The UK government has announced major changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), commonly known as permanent settlement. Under the new Earned Settlement framework, most migrants would have to wait 10 years instead of five years before qualifying for permanent residence.
However, not everyone will follow the same route. Some migrants may qualify after three or five years, while others could face 20 or even 30 years, depending on their immigration history, employment, earnings and circumstances.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the revised framework on 2 November 2026, following a consultation launched in November 2025. The government received 204,667 consultation responses, including 202,241 from individuals and 2,426 from organisations.
The changes affect skilled workers, care workers, international students planning to settle, refugees, people who entered the UK without permission, and many family members.
Importantly, the government has also introduced protections for some existing care workers, eligible healthcare and education workers, married couples and dependent children.
Important: Most of these changes are not yet legally in force. The government must publish detailed amendments to the Immigration Rules before the new pathways become operational.
New Settlement Routes
The government’s framework introduces several qualifying periods:
| ILR Period | Who May Qualify | Main Requirement |
| 3 years | Highest earners and certain high-talent migrants | Individual earnings of at least £125,141, or qualifying high-talent permission |
| 5 years | Higher earners | Individual earnings of at least £50,271 in 3 of the previous 5 years |
| 5 years | Eligible healthcare and education workers | Five years in an approved public-service occupation |
| 5 years | Protected existing care workers | Joined the route before 12 May 2025; £25,000 salary and other conditions |
| 5 years | Eligible family members of British citizens and certain other protected groups | Relevant family or route requirements |
| 10 years | Most other qualifying work migrants | At least £12,571 annually in 5 of the previous 7 years, unless exempt |
| 20 years | Certain immigration breaches or specified public-funds cases | Longer qualifying period and mandatory requirements |
| 20–30 years | Some refugees and people who entered without permission | Depends on protection route, work or study, and legal safeguards |
The years shown are minimum qualifying periods, not automatic guarantees of settlement. Applicants must also meet the conditions applying to their immigration category.
Salary Requirements
The new framework introduces three major income thresholds.
1- Three-Year ILR
Migrants earning at least £125,141 annually may qualify for settlement after three years. They must demonstrate qualifying earnings for three of the four years immediately before their settlement application, or for the full three years where applicable.
Certain high-talent migrants may also qualify without meeting this salary threshold. The government has identified routes such as Global Talent and Innovator Founder within its high-talent framework, although the exact treatment of some categories remains subject to further review.
2- Five-Year ILR
People earning at least £50,271 annually may qualify after five years. They must meet this salary level in at least three of the previous five years.
For example, someone earning £55,000 annually for three qualifying years could satisfy the high-earner income condition, even if their salary fell below the threshold in two other years.
The £50,271 threshold is an individual earnings condition for the accelerated high-earner pathway.
3- Ten-Year ILR
Most migrants who do not qualify for a shorter pathway would move to the standard 10-year route.
They would generally need to earn at least £12,571 annually in five of the seven years immediately before applying. These five qualifying earnings years do not have to be consecutive.
This approach allows for periods of reduced earnings caused by parental leave, illness, caring responsibilities or other circumstances.
Some applicants, including children, people aged 65 or over, and people unable to meet the earnings requirement because of a qualifying physical or mental condition, would be exempt.
The thresholds are linked to tax or National Insurance thresholds and may change in future.
Combined Household Income
One of the most important changes concerns married couples and eligible partners.
The government has confirmed that eligible couples will be able to combine their earnings to meet the minimum economic contribution requirement.
The household threshold is £25,142 annually, twice the individual minimum of £12,571.
For example:
- Husband earns £20,000 and wife earns £6,000: combined income £26,000. The household exceeds £25,142.
- Husband earns £30,000, and wife has no earnings: the household still exceeds £25,142.
- Husband earns £15,000 and wife earns £8,000: combined income £23,000. The household does not meet the proposed threshold.
The government says one partner may satisfy the entire household amount through their own earnings. This recognises that one partner may reduce working hours to care for children or relatives.
The couple must have a genuine and continuing relationship, and only one person may rely on the other’s earnings for this purpose.
This household-income provision is not restricted to care workers. It is intended for eligible couples across the settlement framework.
However, the government has not yet published all the detailed eligibility and evidence rules for calculating combined income.
Can Couples Combine £50,271?
This is a separate issue. Suppose a husband earns £30,000 and his wife earns £25,000, giving them a combined income of £55,000.
Their combined earnings would exceed both £25,142 and £50,271. However, this does not automatically qualify the main applicant for the five-year high-earner route.
The five-year salary-based pathway requires the relevant individual applicant to meet the £50,271 earnings threshold. The announced £25,142 household concession relates to the minimum contribution requirement, not the accelerated high-earner salary test.
A dependent partner may still qualify for settlement alongside an eligible main applicant under the family provisions.
Couples must also distinguish the Earned Settlement income test from the separate income requirements applying to particular visas. For example, the current standard UK partner family visa generally has a £29,000 minimum income requirement, subject to transitional arrangements and exemptions. The proposed £25,142 settlement threshold does not automatically replace that visa requirement.
Skilled Worker Rules
Skilled Worker visa holders are among the main groups affected. Currently, many Skilled Workers can qualify for ILR after five years, subject to the immigration and salary requirements.
Under the new framework, the standard period would increase to 10 years. However, Skilled Workers could follow different pathways.
Three years: A qualifying worker earning £125,141 or more for the required years may access the highest-earner route.
Five years: A qualifying worker earning £50,271 or more for three of the previous five years may qualify earlier.
Five years through public service: Workers in approved healthcare and education occupations may qualify without earning £50,271.
Ten years: Most other qualifying Skilled Workers would follow the standard route, subject to the minimum contribution and other mandatory requirements.
The earlier proposal to impose a 15-year waiting period on workers in occupations below RQF Level 6 has been dropped.
Instead, these workers would generally use the 10-year pathway, unless another shorter route applies.
The government has also announced that certain Skilled Workers covered by pre-April 2024 salary transitional arrangements will be able to extend their visas under those arrangements until 2035, instead of the previous 2030 limit.
This is an extension of visa-related transitional salary protection. It is not an automatic guarantee of five-year ILR.
Care Worker Protection
Care workers have received a specific transitional concession.
The government has confirmed that eligible adult social care workers who entered or switched into the care-worker route before the publication of the Immigration White Paper on 12 May 2025 can retain a five-year settlement pathway.
To qualify, they must meet the relevant conditions, including:
- Annual earnings of at least £25,000.
- Genuine qualifying care employment.
- Valid sponsorship and compliance with relevant visa requirements.
- The new mandatory settlement requirements, unless exempt.
The £25,000 figure is the care-worker employment and salary requirement. It should not be confused with the £25,142 combined household threshold.
The government has not fully clarified the precise earnings-history evidence required for this protected care-worker pathway.
a) Second-Chance Visa
Some care workers entered the UK expecting genuine sponsored work but subsequently experienced problems, including employers losing their sponsorship licences.
The Home Office says care workers in the protected pre-May-2025 group who cannot satisfy the five-year settlement requirements may receive another opportunity.
They would be able to apply for a further five-year Health and Care visa, restricted to genuine employment in the sector.
After completing this further period and meeting the relevant requirements, they could apply for settlement again.
They would continue to have no recourse to public funds while on this visa.
The government says approximately one-quarter of the affected cohort may need this second opportunity.
From 1 February 2027, care workers who lose their employment because their sponsor’s licence is revoked are due to receive up to 120 days to secure a new job offer, followed by a further 60 days to resolve their immigration and employment status.
Failure to meet these deadlines could result in their visa being curtailed.
The government also reports that 1,800 employers have lost their ability to sponsor overseas workers as part of its enforcement action.
b) Later Care Workers
Workers entering or switching into the care-worker route after the May 2025 cut-off are not covered by the same one-off five-year protection.
They would normally follow the 10-year Earned Settlement route, unless another qualifying accelerated pathway applies.
Healthcare Workers
The government has created a permanent five-year settlement pathway for eligible health and education public-service occupations.
This recognises that some essential occupations are paid according to national salary structures rather than open-market salary levels.
Qualifying occupations listed by the Home Office include various categories of:
- Doctors and registered nurses.
- Midwives and paramedics.
- Physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
- Psychologists and other qualifying therapy professionals.
- Pharmacists, dentists and medical radiographers.
- Teachers, school leaders and social workers.
The precise eligible occupations are listed in Annex C of the government response.
Workers must spend five qualifying years in an eligible public-service occupation and meet the other settlement requirements.
There is also one-off transitional protection for specified healthcare and education workers below RQF Level 6 who arrived before the May 2025 White Paper. Examples include nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants on eligible national pay-scale arrangements.
Those arriving after the cut-off normally follow the 10-year route unless they qualify for another discount.
Student Visa Rules
International students must distinguish between permission to study and permission that leads to permanent settlement.
Currently, Student and Graduate visas do not directly provide a normal five-year ILR route.
However, lawful time spent on these visas can count towards settlement under the separate 10-year Long Residence route, provided the applicant meets its requirements.
For example, someone who spent four years on a Student visa followed by six years on a qualifying work visa may currently be able to rely on those 10 years under the Long Residence rules.
Long Residence Closure
The government plans to close the separate 10-year Long Residence pathway.
Under Earned Settlement, time spent on Student and Graduate visas would no longer count towards the qualifying residence period.
Consequently, somebody spending four years studying before switching to a Skilled Worker visa would generally begin their new qualifying settlement period from the qualifying work route, rather than counting the previous four study years.
Other temporary routes proposed to be excluded include Visitor, Graduate, High Potential Individual, Youth Mobility, Global Business Mobility, Temporary Worker and certain Ukraine Scheme routes.
The treatment of Leave Outside the Rules remains under further consideration.
The planned closure of Long Residence has not yet taken effect.
Students who are already approaching the existing Long Residence requirement should check their individual eligibility and the eventual transitional provisions rather than assuming their previous residence has already been excluded.
Student Dependants
Student visa holders and their family members do not automatically qualify for ILR through their Student permission.
Where a student later moves to a qualifying work or family route, their settlement position would depend on that new route and the relevant qualifying period.
The government has not announced a separate automatic ILR concession for spouses or children simply because they previously held Student dependant permission.
Under the general Earned Settlement model, spouses and children who hold eligible dependant status may benefit from the family-settlement protections discussed below.
However, the rules governing student dependants, the ability to switch visa categories and the right to count previous residence must be considered separately.
Skilled Worker Dependants
The government originally considered requiring adult dependants to earn settlement independently.
After consultation, it decided to move away from a fully individualised approach. A dependant partner who arrives with the main applicant would generally be able to settle at the same time, provided both meet the relevant conditions.
For example, if a Skilled Worker qualifies after five years and their spouse has held eligible dependant permission throughout those five years, both may be able to apply together.
A dependant who arrives later must normally complete the same required qualifying residence period.
For example, if the worker arrives in 2027 and their spouse joins two years later, the worker may become eligible earlier. The spouse would ordinarily need to complete their own residence requirement.
A partner who has not earned £12,571 individually may potentially rely on the eligible couple’s combined income of £25,142 to satisfy the minimum contribution condition.
Other applicable requirements, including English, character, immigration status and residence, still apply.
The new policy does not mean that every dependent automatically receives ILR when the main applicant qualifies.
Dependent Children
The revised framework provides special protections for children and young adults.
a)- Under 18
Children below 18 would generally be able to settle alongside their eligible parents.
They would be exempt from the individual income requirement, government-debt condition, English-language requirement, and Life in the UK Test.
Relevant suitability and criminality requirements would still apply.
b)- Ages 18–24
Young adults aged 18 to 24 who retain valid child-dependent status would be able to settle with their family, subject to the applicable conditions.
They would not need to meet the individual earnings requirement.
However, they would normally be expected to satisfy the other mandatory requirements that apply to adult applicants.
c)- Age 25+
A person aged 25 or above when their family becomes eligible for settlement would generally need to qualify independently or move onto another suitable immigration route.
This could particularly affect children who entered the UK at a young age but whose parents must now wait 10 or more years before settlement.
The government has also retained separate protection for certain children who have grown up in the UK, including those with seven years’ residence or most of their lives spent here, according to the relevant immigration route.
British Citizen Partners
Eligible spouses, partners, parents and children of British citizens will continue to benefit from a five-year settlement pathway.
For example, somebody married to a British citizen who holds permission on the qualifying family route should not automatically be moved onto the new standard 10-year Skilled Worker pathway.
However, applicants must continue to satisfy the requirements of their own family route and the mandatory settlement conditions, unless an exemption applies.
The existing five-year family route is different from a 10-year family or private-life route based on exceptional circumstances.
A marriage to a British citizen does not by itself confer ILR, and the qualifying residence period must still be completed.
ILR Holder Spouses
Spouses of people who already hold Indefinite Leave to Remain need special attention. Under the current Immigration Rules, a person with a qualifying family visa as the spouse or partner of an ILR holder can generally apply after five years on the five-year family route. Other family routes have different residence requirements.
The November 2026 government response expressly protects the five-year pathway for eligible family members of British citizens.
It does not provide equally explicit wording guaranteeing that every spouse sponsored by a person who holds ILR, but is not British, will retain the same five-year arrangement under every future circumstance.
Consequently, it would be premature to claim that all spouses of ILR holders will definitely qualify in five years under the revised framework—or that all will automatically move to 10 years.
Their treatment will depend on the final Immigration Rules, their family visa category and transitional provisions.
There is also an important distinction between someone who originally entered as a Skilled Worker dependant and someone who entered later on a family visa sponsored by an already-settled partner. These applications may be governed by different rules.
Refugee Settlement
The new settlement framework proposes a major distinction between refugees who enter through designated government-approved resettlement and sponsorship routes and those who claim asylum after arriving through other routes.
a)- Approved Refugee Routes
Refugees admitted through certain designated Safe and Legal routes would retain five-year settlement pathways.
These include the UK Resettlement Scheme and specified resettlement or community sponsorship arrangements.
Refugees admitted through the UK Resettlement Scheme would have an A2 English requirement rather than B2 and would be exempt from the existing Life in the UK Test until an appropriate A2-level version becomes available.
These refugees would also be exempt from the usual requirement not to have received public funds during the five years before settlement.
Importantly, entering the UK lawfully on a different visa and subsequently claiming asylum does not automatically place a person on the five-year designated resettlement pathway.
b)- Core Protection
People granted refugee status following an asylum claim outside the designated Safe and Legal routes would ordinarily move onto a system called Core Protection.
The proposed normal qualifying period would be 20 years.
Core Protection is intended to allow people to remain in the UK while they continue to require protection, even though permanent settlement would take considerably longer.
c)- Work and Study
Refugees on Core Protection who enter sustained employment, education or training may be able to move onto a separate Protection Work and Study route.
This would provide a 10-year settlement pathway. However, the 10-year period would normally start when the refugee moves onto Protection Work and Study.
Previous time spent on Core Protection would not automatically count. For example, if someone spends one year on Core Protection and subsequently moves to Protection Work and Study, they could become eligible after 11 years from their original protection grant, assuming all requirements are met.
Where economic contribution is demonstrated through work, the applicant would need to earn at least £12,571 in three qualifying years.
The precise education, employment and training requirements are not yet fully published.
d)- Existing Refugees
An especially important unresolved issue concerns people who already hold refugee status. When 30-month grants of refugee permission were introduced for many people claiming asylum from 2 March 2026, the government had indicated that earlier asylum claimants would retain the existing settlement arrangements.
However, the November 2026 consultation response states that refugees who claimed asylum before 2 March 2026 outside the designated Safe and Legal routes will move onto Core Protection.
It also states that time already spent with refugee status will count towards settlement. This creates a significant concern for people who already received five years’ refugee permission and expected to apply for ILR at the end of that period.
Their final treatment, including any transitional protection, requires further clarification.
Small Boat Arrivals
The government proposes an additional 10-year settlement waiting period for people who entered the UK without permission, including through small-boat crossings, where the relevant conditions apply.
For refugees granted protection, the proposed pathways could therefore be:
| Circumstances | Proposed Waiting Period |
| Core Protection without additional illegal-entry period | 20 years |
| Protection Work and Study without additional illegal-entry period | 10 years on that route |
| Core Protection plus illegal-entry period | Up to 30 years |
| Protection Work and Study plus illegal-entry period | 20 years on that route |
These figures are not automatic outcomes for everyone who arrives by boat.
Refugee Convention
The government acknowledges that Article 31 of the Refugee Convention protects certain refugees from penalties for entering a country without permission.
Where Article 31 applies, the proposed additional 10-year period would not be imposed. Whether a person qualifies for this protection depends on the relevant legal conditions and their individual circumstances.
Travelling through another country does not, by itself, automatically settle that legal question.
The Home Office has not yet published the complete practical guidance explaining how Article 31 protection will be assessed under the new settlement system.
Immigration Breaches
People who committed specified immigration breaches as adults could face a 20-year pathway, irrespective of higher earnings.
The proposed qualifying breaches include overstaying permission, breaching visa conditions, deception in an immigration application and actions intended to frustrate immigration controls.
The detailed scope of these breaches will be defined in the future Immigration Rules.
A person who previously overstayed but later obtained valid immigration permission should not assume that the ordinary 10-year or higher-earner pathway will necessarily apply.
Equally, someone without lawful immigration permission does not become automatically eligible for ILR simply by remaining in the UK for 20 years.
They would still require an appropriate lawful route and satisfy the relevant immigration conditions.
The proposed adult-breach provisions would not operate in the same way for conduct committed while a person was below 18.
Refugee Dependants
The current UK protection-settlement system includes eligible spouses, partners and children of people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection.
The new framework also adopts a general principle that eligible families should be able to settle together, subject to their residence and eligibility conditions.
However, the November 2026 policy does not resolve every detailed question concerning refugee spouses, children, family reunion arrangements and later-arriving dependants under Core Protection and Protection Work and Study.
For instance, a dependant’s exact qualifying period may depend on when permission was granted, when the family member entered the UK, the type of protection permission held and the eventual Immigration Rules.
Refugee family members should therefore not assume that all existing five-year settlement arrangements will remain unchanged, or that every dependant will necessarily face the same 20- or 30-year period.
Specific rules and transitional guidance are still needed.
Mandatory Requirements
A qualifying residence period and sufficient earnings will not be enough on their own.
The proposed model imposes strengthened conditions concerning criminality, economic contribution, English language, government debts and knowledge of life in the UK.
1- Criminal Record
The government proposes refusing settlement to adult applicants with a UK criminal record.
This includes more than custodial sentences. Certain cautions, court-imposed fines, community sentences and other recorded criminal outcomes would also be covered.
Some overseas convictions would also affect eligibility where the underlying conduct constitutes an offence in the UK.
Separate considerations would continue to apply to conduct committed before age 18.
A routine non-criminal administrative penalty should not automatically be confused with a criminal conviction.
2- English Requirement
B2 English would become the standard settlement requirement for most applicants, replacing B1 where B1 is currently required.
B2 is a higher level of language ability, broadly equivalent to A-level study of a foreign language.
Importantly, a B2 settlement requirement has already been inserted into the Immigration Rules for several routes, with a commencement date of 26 March 2027.
The wider Earned Settlement framework would apply B2 more generally, subject to exemptions and special arrangements.
Children, applicants aged 65 or over, and people qualifying under relevant physical or mental condition exemptions would continue to receive protection.
A higher C1 English qualification would not, by itself, reduce the settlement waiting period.
3- Government Debt
Applicants would generally need to clear outstanding government debts before settlement.
These may include unpaid NHS charges, taxes, National Insurance contributions and relevant legal costs owed to the Home Office.
For refugees required to repay asylum-support costs, the government proposes allowing settlement where the amount has been repaid or the individual is complying with an agreed repayment plan.
Who must repay asylum-support costs, how much they may owe and which safeguards apply remain subject to further rules.
4- Life in UK
Applicants would generally have to pass the Life in the UK Test, unless exempt.
The government is also reviewing the test.
Certain vulnerable applicants and specific refugee resettlement groups would receive adjusted requirements.
Public Funds
The government proposes that applicants seeking settlement after three, five or 10 years should generally not have accessed specified public funds during the five years immediately before applying.
If a person continues to access relevant public funds, the settlement pathway could extend to 20 years.
However, the government has not yet confirmed the full list of benefits to be counted or all the exemptions for vulnerable people.
Receiving a benefit legally does not necessarily establish how it will be treated under the future ILR rules.
Applicants should not stop claiming essential support based solely on the settlement announcement without obtaining appropriate advice.
Protected Groups
Several categories will retain special settlement arrangements.
These include:
- Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders: The five-year settlement pathway remains.
- Eligible Afghan scheme participants: Certain routes retain immediate settlement arrangements.
- UK Ancestry applicants: Eligible Commonwealth citizens with a qualifying UK-born grandparent retain a five-year pathway.
- Armed Forces personnel: Qualifying personnel may settle after at least four years’ eligible service, while certain partners and children retain five-year arrangements.
- Windrush Scheme: Existing protections and confirmation of British citizenship or settled status continue.
- Domestic abuse survivors: Eligible applicants retain special settlement arrangements without completing the standard qualifying period.
- Bereaved partners: Eligible applicants continue to benefit from settlement provisions where their qualifying partner has died.
- Vulnerable children: Special arrangements remain for qualifying unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, children in local authority care and certain children who grew up in the UK.
People under the EU Settlement Scheme remain outside the main Earned Settlement reforms.
Certain legacy routes, including specified Turkish businessperson and worker arrangements, also remain separate.
Some protected groups may still face strengthened mandatory settlement requirements, unless an applicable exemption or safeguard protects them.
Existing Visa Holders
Many migrants already living in the UK are understandably concerned about whether the changes will apply to them.
The government has confirmed that it does not intend to provide a blanket exemption for everyone who entered the country before the reforms.
The normal legal position is that the rules applicable to a settlement decision can be those in force when the decision is made, subject to any transitional provisions.
Consequently, someone who came to the UK expecting five-year settlement may face a longer waiting period once the new rules are implemented.
However, the government has created targeted transitional protections for certain existing care workers and healthcare or education workers.
People who already have ILR or settled status will not have that status removed merely because the new settlement framework is introduced.
Implementation Date
As of 5 November 2026, no single legally confirmed commencement date has been announced for the entire Earned Settlement system.
The government outlined its revised policy on 2 November 2026, but that announcement did not immediately change all settlement eligibility rules.
Right to Remain reports that the government plans to publish the first new Immigration Rules in December 2026, with initial changes expected from January 2027.
The Home Secretary has also indicated that reforms will be introduced in stages during 2027, while Right to Remain notes that further changes may continue into 2028.
These are implementation plans, not a confirmed commencement schedule for every pathway.
Two separately identifiable dates are already particularly relevant:
1 February 2027: The announced start of the extended 120-day and 60-day arrangements for certain care workers whose sponsor loses its licence.
26 March 2027: The commencement date already written into the Immigration Rules for the B2 settlement English requirement on specified routes.
Neither date should be described as the date when every new Earned Settlement provision comes into force.
Next Legal Steps
Before the complete framework becomes operational, the government must translate the policy into legally effective rules and practical guidance.
The next steps include:
- Statement of Changes: This will set out amendments to the Immigration Rules and their commencement dates.
- Explanatory Memorandum: This will explain the purpose and effect of the legal amendments.
- Updated Immigration Rules: These will establish the binding eligibility requirements for each relevant category.
- Caseworker Guidance: This will explain how applications, evidence, qualifying years and exemptions should be assessed.
- Impact Assessment: The government has committed to publishing a fuller assessment of the effects of the reforms.
- Transitional Arrangements: These will explain how existing migrants and pending cases move into the revised system.
Until those documents are published, several aspects of the framework remain uncertain.
Government Estimates
The Home Office estimates that the reforms will cause more than 500,000 people to wait longer than five years for settlement.
The government also expects the policy to reduce future welfare expenditure by billions of pounds, although detailed impact assessments are still to be published.
It argues that the new system will better recognise sustained contribution, compliance with immigration requirements and participation in UK society.
Organisations including Right to Remain have raised concerns about the effect of longer waiting periods on families, people who have already lived and worked in the UK for years, and those facing barriers to employment or higher earnings.
The debate also concerns whether people who followed the rules when they originally entered the UK should face substantially different conditions before receiving permanent residence.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are the new UK ILR rules already in force?
No. The principal Earned Settlement reforms remain pending. Different elements are expected to commence in stages during 2027, subject to the final legal timetable.
2. Can Skilled Workers still qualify after five years?
Yes, under the proposed framework, if they meet a qualifying accelerated pathway, such as earning at least £50,271 for three of the previous five years or working in an eligible public-service occupation.
3. Can couples combine their income?
Eligible couples would be able to combine earnings to meet the £25,142 minimum household contribution threshold. This does not automatically satisfy the individual £50,271 high-earner requirement.
4. Do care workers need £25,000 or £25,142?
The protected five-year care-worker pathway has a £25,000 employment-related salary requirement. The £25,142 figure is the separate combined minimum economic contribution threshold for eligible couples.
5. What happens to students?
The government plans to remove Student and Graduate visa time from settlement calculations and close the separate 10-year Long Residence pathway. These changes are not yet in force.
6. Will Skilled Worker dependants settle together?
Eligible partners who have completed the required residence may generally settle alongside the main applicant. Later-arriving spouses usually have to complete their own qualifying residence period.
7. Can children settle with parents?
Eligible children under 18 would normally be able to settle with their parents. Special protections also apply to qualifying young adult dependants aged 18 to 24.
8. Will British citizens’ spouses wait 10 years?
Eligible spouses and other qualifying family members of British citizens are protected under the five-year pathway. Other family and private-life routes may operate differently.
9. What about spouses of ILR holders?
The current five-year family route can cover spouses of settled people, including ILR holders. However, the revised policy’s explicit British-connection protection refers to British citizens, so the final treatment of all ILR-holder-sponsored spouses requires further clarification.
10. Will every refugee wait 20 years?
No. Refugees admitted through designated Safe and Legal routes may retain five-year pathways. Other refugees may qualify through 10- or 20-year routes, depending on their status and circumstances.
11. Does illegal entry always mean 30 years?
No. The government proposes an extra 10-year period in specified cases, but the total period depends on the relevant route. Refugees protected by Article 31 of the Refugee Convention would not face that additional period.
12. Will existing ILR be cancelled?
No. The government has stated that people who already hold settled status will not have it removed because of these reforms.
13. Will the 15-year worker route be introduced?
The earlier proposed 15-year route for workers below RQF Level 6 has been dropped. Most of these workers would instead follow the 10-year route, unless another pathway applies.
14. Can volunteers get faster ILR?
No. The government considered reducing the settlement period for volunteering but has dropped that proposal.
Final Summary
The UK’s Earned Settlement framework represents a major proposed reform to permanent residence.
The standard settlement period would increase from five to 10 years, while shorter routes would remain for qualifying higher earners, certain skilled public-service workers, protected care workers and specified family categories.
Some people with immigration breaches or certain protection circumstances could face substantially longer waits.
There are also important protections for eligible couples, dependent children, some existing migrants and vulnerable groups.
Nevertheless, the government has not yet published all the legally binding Immigration Rules, transitional provisions and operational guidance.
Migrants should therefore check their current visa conditions, qualifying residence, employment records and future settlement requirements before making important immigration decisions.