Earned Settlement: the Government has responded. What does it mean?

At the heart of the proposals is a fundamental change to the way migrants qualify for settlement in the UK. The Government intends to increase the standard qualifying period from five years to 10 years, while allowing that period to be reduced or increased depending on an individual’s contribution, integration and compliance with the Immigration Rules.

The original consultation also proposed a 15-year pathway for many workers in occupations below RQF Level 6. Importantly, the Government has now dropped that proposal. Those workers will instead generally fall within the 10-year baseline, unless they qualify for an accelerated pathway or another exemption.

The Government’s central argument continues to be that “settlement should not be automatic, but should be earned.”

This language is understandably controversial. Anyone who has applied for settlement under the current Immigration Rules will know that settlement has never truly been “automatic”. Applicants have always had to satisfy the eligibility and suitability requirements attached to the immigration route under which they are applying.

The consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 received more than 200,000 responses, including submissions from members of the public, migrants and legal practitioners. The proposals attracted significant criticism, particularly because of their potential impact on people already living and working in the UK.

On 2 November 2026, the Home Secretary announced the Government’s revised framework, with further details published in its response to the consultation. The final framework largely retains the central principle of the original proposals, although there have been some significant concessions following the concerns raised during the consultation.

The key announcements are:

• Standard settlement period: The starting point for settlement will increase from five to 10 years. This is expected to affect many people who are already living in the UK and progressing towards settlement, as there will not be a general transitional exemption for everyone already here.
• Accelerated settlement: Some applicants will qualify sooner depending on their earnings, occupation or other contribution:
  • Three years: Those earning at least £125,141, generally requiring that level of earnings in three of the four years immediately before applying, as well as those qualifying through the proposed Highest Talent Group. The precise scope of the Highest Talent Group remains subject to review following the Migration Advisory Committee’s report.
  • Five years: Those earning at least £50,271 in three of the five years immediately before applying, eligible public-service workers and those with a recognised British connection.
• Care workers: Certain care workers who were already living and working in the UK before publication of the White Paper in May 2025 will retain the existing five-year pathway, provided they meet the relevant sponsorship, immigration compliance and £25,000 salary requirements.
• Mandatory requirements: Applicants will need to satisfy strengthened minimum requirements, including requirements relating to:
  • good character (having no criminal record) and suitability;
  • having no Government debt;
  • English language ability and the Life in the UK test; together with a requirement to demonstrate sustained contribution to the UK. The general English-language standard will be B2, although specific exemptions and different arrangements will apply to certain cohorts.
• Earnings and contribution: Under the standard 10-year pathway, applicants will generally need to demonstrate earnings of at least £12,571 in five of the seven years immediately before applying. This “best years” approach is intended to allow for periods where earnings may temporarily fall, for example because of parental leave, caring responsibilities or ill health. Exemptions will also apply to certain applicants.
• Immigration breaches: Qualifying immigration breaches can prevent an applicant from accessing the three, five or 10-year pathways and can result in a significantly longer route to settlement. Under the announced framework, the 20-year pathway will apply to people whose immigration non-compliance prevents them from qualifying under an earlier pathway, subject to the detailed rules and applicable safeguards.
• Public funds: Applicants seeking to qualify through the three, five or 10-year pathways will generally need not to have accessed specified public funds during the five years immediately before applying. If this condition is not met and no exemption applies, an applicant may instead need to complete 20 years on a qualifying route. The Government is yet to finalise precisely which benefits, safeguards and exemptions will apply.
• Long Residence: The separate 10-year Long Residence route will close. Time spent on temporary immigration routes will no longer build towards settlement simply because an individual eventually reaches 10 years of lawful residence. The Government has confirmed that only time spent on specified routes intended to support longer-term residence will count under the new framework.
• Family members: Eligible couples will be permitted to combine their earnings to meet the minimum economic contribution requirement, with the household threshold initially set at £25,142. However, partners will still need to satisfy the relevant residence and mandatory settlement requirements applicable to them.
• Refugees: The settlement period will depend on the protection route. The framework provides for a five-year route for refugees admitted through designated safe and legal routes, a 10-year Protection Work and Study route, and a 20-year Core Protection route. Different provisions may apply following illegal entry, subject to safeguards, including those relating to Article 31 of the Refugee Convention.
• Transitional arrangements: The Government has introduced targeted transitional protections for certain groups, but importantly, there will be no general protection for everyone already living in the UK or progressing towards settlement under a five-year route.
• Pre-April 2024 Skilled Worker cohort: Changes introduced in 2024 substantially increased the Skilled Worker salary threshold, while transitional salary arrangements were introduced for workers who were already on the route. Those arrangements were originally due to end in 2030, reflecting the expectation that affected workers would have had an opportunity to complete the existing five-year settlement period. For workers in roles below RQF Level 6 who are affected by the move to 10-year settlement, the Government has now confirmed that they will be able to continue extending their visas on the existing transitional salary terms until 2035. Importantly, however, this protects their extension terms, not necessarily their five-year pathway to settlement. Unless another exemption or accelerated pathway applies, they may still need to complete 10 years before qualifying for settlement.

What happens next?

Importantly, the detailed Immigration Rules implementing the Earned Settlement framework have not yet come into force.

The Government must now translate the framework into amendments to the Immigration Rules and operational guidance. It has confirmed that further technical guidance will be published before implementation and that a full Impact Assessment will accompany the implementation of Earned Settlement.

Until those changes take effect, the existing settlement requirements remain relevant. The precise drafting of the Immigration Rules will be particularly important in determining how the transitional provisions, qualifying routes, exemptions, evidential requirements and new qualifying periods will operate in practice.

For individuals already in the UK, their immigration history, current route, occupation, earnings and personal circumstances are likely to be particularly important when assessing how the Earned Settlement framework may ultimately affect them.

Contact our Immigration team to discuss how the proposed settlement reforms may affect your sponsored workforce and how these changes should be factored into your future sponsorship and workforce planning.