

The proposed reforms could have significant implications for people already living and working in the UK, including Skilled Worker visa holders, their dependants and individuals approaching the end of their existing settlement qualifying period.

There are also important transitional arrangements for certain groups, although these are not necessarily as extensive as some existing visa holders might expect.

In this article, we explain the proposed Earned Settlement framework, who could be affected, how the new qualifying periods would work and what individuals currently in the UK should consider doing.

What is Earned Settlement?

Earned Settlement is the Government's proposed replacement for the current system of qualifying for indefinite leave to remain.

Indefinite leave to remain, also known as settlement or settled status, gives someone permission to live and work in the UK without being subject to immigration time restrictions.

It is an important milestone for migrants because it provides greater long-term security and can provide a route towards British citizenship.

Under the existing system, several immigration routes lead directly to settlement after five years, while others have different qualifying periods. Individuals who do not qualify through one of these routes may be able to combine qualifying periods of residence under the ten-year Long Residence route.

The proposed Earned Settlement system would change this approach.

Rather than settlement being determined primarily by the length of time someone has held a particular visa, the Government intends to assess an individual's contribution to the UK, their integration and their compliance with immigration and other requirements.

The central proposal is that:

• The standard qualifying period for settlement will increase to ten years.
• Certain individuals will be able to qualify after five years.
• Higher earners could qualify after three or five years.
• Certain public service workers will retain a five-year settlement route.
• Individuals who have accessed specified public funds could face a 20-year qualifying period.
• All applicants will need to satisfy strengthened minimum requirements.

Importantly, the proposals would not mean that everyone automatically qualifies for settlement after ten years. Applicants would still need to satisfy the relevant mandatory requirements.

How will the new Earned Settlement qualifying periods work?

The proposed framework introduces different qualifying periods depending on an individual's circumstances.

The standard ten-year route to settlement

For most migrants, the standard qualifying period would increase to ten years.

Applicants would also need to demonstrate a minimum level of sustained economic contribution.

Under the proposals, an individual would need to have earned at least £12,571 per year for five of the previous seven years to qualify for settlement through the standard ten-year route.

This threshold is linked to the current personal allowance for income tax.

The Government's approach is intended to recognise sustained economic participation rather than simply the number of years someone has lived in the UK.

The five-year route for higher earners

Individuals with higher earnings could qualify for settlement more quickly.

The proposals introduce the following thresholds:

The thresholds are linked to the higher and additional rates of income tax and are expected to move in line with changes to income tax thresholds.

For the accelerated routes, the relevant earnings thresholds would need to be met for the specified number of years.

Could someone on a Skilled Worker visa qualify for ILR after three years?

Potentially, yes.

For example, someone who has lived in the UK for three years on a Skilled Worker visa and earned more than £125,141 during each of those three years could qualify for settlement under the proposed three-year pathway.

They would still need to satisfy the other mandatory requirements, including the character, government debt, English language and Life in the UK requirements, as well as continuous residence.

This could represent a significant change for higher-paid professionals who would otherwise expect to wait five years or longer to qualify for settlement.

Can spouses combine their earnings?

The proposals also address economic contribution at household level.

For the standard ten-year route, the minimum earnings threshold would remain £12,571 for the main applicant and their partner individually, but their earnings could be combined to demonstrate a collective contribution of £25,142.

However, the proposals do not currently explain whether dependants would be able to benefit from the accelerated three- and five-year settlement pathways based on the main applicant's earnings.

This is an important area where further clarification will be needed.

What are the minimum requirements for settlement?

Regardless of whether someone qualifies after three, five or ten years, all applicants will need to satisfy a set of mandatory requirements.

These requirements cannot be offset by higher earnings, public service or other positive contributions.

The proposed minimum standards include:

• Good character: Applicants must satisfy the relevant character requirements.
• No outstanding government debt: Applicants must not have outstanding government debt.
• English language: Applicants will need to demonstrate a higher level of English language proficiency.
• Financial contribution: Applicants must meet the applicable economic contribution requirements.

These are additional to the relevant immigration route and residence requirements.

English language requirement: B2 level

Under the proposals, the standard English language requirement for settlement would increase to B2 level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

This represents an increase from the existing B1 requirement.

The existing exemptions for children, people aged 65 and over and individuals unable to meet the requirement because of a physical or mental condition would continue to apply.

There would also be no additional reduction in the settlement qualifying period for applicants who can demonstrate C1-level English.

Life in the UK test

The Life in the UK test requirement will remain in place.

Applicants will continue to need to pass the test unless they qualify for an existing exemption.

Will accessing public funds affect eligibility for settlement?

One of the most significant and potentially controversial elements of Earned Settlement is the proposed penalty for accessing certain public funds.

Under the proposals, applicants seeking settlement through the three, five or ten-year pathways would generally be expected not to have accessed specified public funds during the five years immediately before applying.

Individuals who have accessed specified public funds during that period would instead face a 20-year qualifying period before becoming eligible for settlement, provided they meet the other mandatory requirements.

This could have particularly serious implications for migrants who have relied on benefits during periods of unemployment, financial difficulty or family circumstances.

However, it is important to distinguish between public funds and other statutory entitlements.

Most visa categories already contain a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, which prevents access to most welfare benefits.

However, certain payments based on National Insurance contributions and statutory employment entitlements are not subject to the NRPF restriction. Examples include Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance.

The proposals assume that these types of payments will be exempt from the new public funds restrictions.

Further clarification will be needed on exactly which benefits and payments will trigger the 20-year qualifying period.

The proposals also make clear that volunteering will not count as a contribution towards settlement.

Will healthcare and education workers retain a five-year route to ILR?

Yes, certain healthcare and education professionals will retain a five-year settlement pathway under the proposed system.

This is intended to recognise the contribution made by public sector workers in essential health and education occupations.

The qualifying occupations will be those public sector roles already identified in the Immigration Rules as being paid according to national pay scales.

The eligible occupations include:

Healthcare professionals:

• Doctors, including generalist and specialist medical practitioners.
• Registered nurses, including community, specialist, mental health and children's nurses.
• Midwives.
• Pharmacists.
• Physiotherapists.
• Occupational therapists.
• Speech and language therapists.
• Clinical psychologists and other psychologists.
• Paramedics.
• Medical radiographers.
• Dental practitioners.
• Optometrists.
• Podiatrists.
• Other specified health professionals.

Education professionals:

• Further education teaching professionals.
• Secondary education teachers.
• Primary education teachers.
• Nursery education teachers.
• Special and additional needs education teachers.
• Head teachers and principals.

Social workers are also included in the proposed list.

Eligible workers will still need to satisfy the other mandatory settlement requirements, including the strengthened English language and character requirements.

What about healthcare and education workers below RQF level 6?

The position is more complicated for healthcare and education workers in occupations below RQF level 6.

For example, nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants may not qualify for the permanent five-year settlement pathway available to the specified higher-skilled public sector occupations.

However, the Government has proposed transitional arrangements for certain individuals already in the UK before the publication of the Immigration White Paper in May 2025.

These arrangements are discussed further below.

Will care workers retain the five-year route to settlement?

Care workers and senior care workers are subject to separate transitional arrangements.

Individuals who entered or switched into the care worker route before publication of the Immigration White Paper in May 2025 will be able to retain the existing five-year qualifying period for settlement, provided they meet the applicable requirements.

These include:

• A salary of at least £25,000 per year.
• The relevant sponsorship requirements.
• The relevant employment requirements.
• The strengthened general settlement requirements, including criminality and English language, unless an exemption applies.

Individuals who do not qualify for settlement after five years will be able to apply for a further five-year Health and Care visa.

This will allow them additional time to meet the settlement requirements, although the further visa will be restricted to genuine employment in the sector and will continue to carry a No Recourse to Public Funds condition.

There is also a proposed change for care workers who lose their employment because their sponsor's licence is revoked.

From 1 February 2027, affected workers will have up to 120 days to secure a new job offer, followed by a further 60 days to resolve their immigration and employment status.

What are the transitional arrangements for people already in the UK?

The transitional arrangements are likely to be one of the most important aspects of the Earned Settlement reforms.

Many migrants currently in the UK will have made decisions about their employment, family and long-term future on the basis of the existing five-year settlement routes.

The Government has proposed different arrangements for particular groups, but these do not amount to a general guarantee that everyone already in the UK will retain their existing qualifying period.

Healthcare and education workers who arrived before May 2025

Workers in healthcare and education occupations below RQF level 6, which are paid according to national pay scales under the Immigration Rules, will retain a five-year route to settlement if they came to the UK before publication of the May 2025 Immigration White Paper and meet the requirements of their visa.

This could benefit certain nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants.

However, the transitional protection is not available to everyone working in healthcare or education. The occupation, national pay scale and date of arrival requirements will all be relevant.

The pre-April 2024 cohort

A separate transitional arrangement is proposed for workers in occupations below RQF level 6 who are not covered by other exemptions.

For this group, the Government intends to allow individuals who were already in the UK before April 2024 to extend their visas on their current terms until 2035.

This is an important distinction.

The proposed arrangement does not appear to provide a general exemption from the new ten-year settlement qualifying period. Instead, it provides an opportunity for the specified pre-April 2024 cohort to continue extending their existing immigration permission on their current terms.

Workers who arrived from April 2024 onwards would not benefit from this particular transitional arrangement simply because they were in the UK before the May 2025 Immigration White Paper.

This distinction could have significant consequences for workers who entered the UK during 2024 and expected to qualify for settlement after five years.

Do all existing Skilled Worker visa holders retain their five-year route?

No general transitional protection has been proposed for all Skilled Worker visa holders who were already in the UK before the reforms.

This means that individuals who entered the UK under a route that currently leads to settlement after five years could potentially find themselves subject to the new ten-year qualifying period, depending on the final transitional provisions.

The date someone entered the UK, their occupation, their immigration route and whether they fall within a specified exempt group will all be important.

Anyone approaching the end of their existing five-year qualifying period should therefore consider their position carefully.

Which immigration routes will count towards settlement?

Under Earned Settlement, the Government intends to distinguish between immigration permission that counts towards settlement and temporary immigration routes that do not.

The existing ten-year Long Residence route will close.

Time spent in the UK on temporary immigration routes will no longer count towards the qualifying residence period under the proposed framework.

Immigration routes that will count towards settlement

The routes identified as counting towards settlement include:

• Skilled Worker.
• UK Ancestry.
• Global Talent.
• Scale-up.
• Innovator Founder.
• International Sportsperson.
• Minister of Religion.
• Family routes, including partner and parent routes, subject to the relevant provisions.
• Stateless Person.
• Family and Private Life.
• Core Protection.
• Safe and Legal routes.

Certain Global Talent and Innovator Founder applicants will also fall within the proposed high-talent category for the accelerated settlement pathways.

Immigration routes that will not count towards settlement

The following routes are identified as not counting towards settlement under the proposed framework:

• Visitor visas.
• Student visas.
• Global Business Mobility routes.
• Temporary Worker routes.
• Youth Mobility Scheme.
• Seasonal Worker.
• Overseas Domestic Worker.
• Graduate visa.
• High Potential Individual visa.
• Ukraine Scheme routes, including Homes for Ukraine, the Ukraine Family Scheme, the Ukraine Extension Scheme and the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme.
• Leave Outside the Rules.

This could have significant implications for individuals who have spent several years in the UK on temporary visas before switching into a route leading to settlement.

For example, someone who has spent two years on a Graduate visa before switching to a Skilled Worker visa would not be able to count those two years towards their qualifying settlement period under the proposed framework.

How will Earned Settlement affect dependants and children?

The proposals also introduce changes to the way family members qualify for settlement alongside the main applicant.

Children under 18

Children under 18 will continue to be able to settle with their parents.

They will be exempt from the income, government debt, English language and Life in the UK test requirements.

However, they will remain subject to the relevant suitability and criminality requirements.

Adult dependants aged 18 to 24

Young adults aged 18 to 24 who retain their status as child dependants will continue to be able to settle alongside their family.

They will need to satisfy the adult mandatory settlement requirements but will not need to meet the individual income or earnings requirement.

Dependants aged 25 and over

Individuals aged 25 or over when their family becomes eligible for settlement will generally be expected to qualify independently or switch to an appropriate immigration route in their own right.

For example, consider someone who arrives in the UK aged 15 as the dependant of a Skilled Worker visa holder.

If their parents become eligible for settlement ten years later, when that individual is 25, they will no longer qualify for settlement simply by remaining a dependant of their parents.

They would need to qualify independently or move onto an appropriate immigration route.

This is potentially a significant issue for families with children who are approaching adulthood.

Does Earned Settlement affect British citizenship?

No. The proposals do not change a person's entitlement to acquire or register as a British citizen under the British Nationality Act 1981.

For example:

• A child born in the UK to a parent who already holds indefinite leave to remain is automatically British.
• A child born in the UK whose parents subsequently obtain settlement may be eligible to register as British.
• A child born in the UK who has lived continuously in the UK for the first ten years of their life may also be eligible to register as British.

These nationality provisions remain separate from the proposed Earned Settlement framework.

Will partners of British citizens retain the five-year settlement route?

Yes. The proposals provide for a continued five-year settlement route for certain people with a connection to a British citizen.

This includes partners, parents and children of British citizens, as well as applicants under the UK Ancestry route.

An important distinction is that the current Immigration Rules generally refer to a partner or family member of someone who is settled, rather than exclusively a British citizen.

For this purpose, settled status can include indefinite leave to remain and, in relevant circumstances, Irish citizenship.

The precise application of the proposed family provisions will need to be considered against the final Immigration Rules.

Will the ten-year Long Residence route be abolished?

Yes. The proposed Earned Settlement framework will close the existing Long Residence route.

This is a significant change for individuals who have built up ten years of lawful residence through a combination of different immigration categories.

Under the existing system, qualifying time spent on different immigration routes can contribute towards a Long Residence application, subject to the applicable rules.

Under the proposed system, time spent on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate visas will not count towards settlement.

This could mean that individuals who have spent many years in the UK may need to reassess their immigration plans, particularly if they have relied on a combination of temporary and longer-term visas.

The EU Settlement Scheme will not be affected by the proposed Earned Settlement changes.

Are there any exemptions from the new settlement rules?

The Government has identified certain groups who will retain their existing settlement arrangements because of their particular circumstances.

These include:

• Bereaved partners: Eligible applicants will continue to be able to apply for immediate settlement following the death of the partner on whom their immigration status depended.
• Victims of domestic abuse: Eligible applicants will retain the ability to apply for immediate settlement where the relationship on which their immigration status depended has broken down because of domestic abuse.
• Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: Existing five-year settlement arrangements will continue.
• Children in local authority care: Existing bespoke settlement arrangements will remain.
• Children and young adults with insecure immigration status who have grown up in the UK: Existing five-year settlement arrangements will continue.

These groups may still need to satisfy strengthened general requirements where applicable, including those relating to criminality and English language, subject to existing exemptions and appropriate safeguards.

When will the new Earned Settlement rules come into force?

The anticipated timetable is for a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules to be published in December 2026, with implementation expected in late December 2026 or early January 2027.

The final Immigration Rules will be particularly important in determining:

• Which existing visa holders benefit from transitional arrangements.
• Whether individuals approaching the end of their five-year qualifying period can still apply under the current rules.
• How earnings will be assessed and evidenced.
• Which benefits will trigger the 20-year settlement penalty.
• How dependants will qualify under the accelerated settlement pathways.
• How periods of residence under different immigration categories will be treated.

Until the final Immigration Rules and accompanying guidance are published, some aspects of the proposed framework remain subject to clarification.

What should migrants in the UK do now?

The proposed reforms could have a significant impact on individuals who are already living and working in the UK.

In particular, the following groups should consider reviewing their immigration position:

1. Individuals approaching five years in the UK

If you are approaching the end of your existing five-year settlement qualifying period, it is important to understand whether you may be able to apply before the new rules take effect.

2. Skilled Worker visa holders

The proposed increase to ten years could substantially change your long-term immigration plans, particularly if you do not qualify for an accelerated settlement pathway or transitional protection.

3. Higher earners

Individuals earning more than £50,271 or £125,141 may be able to qualify for settlement more quickly under the proposed accelerated pathways.

4. Healthcare and care workers

The transitional arrangements are particularly important for people working in healthcare and education, including those in occupations below RQF level 6, and individuals sponsored as care workers.

5. Families with dependent children

The proposed rules for dependants aged 18 to 24 and those aged 25 or over could affect families whose children are approaching adulthood.

6. Individuals who have held Student or Graduate visas

If you have spent time in the UK on temporary immigration routes, you should consider how the proposed exclusion of these routes from settlement calculations could affect your eligibility.

How can Migrate UK help?

Earned Settlement represents a substantial proposed change to the UK's immigration system. For many migrants, the difference between the current rules and the proposed framework could mean several additional years before they can obtain indefinite leave to remain.

The transitional arrangements are particularly important, as eligibility will depend on factors such as the immigration route, occupation, date of arrival and individual circumstances.

At Migrate UK, we advise individuals, families and employers on UK immigration matters, including Skilled Worker visas, indefinite leave to remain and long-term immigration planning.

We can assess your current immigration status, explain how the proposed changes could affect you and help you understand the options available under the existing and proposed rules.

If you are concerned about how Earned Settlement could affect your route to indefinite leave to remain, contact Migrate UK to discuss your circumstances.

Visit Migrate UK to find out more or arrange an initial consultation.