The UK government has announced major changes to the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) system for Skilled Workers, introducing a new settlement framework under which most workers will need to complete 10 years in the United Kingdom, while those earning at least £50,271 annually for three qualifying years may still obtain settlement after five years.
The announcement, made on 2 November 2026, follows a public consultation on the government’s Earned Settlement proposals, which received 204,667 responses.
Under the revised framework, the government intends to replace the existing standard five-year settlement period with a 10-year requirement. However, it has retained faster settlement pathways for higher earners, certain public-service professionals and other qualifying groups.
A major development for higher-earning Skilled Workers is that the government will not require them to earn £50,271 throughout the entire five-year residence period. Instead, applicants will be assessed on their three qualifying earning years within the five years immediately before applying for settlement.
Workers earning below this threshold will generally face the 10-year route unless they qualify for another exemption or accelerated pathway.
The government has also introduced provisions concerning care workers, existing visa holders, dependants, household earnings and English language requirements.
However, the new Earned Settlement framework has not yet been fully implemented through the Immigration Rules. The government must publish further rules, implementation arrangements and operational guidance before these pathways become available.
Five or Ten Years?
The most important change concerns the qualifying residence period for Skilled Worker visa holders.
Under the existing system, Skilled Workers can generally apply for ILR after five years of qualifying continuous residence if they meet the relevant employment, sponsorship, salary and immigration requirements.
The government’s new framework will change this by introducing 10 years as the standard settlement pathway.
Nevertheless, eligible workers making a higher economic contribution will receive an accelerated five-year route.
The main proposed pathways for Skilled Workers are:
| Settlement period | Earnings requirements |
| 5 years | £50,271 annually for 3 of the previous 5 years |
| 10 years | £12,571 annually for 5 of the previous 7 years |
| 3 years | £125,141 annually for 3 of the previous 4 years |
The three-year pathway is reserved for the highest economic contributors, while qualifying public-service workers and certain protected groups may also retain shorter routes without meeting the £50,271 earnings threshold.
Importantly, the salary requirement is not the only condition. Applicants must also satisfy the relevant residence, immigration compliance, English language and other mandatory settlement requirements.
Ten-Year ILR Route
For Skilled Workers who do not qualify for an accelerated settlement pathway, the normal qualifying period will increase from five to 10 years.
This means an eligible worker who earns less than £50,271 annually may have to complete 10 years of qualifying residence before becoming eligible for ILR.
However, the worker will not have to earn £50,271 to qualify under the standard 10-year pathway.
Instead, the minimum earnings threshold will be £12,571 per year, which applicants must meet in five of the seven years immediately preceding their settlement application.
For example, a Skilled Worker earning £42,000 annually could satisfy the minimum contribution requirement for the 10-year route, provided they meet the earnings condition in the required years and fulfil all other requirements.
Similarly, a worker earning £45,000 annually may qualify after 10 years, even though the salary would be insufficient for the five-year higher-earner pathway.
This distinction is important because many Skilled Workers may meet the salary requirements for their sponsored employment without meeting the higher earnings threshold for accelerated settlement.
Earnings Flexibility
The government has introduced flexibility for the standard pathway.
Instead of requiring £12,571 in every year of the 10-year residence period, applicants must meet the threshold in five of the seven years immediately before applying.
For example, someone earning above the threshold for three years, taking two years of parental leave with lower earnings, and subsequently earning above the threshold for another two years could satisfy the five-out-of-seven-years condition.
This is intended to ensure that temporary interruptions to employment do not automatically prevent settlement.
However, applicants must still complete the qualifying residence period and meet all relevant conditions.
Five-Year ILR Route
The most significant concession for higher-earning Skilled Workers is the retention of a five-year settlement pathway.
Under the announced framework, an eligible worker who earns at least £50,271 annually in three of the five years immediately preceding settlement may qualify for ILR after five years.
The government has linked this figure to the higher-rate income tax threshold. This means eligible workers may continue to qualify for permanent residence after five years rather than having to complete the new standard 10-year period.
For example, a Skilled Worker who earns £51,000, £54,000 and £57,000 in three qualifying years within the relevant five-year assessment period would meet the proposed accelerated earnings condition.
They would not need to earn above £50,271 during the remaining two years. However, completing five years and meeting the salary condition will not automatically guarantee settlement. Applicants will still need to satisfy the mandatory requirements.
Salary Calculation
The government has introduced what it calls the “best years” approach. Under this system, applicants may rely on the years in which their earnings reached the relevant settlement threshold.
For the five-year pathway, the worker must meet £50,271 in three of the five years immediately before applying.
Consider the following example:
| Employment year | Annual earnings | Qualifying year |
| Year 1 | £40,000 | No |
| Year 2 | £46,000 | No |
| Year 3 | £51,000 | Yes |
| Year 4 | £54,000 | Yes |
| Year 5 | £57,000 | Yes |
In this example, the worker satisfies the proposed five-year earnings test because three years meet the required threshold.
This flexibility could benefit professionals whose salaries increased after promotions, changes in employment or career progression.
It could also help eligible workers who experienced temporary reductions in earnings because of illness, parental leave or caring responsibilities.
However, the Home Office must still clarify the detailed evidence and assessment procedures.
Who Can Qualify?
The five-year earnings-based route will be particularly relevant to eligible professionals working in the UK under the Skilled Worker visa system.
Possible applicants include higher-earning workers employed in technology, finance, engineering, management, scientific research and other sponsored professions.
However, eligibility is determined by the individual’s qualifying immigration route, earnings, residence history and compliance with the settlement requirements.
Employment in a particular profession does not independently guarantee accelerated settlement.
An eligible Skilled Worker must satisfy the following principal conditions:
- Complete five years of qualifying residence.
- Earn at least £50,271 annually in three of the previous five years.
- Meet the relevant immigration and sponsorship conditions.
- Satisfy the English language and Life in the UK requirements.
- Meet strengthened criminality, suitability and government debt conditions.
The government also intends to require applicants to demonstrate sustained economic contribution and compliance with immigration rules.
The precise technical requirements will be established through the implementing Immigration Rules.
Previous Lower Salaries
An important question concerns Skilled Workers whose previous salaries were below £50,271.
The government’s announcement confirms that a worker does not need to earn above the higher threshold in every one of the five qualifying years.
For example, a worker who earned £40,000 in the first year and £46,000 in the second year could still qualify after five years if their earnings subsequently reached £50,271 for the next three qualifying years.
By contrast, a worker earning £45,000 for four years before receiving an increase to £60,000 in the fifth year would not satisfy the three-year higher-earnings test solely because of the latest increase.
The difference is that the first applicant meets the threshold during three qualifying years, while the second meets it in only one.
The government is therefore assessing sustained higher earnings, rather than simply the salary on the date of application.
Existing Skilled Workers
Many existing Skilled Worker visa holders entered the United Kingdom expecting to qualify for permanent settlement after five years.
The government has confirmed that the Earned Settlement framework is intended to apply to people already living in the UK who have not yet received ILR, subject to specific exemptions and transitional arrangements.
There is no general exemption allowing every existing Skilled Worker to retain the old five-year pathway.
However, existing workers could benefit from the accelerated five-year route if they satisfy the £50,271 earnings condition or qualify through another protected category.
For example, a Skilled Worker who arrived in January 2023 and completes five years in January 2028 may qualify through the new five-year pathway if their earnings meet the required threshold during three qualifying years and they fulfil the remaining conditions.
A worker who arrived on the same date but earns below the accelerated earnings threshold throughout the qualifying period may instead face the standard 10-year requirement.
Such a worker could potentially become eligible in January 2033, subject to the final Immigration Rules and any applicable transitional protection.
These are illustrative scenarios. The government has not yet finalised all commencement arrangements, and individual applicants must follow the rules applicable when their cases are decided.
Visa Salary Rules
A crucial distinction is that the salary required for a Skilled Worker visa is different from the earnings threshold for accelerated ILR.
Under the existing Skilled Worker immigration system, the usual general salary requirement is £41,700 per year or the occupation’s applicable going rate, whichever is higher.
Different salary requirements apply to certain workers, including eligible healthcare and education professionals and those benefiting from transitional provisions.
The £50,271 threshold concerns the new five-year accelerated settlement route. It is not the general minimum salary required to hold a Skilled Worker visa.
Similarly, the £12,571 minimum contribution requirement for the standard 10-year settlement pathway does not mean an employer can sponsor a worker at that salary.
Applicants must continue to satisfy the salary and sponsorship conditions applicable to their immigration route.
Application Dates
Under the current Immigration Rules, eligible Skilled Workers can normally apply for ILR up to 28 days before completing five years of qualifying continuous residence.
Applications submitted earlier may be refused. The current application fee is £3,226 per person, excluding optional priority processing charges.
Applicants must satisfy the continuous-residence requirement, which generally limits absences to 180 days in any 12-month period, subject to applicable exceptions.
They must also meet their existing sponsorship and salary requirements and demonstrate that their employer continues to require them for the role.
However, the new five-year pathway based on the £50,271 historical earnings test is not yet operational.
Until the relevant Immigration Rules are introduced, applicants must continue to follow the settlement requirements currently in force.
The Home Office has not yet announced a single implementation date for the entire Earned Settlement framework.
Three-Year ILR
Alongside the five-year and 10-year pathways, the government has announced a faster route for exceptionally high earners.
Eligible applicants earning at least £125,141 annually for three of the four years immediately before applying may qualify for settlement after three years.
The government has introduced the same earnings flexibility by allowing one of the relevant four years to fall below the threshold.
Certain highly skilled migrants, including qualifying Global Talent and Innovator Founder visa holders, may also benefit from accelerated settlement arrangements.
The salary threshold for the earnings-based three-year pathway is linked to the additional-rate income tax threshold and may change alongside future tax threshold adjustments.
Public-Service Workers
The government has also retained a five-year settlement pathway for specified public-service professionals.
These workers may qualify after five years even if their salaries remain below £50,271.
Qualifying occupations include certain doctors, registered nurses, midwives, pharmacists, physiotherapists, teachers, headteachers and social workers.
The eligible professions are identified in Annex C of the Home Office’s official response, based on specified health and education occupations paid according to national pay scales.
This protection recognises that workers in essential public services may make significant contributions to the United Kingdom despite earning less than professionals in some private-sector occupations.
However, not everyone employed by a hospital, healthcare provider or educational institution will automatically qualify.
The five-year arrangement is tied to specific eligible occupation codes and other relevant settlement conditions.
Care Worker Rules
The government has also announced targeted protection for existing care workers.
Care workers who entered or switched into the relevant route before publication of the Immigration White Paper on 12 May 2025 may retain the five-year settlement pathway.
To qualify, they must meet the applicable £25,000 annual salary requirement, genuine sponsorship, employment conditions and strengthened mandatory requirements.
However, the Home Office has not explicitly clarified whether the £25,000 threshold must have been earned throughout all five years.
It would therefore be premature to claim that every qualifying care worker must demonstrate five complete years of earnings above £25,000.
Further rules and guidance will be necessary to clarify how earlier years of lower earnings will be assessed.
Care workers who do not meet the five-year settlement requirements may have the opportunity to obtain a further five-year Health and Care visa, restricted to genuine sponsored employment in the care sector.
The earlier proposal for a general 15-year settlement pathway for occupations below RQF Level 6 has been dropped.
Workers in these occupations will normally face the standard 10-year pathway unless they benefit from an accelerated route or a transitional exception.
Care workers who entered or switched into the relevant route after the May 2025 cut-off will generally follow the 10-year pathway.
Pre-2024 Protection
The government has announced further transitional protection for certain Skilled Workers who entered the route before April 2024.
When Skilled Worker salary thresholds increased in 2024, qualifying existing workers were allowed to continue extending their visas under earlier salary arrangements.
These transitional provisions had previously been scheduled to end in 2030.
Under the newly announced framework, the government will extend the relevant arrangements until 2035 for affected workers in occupations below RQF Level 6 who are not covered by another exemption.
This will allow eligible workers additional time to extend their immigration permission under the applicable transitional salary arrangements.
However, extending these provisions until 2035 does not automatically mean that all workers who entered before April 2024 can still receive ILR after five years.
Visa-extension protection and settlement qualifying periods must be considered separately.
Dependants and Families
Another major development concerns the settlement eligibility of Skilled Workers’ dependant partners.
The government has moved away from its earlier proposal that all adult dependants should qualify for settlement entirely independently.
Under the revised framework, a partner who arrives in the UK alongside a Skilled Worker may generally settle at the same time as the main applicant, provided both meet the relevant requirements.
For example, if a Skilled Worker qualifies for five-year settlement and their spouse has also completed five years of qualifying residence, they may be able to apply together.
However, a dependent partner who joins two years later will normally need to complete five years of their own qualifying residence before becoming eligible for settlement.
Combined Household Income for ILR
Under the new Earned Settlement framework announced on 2 November 2026, the UK government will allow eligible couples to combine their earnings to meet the minimum economic contribution requirement for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).
The proposed minimum household income threshold is £25,142 per year, which is twice the individual minimum earnings requirement of £12,571.
Importantly, both partners do not need to be employed. The household requirement can be satisfied if one partner earns the full £25,142 or if both partners’ combined annual earnings reach this amount.
For example, if a Skilled Worker earns £32,000 annually and their dependent spouse does not work because of childcare responsibilities, the couple could still satisfy the minimum household income requirement. Similarly, if one partner earns £18,000 and the other earns £10,000, their combined income of £28,000 would exceed the threshold.
However, this household income arrangement applies only to the minimum economic contribution requirement. It does not apply to the higher individual earnings thresholds for accelerated settlement.
For the five-year ILR pathway, an eligible Skilled Worker must individually earn at least £50,271 annually in three of the five years immediately before applying.
Similarly, for the three-year ILR pathway, an eligible applicant must individually earn at least £125,141 annually in three of the previous four years.
Therefore, a Skilled Worker earning £40,000 cannot combine their spouse’s £20,000 salary to qualify for the five-year higher-earner pathway. Likewise, a couple earning £80,000 and £50,000 individually cannot combine their incomes to qualify for three-year settlement.
In summary, combined household earnings can satisfy the £25,142 minimum contribution requirement for eligible couples, but the £50,271 and £125,141 accelerated-settlement thresholds must be met individually. All applicants must also meet their applicable residence and other settlement requirements.
These arrangements form part of the government’s announced framework and remain subject to implementation through the Immigration Rules.
Children’s Settlement
Children under 18 will continue to be eligible to settle with their parents, subject to the relevant family and suitability requirements.
They will be exempt from the income, government debt, English language and Life in the UK Test requirements.
Young adults aged 18–24 who retain qualifying child-dependant status may also be able to settle with their families without meeting the individual earnings requirement.
However, they will generally need to satisfy the applicable adult mandatory requirements.
Those aged 25 or over when their families become eligible for settlement will normally be expected to qualify independently or obtain an appropriate immigration route in their own right, subject to relevant safeguards.
Mandatory Requirements
Regardless of whether an applicant qualifies for settlement after three, five or 10 years, the Earned Settlement framework introduces common mandatory requirements.
Applicants will generally need to demonstrate good character, compliance with immigration rules, the required economic contribution, strong English language ability and successful completion of the Life in the UK Test.
They must also have no disqualifying outstanding government debt.
The government intends to strengthen criminality requirements, while specified immigration breaches could place affected applicants on a significantly longer settlement pathway.
The normal English language requirement under the new framework will be CEFR Level B2, subject to applicable exemptions.
Separately, changes to the existing Skilled Worker Immigration Rules have already scheduled a B2 English requirement for settlement applications made on or after 26 March 2027.
This English language change should not be confused with the implementation date of the complete Earned Settlement framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Will all Skilled Workers have to wait 10 years for ILR?
No. Ten years will become the standard pathway, but eligible higher earners, certain public-service professionals and other protected groups may qualify after three or five years.
2. Who can qualify for ILR after five years?
Eligible Skilled Workers who earn at least £50,271 annually for three of the previous five years may qualify through the higher-earner pathway. Certain specified public-service workers and other protected groups can also qualify through separate arrangements.
3. Must workers earn £50,271 throughout all five years?
No. The announced framework requires the earnings threshold to be met in three of the five years immediately before applying. Two years may fall below it.
4. What happens to Skilled Workers earning £45,000?
Unless another shorter settlement pathway applies, they will generally fall under the standard 10-year route, provided they satisfy the relevant requirements.
5. Can existing Skilled Workers benefit from the five-year pathway?
Potentially, yes. Existing workers may qualify through the higher-earner or another protected pathway, but there is no general exemption preserving five-year settlement for everyone already in the UK.
6. Can spouses combine their incomes?
Yes. Eligible couples will be able to combine earnings to meet the £25,142 minimum household contribution requirement. This does not replace the individual earnings test for the higher-earner five-year pathway.
7. Do existing care workers retain five-year ILR?
Certain care workers who entered or switched into the route before May 2025 can retain the five-year pathway if they meet the relevant £25,000 salary, sponsorship, employment and mandatory requirements.
8. When will the new ILR rules begin?
The government has not yet confirmed a single commencement date for the full Earned Settlement framework. Further Immigration Rules and guidance are required before the new pathways become operational.
Wider ILR Reforms
Beyond Skilled Workers, the government’s Earned Settlement framework will introduce major changes affecting other immigration categories.
The separate 10-year Long Residence pathway is intended to close, meaning time spent on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate visas will no longer count towards settlement simply through the accumulation of lawful residence.
People who commit specified immigration breaches or access certain public funds may face significantly longer qualifying periods, potentially up to 20 years, subject to exemptions and safeguards.
Eligible partners, parents and children of British citizens, qualifying Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders and other specified protected groups will retain shorter or separate settlement arrangements.
Different settlement periods will also apply to refugees depending on their immigration status, entry circumstances and participation in employment, education or training.
The Home Office estimates that approximately 1.9 million people could have obtained settlement between 2026 and 2030 under its central forecast without the reforms.
Under the Earned Settlement framework, this figure is expected to fall to approximately 1.4 million, meaning more than 500,000 people would become eligible later than under the existing arrangements.
What Happens Next?
The government has announced its intended Earned Settlement framework following the consultation, but the full set of new rules has not yet been implemented.
For Skilled Workers, the most important distinction is between the standard 10-year pathway and the accelerated five-year pathway.
Those earning below £50,271 will generally face a longer settlement period unless they qualify for another protected or accelerated route.
Higher-earning Skilled Workers who satisfy the £50,271 threshold in three of the five years immediately before applying may still qualify after five years.
Existing visa holders should carefully review their salary history, immigration permission, occupation, sponsorship arrangements and dependants’ circumstances.
The Home Office must publish further Immigration Rules and operational guidance before applicants can rely on the new earnings-based framework.
The central message is that five-year ILR has not disappeared for Skilled Workers. It will remain available to eligible higher earners and specified protected groups, while 10 years will become the standard qualifying period for most other workers once the new framework takes effect.