The UK Government has published its response to the consultation on Earned Settlement, setting out its final policy framework for how migrants may qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). The proposals would replace the current five-year standard route used by many applicants with a system that links the time to settlement to a person’s earnings or other contributions, integration, immigration history and route to the UK.
The consultation received 204,667 responses from individuals and organizations. The Government says it has changed parts of its original proposals, including by recognizing a wider range of contributions, giving greater weight to family unity, and introducing targeted protections for some groups.
The response sets out the Government’s final policy approach, but the new framework is not yet in force. Further guidance, technical detail and Immigration Rules are required before implementation. Applicants should continue to check the rules that apply when they make an application.
Settlement Pathways
Under the proposed framework, the standard starting point would be 10 years. Some people could qualify sooner, while specified immigration breaches or access to public funds could mean a longer qualifying period.
| Pathway | Who it is mainly for | Main requirements described by the Government |
| 3 years | People making an exceptional economic contribution, or eligible people in the highest talent group | Generally, earnings of at least £125,141 in three of the four years before applying, or eligibility through the relevant talent route |
| 5 years | Higher earners, eligible public service workers and people with a qualifying British connection | Generally, earnings of at least £50,271 in three of the previous five years; or qualifying public service work or a recognised British connection |
| 10 years | The standard route for people making a sustained contribution and meeting the rules | Generally, earnings of at least £12,571 in five of the previous seven years |
| 20 years | People whose immigration non-compliance or continued access to specified public funds prevents an earlier route | The Government’s summary table requires the minimum contribution and other mandatory requirements; the 20-year period may apply because of a qualifying breach or public-funds rules |
| 30 years | A specific case involving a refugee who entered illegally and remains on Core Protection | The 20-year Core Protection pathway plus an additional 10-year period for illegal entry, subject to the requirements and safeguards |
The 30-year period is not a general route for all applicants. It is the Government’s example for a person who entered the UK illegally, received protection, and remains on Core Protection without moving into sustained work, education or training. A person who entered illegally and later moves onto Protection Work and Study could face a 20-year period instead: 10 years on that route plus the additional 10 years for illegal entry.
The earnings thresholds are linked to income tax thresholds and may change if those thresholds change. Applicants must also meet the relevant route requirements and mandatory settlement standards. Higher earnings cannot compensate for a failure to meet those minimum standards.
Earnings Rules
The framework would use a “best years” approach. Applicants would not need to earn above the relevant threshold in every year of the qualifying period:
- For the three-year pathway, the £125,141 threshold would need to be met in three of the four years before applying.
- For the five-year pathway, the £50,271 threshold would need to be met in three of the five years before applying.
- For the ten-year pathway, the £12,571 threshold would need to be met in five of the seven years before applying.
This is intended to account for periods when someone’s earnings fall, including because of parental leave, caring responsibilities or ill health. The minimum earnings requirement would not apply to some groups, including children, people aged 65 or over, and those unable to meet it because of a physical or mental condition.
Eligible couples would be able to combine earnings to meet the £25,142 household threshold for the minimum contribution requirement. One partner could meet the amount alone, or both could contribute. The Government says this recognises that one partner may work fewer hours while caring for children or relatives.
The combined household threshold applies to the minimum economic contribution requirement. It does not mean that a couple can combine their earnings to meet one person’s individual higher-earner threshold for the three- or five-year pathways. The partner relying on the other’s income must be in a genuine and ongoing relationship with the main applicant, and only one person may rely on the other’s income for this purpose.
Public Service
Some workers would be able to qualify after five years even if their salary is below the higher-earner threshold. This permanent five-year pathway would cover specified health and education occupations paid according to national pay scales under the Immigration Rules.
The Government’s list includes roles such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers and social workers. Applicants would need to work in an eligible occupation for the required period and meet the other settlement requirements.
Volunteering would not shorten the settlement period. The Government said respondents raised concerns about how volunteering could be verified consistently, safeguarding, and the risk of people being pressured into unpaid work.
Public Funds
Applicants using 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. If an applicant continues to access specified public funds, the framework may require 20 years on a qualifying route before settlement.
The Government has not yet set out every benefit or form of support that will count, or all the safeguards and exemptions that may apply to vulnerable people. Those details are to be provided before implementation.
Public funds are separate from the proposed government debt requirement. Applicants would need to have no outstanding government debt before settlement. This could include NHS debt, unpaid tax, National Insurance contributions and litigation debt owed to the Home Office.
Character Rules
The Government plans to strengthen the criminality requirements. Under the proposed framework, an adult applicant with a criminal record in the UK would be refused settlement. The Government’s description of a criminal record includes custodial and suspended sentences, court fines, community sentences, certain out-of-court disposals and other listed outcomes.
Overseas convictions could also lead to refusal where the conduct would be a criminal offence in the UK. The Government says discretion would remain where legal systems differ and the conduct is not an offence under UK law. It also says discretion would continue to apply to offences committed while someone was under 18, taking account of the circumstances and seriousness.
Specified immigration breaches committed by an adult would generally result in a 20-year pathway, regardless of higher earnings or other positive contributions. The breaches are expected to include overstaying, breaking a condition attached to immigration permission, using deception in an application, and taking action to frustrate immigration controls. The full definitions are expected to appear in the Immigration Rules.
English and Integration
The proposed standard English-language requirement for settlement would rise from B1 to B2, subject to exemptions. The Government says there would be no additional reduction in the settlement period for applicants who demonstrate C1 English.
The Life in the UK test would remain part of the settlement requirements, with existing exemptions for children, people aged 65 or over, and people with a physical or mental condition that prevents them from meeting the requirement. The Government is reviewing the test to ensure it better reflects modern Britain.
Long Residence
The Government plans to close the separate 10-year Long Residence route. Under the current system, time spent lawfully on many routes—including Student and Graduate routes—can count towards Long Residence. Under Earned Settlement, time on temporary routes would no longer count towards settlement just because someone reaches ten years in the UK.
Instead, only time spent on specified routes intended to support long-term residence would count. The framework identifies qualifying categories including longer-term work, talent and family routes; specified talent and innovation routes; Family and Private Life; protection routes; and designated Safe and Legal routes. A route may count towards settlement without making the applicant eligible for every pathway: applicants must meet the requirements of the specific route and settlement pathway.
Family Applications
The Government has moved away from requiring every dependant to qualify entirely independently. The new framework would give greater weight to family unity, shared household contribution and the continuing dependency of children and young adults.
A partner who arrives in the UK with the main applicant could apply for settlement at the same time, provided both meet the requirements. A partner who joins later would normally need to complete the same qualifying residence period from their own arrival. For example, if a partner joins two years after the main applicant, they may need to wait two additional years to complete the qualifying period.
Children under 18 would continue to be able to settle with their parents. They would not have to meet the income, government debt, English-language or Life in the UK test requirements, but would remain subject to relevant suitability and criminality requirements.
Young adults aged 18 to 24 who retain child-dependant status could settle alongside their family and would not need to meet the individual earnings requirement. They would still be expected to meet the adult mandatory requirements. Someone aged 25 or over when their family becomes eligible would generally need to qualify independently or move onto an appropriate immigration route in their own right.
British Connections
The Government would continue to recognise certain strong British connections through a five-year pathway. This includes eligible partners, parents and children of British citizens, as well as Commonwealth citizens qualifying through the UK Ancestry route on the basis of a UK-born grandparent.
People on family routes sponsored by a British citizen who meet the core requirements would continue to be able to settle after five years. Other family applicants may face a longer pathway, depending on their route and circumstances.
Refugee Routes
Refugees admitted through designated Safe and Legal routes would generally be able to apply for settlement after five years, subject to the relevant route requirements. This includes people admitted through the UK Resettlement Scheme and specified resettlement or sponsorship routes. Entering the UK legally on another visa and later claiming asylum would not, by itself, qualify someone for the five-year Safe and Legal pathway.
People admitted through the UK Resettlement Scheme would need to demonstrate A2 English rather than B2 and would be exempt from the requirement not to have accessed public funds during the five years before applying. They would also remain exempt from the Life in the UK test until a suitable version is available for applicants at their English level.
People granted protection after claiming asylum in the UK outside a designated Safe and Legal route would ordinarily move onto Core Protection. The normal settlement pathway from Core Protection would be 20 years. A person who moves into sustained work, education or training could move onto Protection Work and Study and may qualify after 10 years on that route. Time previously spent on Core Protection would not normally count towards those 10 years.
Illegal entry would ordinarily add a further 10 years to the qualifying period, regardless of the route on which the person later seeks settlement. The Government says this additional period would not apply where the person is protected by Article 31 of the Refugee Convention and meets the relevant conditions. The detailed safeguard is still to be set out.
Refugees on Core Protection and Protection Work and Study would generally need B2 English and to pass the Life in the UK test. For people demonstrating contribution through work, the Government says the £12,571 earnings threshold would need to be met in three qualifying years. Safeguards are also planned for vulnerable refugees, including in the treatment of public funds and repayment of asylum-support costs.
Protected Groups
Some groups would remain outside the main Earned Settlement framework or keep tailored arrangements. The Government says it will continue to honour existing commitments for:
- Hong Kong BN(O) applicants, who would retain a five-year route, subject to route requirements.
- Afghan schemes, where settlement would remain immediate for eligible people.
- Legacy Safe and Legal routes, which would retain a five-year route, subject to requirements.
- Windrush, where eligible people can have existing British citizenship or settled status confirmed without a qualifying period.
- Armed Forces personnel, who may qualify after four years of reckonable service, with partners and children qualifying after five years’ continuous residence, subject to route rules.
Separate or tailored arrangements would also continue for eligible bereaved partners and victims of domestic abuse, who may apply immediately; unaccompanied asylum-seeking children; children in local authority care; and some children and young adults who have grown up in the UK with insecure status. The EU Settlement Scheme and certain legacy routes would not be affected by the Earned Settlement reforms.
Some of these groups may still need to meet strengthened general standards, such as criminality and English-language requirements, unless an exemption or safeguard applies.
Transitional Rules
The Government has rejected its earlier proposal for a 15-year pathway for many workers in occupations below RQF Level 6. Those workers would instead generally follow the 10-year pathway, with opportunities to qualify sooner if they meet the requirements for an accelerated route.
A one-off transition would apply to care workers who entered or switched to the care route before publication of the Immigration White Paper in May 2025. They could retain the existing five-year qualifying period if they meet the applicable salary, sponsorship and employment requirements, as well as the strengthened minimum settlement standards.
Care workers in this group who do not qualify after five years could apply for a further five-year Health and Care visa restricted to genuine work in the sector. They would have another opportunity to meet the requirements before applying for settlement.
From 1 February 2027, care workers who lose their job because their sponsor’s licence is revoked would have up to 120 days to secure a new job offer and a further 60 days to resolve their visa and employment status. If they cannot meet those deadlines, their visa may be curtailed and they may have to leave the UK.
Some healthcare and education workers below RQF Level 6, such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, would retain a five-year route if they were in the UK before the May 2025 White Paper and meet their visa requirements. This would be a one-off arrangement, not a permanent five-year route for these occupations.
Eligible Skilled Workers who were in the route before the April 2024 salary changes would be able to extend their visas on their current terms until 2035 under the transitional arrangement.
What Happens Next?
The Government’s response establishes its final policy framework, but the new settlement system is not yet operational. Further Immigration Rules and guidance must explain how the requirements will work in practice, including which benefits count as public funds, how safeguards apply, how residence will be calculated and how transitional arrangements will be administered.
Until implementation details are published and the relevant rules take effect, migrants should not assume that the new pathways already apply to their applications. They should check the current rules and official guidance before making decisions about settlement, work, family applications or visa extensions.