Last checked against GOV.UK and Parliament: 19 October 2026.
Short answer: earned settlement is still a plan. The consultation closed on 12 February 2026 and the Home Office has not published its response yet. The government says it plans to do that this autumn. Today, most work routes still lead to ILR after 5 years. One change is already law, though. From 26 March 2027 you will need English at B2 level for ILR on most routes.
On a BNO visa? The 10-year plan does not apply to you. See BNO ILR: the 5-year rule and the 2026 changes.
Want to see what the plan could mean for you? Try our Earned Settlement Calculator.
Where things stand right now
| Item | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10-year standard path to ILR | Proposed only | GOV.UK consultation |
| Consultation | Closed 11:59pm, 12 Feb 2026. “We are analysing your feedback” | GOV.UK |
| Final policy | Home Secretary said it will come “later this year” (2026) | Home Affairs Committee, 15 Sep 2026 |
| Planned timing | Response planned “in the Autumn” of 2026, with a reply to the committee report | Minister’s letter, 17 Jul 2026 |
| Rules for people already in the UK | Not decided yet | Home Affairs Committee, 15 Sep 2026, Q59 |
| English at B2 for ILR | Confirmed. Applies to applications from 26 March 2027 | HC 1691 memorandum, para 5.60-5.61 |
| Government response | Not published yet. On 13 October 2026 an MP asked when it will come out (written question 34483). No answer so far. | UK Parliament |
| Start date for new rules | No exact timetable | House of Commons Library, 21 Sep 2026 |
| Latest Immigration Rules change | HC 584 came into force on 8 October 2026. It does not bring in earned settlement. | GOV.UK |
| ILR fee | Still £3,226 per person in the fee table that started on 8 October 2026 | GOV.UK |
| Prime Minister | Andy Burnham since 20 July 2026. Shabana Mahmood stayed as Home Secretary. No change to the plan announced | GOV.UK |
What the government proposed
The plan was published on 20 November 2025 in a paper called “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement”. Most people would wait 10 years for ILR instead of 5. Time could then go down or up depending on what you have done in the UK.
The paper explains the reason with numbers. Most of the people forecast to settle arrived between 2021 and 2024, when net migration hit a record high. The Home Office expects 1.3 million to 2.2 million people to settle from 2026 to 2030. Its middle estimate is 1.6 million.
Some things would cut the wait (only the biggest one counts):
- Taxable income of £50,270 or more for 3 years: 5 years off
- Taxable income of £125,140 or more for 3 years: 7 years off
- 5 years in certain public service jobs at RQF 6 or above: 5 years off
- Volunteering in your community: 3 to 5 years off
- Partner, parent or child of a British citizen: 5 years off, so still 5 years in total (not open to consultation)
- BN(O) route: 5 years off (not open to consultation)
- C1 English: 1 year off
- 3 years on a Global Talent or Innovator Founder visa: 7 years off
- Some vulnerable groups: a cut was suggested, with the details left to the consultation
Some things would add time. Claiming public funds for under 12 months would add 5 years. Over 12 months would add 10. Illegal entry, coming in on a visit visa or overstaying 6 months or more could each add up to 20 years.
How the numbers add up: if more than one thing from the same list applies to you, only one of them counts. But one item from the “cut” list and one from the “add” list are combined. GOV.UK gives its own example in the consultation paper: someone who claimed public funds for under 12 months (plus 5 years) and has C1 English (minus 1 year) would wait 10 + 5 minus 1, so 14 years in total.
Everyone would also need a clean record, B2 English, a Life in the UK test pass, no unpaid NHS or tax debts, and earnings above £12,570 a year for 3 to 5 years. The exact number of years was one of the consultation questions.
The EU Settlement Scheme and the Windrush Scheme are outside the plan. Nobody who already has ILR would lose it. The paper says: “We will not, and would never, take away settled status from those who have already been granted it.”
How long would you wait under the plan?
We ran some common cases through the numbers in the consultation paper. Use them as a guide to the plan, not as your real date. If the government changes the numbers, these answers change too.
| Your situation | Today | Under the plan |
|---|---|---|
| Software developer on a Skilled Worker visa, earning £60,000 a year for the last 3 years | 5 years | 5 years (10 minus 5 for income) |
| Care worker on a Skilled Worker visa, earning £26,000 | 5 years | 10 years, or 15 if the 15-year option for jobs below RQF 6 goes ahead |
| Teacher on a Skilled Worker visa, in a state school for 5 years, earning £40,000 | 5 years | 5 years (10 minus 5 for public service), if teaching makes the final list of jobs |
| Graduate in a degree-level job (RQF 6) on a Skilled Worker visa, earning £35,000, with C1 English | 5 years | 9 years (10 minus 1 for C1 English) |
| Husband or wife of a British citizen, on a partner visa | 5 years | 5 years (10 minus 5, not open to consultation) |
| Global Talent visa holder with 3 years on the visa | 3 or 5 years | 3 years (10 minus 7) |
Only the biggest cut counts. A developer on £60,000 with C1 English would still wait 5 years, not 4. To try your own case, use our Earned Settlement Calculator.
What about your partner and children?
Today, a partner or child on your work visa can usually settle when you do. The paper says this would change for adults. A partner’s wait would be worked out from their own situation, so it could be shorter or longer than yours. They would still only have a path to settlement if you, as the main applicant, can qualify.
For children, the Home Office wants to keep a window so that children who came as dependants before 18 can settle with their parents, even if they are over 18 by then. It also plans an age cut-off, but has not said what it would be. The Home Affairs Committee went further. It said all children who arrive young and grow up here should have settled status by 18.
Income is the other open question for families. When MPs debated the plan in February 2026, the minister said “family income” and assets were still part of the consultation.
Is earned settlement retrospective?
The paper proposed applying the new rules to everyone in the UK who does not have ILR yet. That is what worries most people on a Skilled Worker or Health and Care visa.
But it was asked as a question, not decided. On 15 September 2026 the Home Secretary told MPs that the options go from letting some groups through on the old 5-year path to other ways over a longer period. In her words, that is “policy to be settled”. She also said that a large group who came in 2022 would qualify in February 2027 if nothing changes, and that the new policy will come “in good time” before them.
The consultation itself asked whether people agreed there should be no transitional arrangements at all for those already on the path to settlement. MPs have raised it too. In a debate on 2 February 2026, Home Office minister Mike Tapp said transitional arrangements were “very much being consulted on”. On 13 March 2026 the Home Affairs Committee said applying the changes to people already here is “not unprecedented”, but asked the government to set out “suitable transitional arrangements”.
One thing to keep in mind. The Home Secretary said the rules that count are the ones in force on the day you apply, not the day you arrived.
What changed in 2026
- 2 February 2026: MPs debated two petitions about the plan. One of them, asking to keep the 5-year route, closed in May with 244,451 signatures.
- 12 February 2026: consultation closed.
- 5 March 2026: HC 1691 laid. It moves English for settlement from B1 to B2 on most routes, including Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Innovator Founder, UK Ancestry, Long Residence and Settlement Family Life.
- 13 March 2026: the Home Affairs Committee published its report on the plan. It asked the Home Office for a clear and realistic timeline.
- 17 July 2026: migration minister Mike Tapp wrote to the committee that the plan is to publish the response “in the Autumn”.
- 20 July 2026: Andy Burnham became Prime Minister. Shabana Mahmood stayed as Home Secretary.
- 15 September 2026: Home Secretary gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee. No date given, only “later this year”.
- 8 October 2026: the HC 584 changes came into force, including the BN(O) and Long Residence updates. Earned settlement is not part of them.
- 13 October 2026: an MP asked six written questions about earned settlement, including when the government response will be published.
Our ILR rule changes page tracks every change with dates.
What you can do now
If your 5 years end before the new rules start, the current rules still apply when you apply. So check your date with the ILR calculator and your trips with the absence calculator. The current fee is on our ILR fee page. If you will apply on or after 26 March 2027, book a B2 test early.
Questions people ask
Is earned settlement confirmed?
No. It is a proposal. The Home Office is still looking at the consultation answers. Only the B2 English change is in the rules so far.
When will the final earned settlement rules come out?
The Home Secretary said “later this year”, meaning 2026. No exact date has been given. We will update this page the day it is published.
Will people already on a 5-year visa be affected?
Not decided. Keeping some groups on the 5-year path is one of the options being looked at.
What is the salary threshold for earned settlement?
The proposal uses tax bands. Everyone would need to earn above £12,570 for a set time. Earning £50,270 or more for 3 years would take 5 years off. £125,140 or more would take 7 years off.
Will care workers have to wait longer?
Possibly. The paper asked about a 15-year starting point for Skilled Worker jobs below RQF level 6, which includes most care worker roles. This was a consultation question, not a decision.
Will people who already have ILR lose it?
No. The government said it will not take away settled status that has already been granted.
Has ILR increased to 10 years?
Not yet. Under the current rules, most work and family routes still lead to ILR after 5 years. The 10-year starting point is part of the earned settlement plan, and the government has not published final rules. Until new rules come into force, the current ones apply.
Is the 10-year long residence route being scrapped?
Not today. Appendix Long Residence is still in the Immigration Rules, and it was updated on 8 October 2026. The consultation paper says that under the new model “there will no longer be a separate long residence route”, but that is still a proposal. Our ILR after 10 years page explains the current rules.
Can I still respond to the consultation?
No. It closed at 11:59pm on 12 February 2026, and the Home Office is now going through the answers.
Did earned settlement start in April 2026?
No. The Home Office had said changes would start to come in from April 2026, as the Home Affairs Committee noted in March. But the main parts, like the 10-year starting point and the cuts and extra years, were still not in the Immigration Rules on 19 October 2026. The B2 English change was laid in March 2026 and applies from 26 March 2027.
Has the new Prime Minister changed the plan?
Not so far. Andy Burnham became Prime Minister on 20 July 2026 and kept Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary. In September she told MPs the policy would be set out later this year. As of 19 October 2026 the government had not announced any change to the plan.
Will time on a Student or Graduate visa count?
Probably not, if the plan goes ahead as written. The paper says your qualifying time would still have to be on routes that lead to settlement, and it does not plan to change which routes those are. Student and Graduate visas are not settlement routes. Today that time can count towards the 10-year long residence route, but the paper says there would no longer be a separate long residence route.
Does earned settlement change British citizenship?
Not straight away. The paper says citizenship will also be reformed later, on the same idea: longer qualifying periods, with quicker routes for people who contribute more. That needs a new Act of Parliament, because the rules are in the British Nationality Act 1981. Today most people can apply for citizenship 12 months after getting ILR.
Sources: GOV.UK consultation, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, Home Affairs Committee report (13 March 2026), minister’s letter (17 July 2026), Hansard, 2 February 2026, petition 746363, GOV.UK: Prime Minister.
ILR Check is not part of the Home Office or GOV.UK. This page is general information, not legal advice.