UK Settlement (ILR) in 2026: The Qualifying Periods and Routes Under Earned Settlement

Summary: The widely repeated reading that the qualifying period for settlement has moved from five to ten years for everyone does not reflect the framework as announced. The consultation response published by the Home Office on 2 November 2026 grades the qualifying period from three to thirty years according to earnings, occupation, family connection and immigration history, and places a number of routes outside the framework altogether. This guide sets out who falls within each pathway, which routes will count towards the qualifying period, and what transitional arrangements are proposed for those already in the UK.

On 2 November 2026 the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, made a statement to the House of Commons setting out the outcome of the earned settlement consultation and the final policy. The accompanying document, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation (CP 1707, November 2026), is the Government’s response to a process that began with the Immigration White Paper of May 2025 and moved to consultation in November 2025.

The consultation received 204,667 responses, of which 202,241 came from individuals and 2,426 from organisations. The framework rests on two principles: every applicant must meet a set of minimum mandatory requirements, and the time taken to qualify reflects the applicant’s contribution, integration and compliance.

Status: what follows is announced policy, not the rules in force. As at 2 November 2026 none of the qualifying periods, thresholds or route lists set out below have been incorporated into the Immigration Rules. They will take effect only once the Home Office lays a Statement of Changes before Parliament, and the commencement date will be stated in that document. The response gives no single start date for Earned Settlement and states that further guidance setting out technical and operational detail will be published before implementation.

Each figure in this guide should therefore be read as proposed within the announced framework. As at 2 November 2026 the qualifying period for settlement remains five years on most routes.

What is earned settlement and what was announced on 2 November 2026?

Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) confers the right to live in the UK permanently, unrestricted access to the labour market and access to public funds and social housing. The response notes that it also provides a route to British citizenship.

Under the current system, most routes leading to settlement permit an application after five years, subject to the route-specific requirements. The Government’s stated reasoning is that this structure draws insufficient distinction between applicants with very different records of contribution, integration and compliance. Under Earned Settlement the starting point moves to ten years, with the criteria that shorten or extend that period organised under the headings of character, contribution, integration and residence.

The character of the announcement is decisive. A consultation response is a statement of policy, not an amendment to the Immigration Rules. For the rules to change, the Home Office must lay a Statement of Changes before Parliament, and the date of effect will be set out there.

How is the qualifying period for settlement determined?

The response constructs the qualifying period on four tiers. The minimum mandatory requirements apply at every tier; earnings, occupation or family connection then determine the period.

3 years. Proposed for those making an exceptional economic contribution to the UK. This tier arises where the applicant has earned at least £125,141 a year, in line with the additional rate of income tax, or qualifies through the Highest Talent Group. The response records that this heading is subject to review pending the report of the Migration Advisory Committee.

5 years. Proposed for those making a strong contribution to the UK, and capable of being met on three separate bases: earnings of at least £50,271 a year, in line with the higher rate of income tax; five years’ work in a qualifying public service occupation; or a recognised British connection.

10 years. In the words of the response, the starting point for anyone playing by the rules and making a contribution to the UK. At this tier a minimum economic contribution of £12,571 a year is required, in line with the basic rate of income tax.

20 years. Proposed for those whose immigration non-compliance or access to public funds prevents them from qualifying under an earlier pathway.

How will the earnings thresholds be assessed?

The response accepts that earnings do not always follow a steady path and that periods of lower income may arise through maternity or parental leave, caring responsibilities or ill health. Earnings will therefore be assessed over a period longer than the minimum qualifying period, on what the response calls a “best years” approach.

In practice, the £125,141 threshold must be met in three of the four years immediately before the application on the three-year pathway; the £50,271 threshold in three of the five years on the five-year pathway; and the £12,571 threshold in five of the seven years on the ten-year pathway. The intention is that a temporary fall in earnings should not, by itself, move an applicant onto a longer pathway.

The thresholds will remain linked to the relevant income tax thresholds and will move in line with any future change to them. Exemptions from the £12,571 requirement are proposed for children, those aged 65 and over, and those unable to meet it because of a physical or mental condition.

Qualifying public service occupations and the British connection

The second basis for the five-year pathway is a specified health or education occupation. The response limits this to public-sector roles at RQF 6 and above that are already identified in the Immigration Rules as being paid according to national pay scales, giving doctors, nurses and teachers as examples. The full list of eligible occupations appears at Annex C of the response.

The third basis, a recognised British connection, covers two groups: eligible partners, parents and children of British citizens; and Commonwealth citizens who qualify through the UK Ancestry route on the basis of a UK-born grandparent.

The worked example in the response describes an applicant earning £42,000 a year who is married to a British citizen, and who falls within the five-year pathway on the basis of that connection notwithstanding that the higher earnings threshold is not met.

How do immigration breaches and public funds extend the period?

Specified immigration breaches committed as an adult place an applicant on the twenty-year pathway irrespective of higher earnings or other positive contributions. The response indicates that these breaches will include overstaying a visa, breaching a condition attached to immigration permission, using deception in an application and taking action to frustrate immigration controls, with the detail to be set out in the Immigration Rules. The requirement applies only to those aged 18 or over at the time of the breach.

As to public funds, applicants seeking to qualify through the three, five or ten-year pathways are expected not to have accessed specified public funds during the five years immediately before applying. Where access continues, twenty years on a qualifying route will be required.

The option canvassed in the consultation of shortening the qualifying period through volunteering has not been carried into the final framework.

Which routes will count towards settlement, and which will not?

Under Earned Settlement, residence is tied to the purpose of the applicant’s permission. The principle stated in the response is a clear one: time on routes intended to support long-term residence counts, and time on routes that are explicitly temporary does not.

The most concrete consequence is the closure of the separate Long Residence route, which operates on ten years’ continuous lawful residence. Under the current rules, time spent on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate can count towards that ten-year period even though those routes do not themselves lead to settlement. That will no longer be the case.

The route groups stated to count towards settlement are:

• longer-term work, talent and family routes, referred to as core permission
• specified talent and innovation routes, referred to as the high talent group
• Family and Private Life
• Core Protection Work and Study
• Core Protection
• Safe and Legal routes

The footnotes to the response set out core permission in full: Tier 2 Minister of Religion, Skilled Worker, UK Ancestry, Global Talent, Scale Up, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, Family – Partner, Family – Partner/Parent (excluding Article 8 ECHR cases) and Stateless Person. High talent permission covers the Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Scale Up, Innovator Founder and International Sportsperson routes.

The routes stated not to count towards settlement are: Visit, Student, Global Business Mobility, the Temporary Worker routes, Youth Mobility, Seasonal Worker, Overseas Domestic Worker, Graduate and High Potential Individual, the Ukraine Schemes including the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme, and Leave Outside the Rules (LOTR).

It is worth noting, finally, that time spent on protection or human-rights routes will not be capable of being combined with time spent on work or family routes in order to meet the qualifying period. Where an applicant moves between them, the qualifying period for the new pathway begins on the move.

Which routes are outside the Earned Settlement framework?

The response states expressly that a number of routes already operate under separate arrangements, most of which are now fully closed, and are not affected by the Earned Settlement reforms. They are:

• EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS): the deadline for most people was 30 June 2021, although an application may still be made where the deadline fell after that date or where there are reasonable grounds for applying now
• Turkish businesspeople and workers under the European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA), that is the Ankara Agreement: closed to new main applicants
• Tier 1 (Investor): closed route
• Pre-2012 Overseas Domestic Worker: closed route
• Children brought to the UK from the Calais camps (Calais and Section 67): closed routes

For ECAA this has direct consequences for Turkish nationals who have established businesses in the UK under the Agreement. In response to a question raised in the House of Commons on 2 November 2026, it was confirmed that, the route being closed and reflecting a particular agreement to which the UK was then a party, no change is proposed to the settlement rights of those who came through it.

That provision should not be confused with a second group kept outside the main framework under existing commitments, exceptional service to the UK or particular vulnerability. This includes Hong Kong BN(O), the Afghan Schemes, Windrush, HM Armed Forces, bereaved partners and victims of domestic abuse. Those groups will nonetheless need to meet the strengthened requirements applying generally to settlement, including the new criminality requirements and the B2 English language standard, unless an existing exemption or safeguard applies.

What minimum requirements will apply to every application?

The response states that the minimum mandatory requirements cannot be offset by higher earnings, public service or other positive contributions. They are good character and suitability, the absence of outstanding Government debt, strong English language ability, the Life in the UK test and sustained contribution to the UK.

Criminality. The requirement is to be significantly strengthened, and any adult applicant with a criminal record in the UK will be refused settlement. A criminal record extends beyond custodial and suspended sentences to out-of-court disposals, court-imposed fines, community sentences and civil orders where there has been a conviction. Overseas convictions will also lead to refusal where the underlying conduct would constitute a criminal offence in the UK, with discretion retained to take account of differences between legal systems.

Government debt. Applicants will be required to have no outstanding Government debt before they can settle. The response indicates that this will include NHS debt, tax debt including unpaid National Insurance contributions, and litigation debt owed to the Home Office.

English language. B2 will be the standard requirement for settlement, subject to the existing exemptions for children, those aged 65 and over, and those unable to meet the requirement because of a physical or mental condition. C1 English will not provide a further reduction in the qualifying period.

Life in the UK. The test continues as a mandatory requirement with the existing exemptions. The response adds that the test is under review so that it better reflects life in modern Britain.

How will partners and children be treated?

The consultation canvassed requiring dependant partners to earn settlement in their own right. That model has not been adopted. The final approach places greater weight on family unity, shared household contribution and the continuing dependency of children and young adults.

Two points stand out for partners. A partner who arrives with the principal applicant will continue to be able to settle at the same time, provided the relevant requirements are met; a partner who joins later will need to complete the same qualifying period of residence.

The second is household income. Eligible couples will be able to combine their earnings to meet the minimum economic contribution requirement, with the household threshold set at £25,142, twice the individual rate, and moving in line with any change to the National Insurance threshold. A partner who works fewer hours because of caring responsibilities will not necessarily need to meet the £12,571 individual threshold where the couple meets the combined threshold together. The partner must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship with the main applicant, and only one person may rely on the other’s income for this purpose.

For children the response sets out three tiers. Children under 18 will continue to settle with their parents and will be exempt from the income, Government debt, English language and Life in the UK requirements, while remaining subject to suitability and criminality requirements. Young adults aged 18 to 24 who retain child-dependant status will be expected to meet the adult mandatory requirements but not the individual income requirement. Those aged 25 or over when their family becomes eligible for settlement will be expected to qualify independently or move onto an appropriate route in their own right.

Are there transitional arrangements for those already in the UK?

This is the most significant section of the response for those already in the UK and should be read with care.

The response records that the courts have recognised that, unless transitional provisions are made, applications are ordinarily considered under the Immigration Rules in force at the date of the settlement decision, and states that being in the UK does not give someone an automatic right to settle under the rules that existed when they first arrived.

Rather than a general exemption, the Government has provided targeted transitional arrangements for a small number of clearly defined cohorts who were already in the UK before publication of the Immigration White Paper in May 2025.

Occupations below RQF 6. The fifteen-year pathway proposed in the consultation has been removed. Workers in these occupations will qualify through the ten-year pathway where they meet the strengthened minimum requirements, with the opportunity to qualify sooner where they demonstrate the contribution required for an accelerated pathway.

Care workers. Care workers who entered, or switched into, the route before May 2025 will retain the existing five-year qualifying period where they meet the applicable salary requirement of £25,000 a year, together with the sponsorship and employment requirements. Those who do not qualify after five years will be able to apply for a further five-year Health and Care visa, restricted to genuine work in the sector. Care workers who lose their employment because a sponsor licence has been revoked will, from 1 February 2027, have up to 120 days to secure a job offer and a further 60 days to resolve their status.

Health and education workers below RQF 6. Workers in healthcare and education occupations below RQF 6 that sit on a national pay scale for the purposes of the Immigration Rules, such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, will retain a five-year route where they came to the UK before May 2025 and meet the requirements of their visa. The response states expressly that this is a one-off arrangement for the existing cohort.

The pre-April 2024 Skilled Worker cohort. The transitional arrangements granted when the Skilled Worker salary thresholds rose in 2024 were given a sunset date of 2030. Because the qualifying period moves to ten years for roles below RQF 6, this cohort will be able to extend their visas on their current terms until 2035.

These arrangements apply only to those who were on the relevant routes before May 2025. Those entering afterwards will qualify through the standard ten-year Earned Settlement pathway.

For those on other routes the response contains no specific transitional provision. How that is resolved will become clear in the Statement of Changes and in the guidance that the response states will be published before implementation.

Common misconceptions about earned settlement

1. “The qualifying period is now ten years for everyone.” Ten years is the starting point for applicants who play by the rules and make a contribution. Where one of the earnings, public service or British connection bases is met, the period falls to three or five years.

2. “The rules changed on 2 November 2026.” The announcement is a statement of policy. The Immigration Rules will change through a Statement of Changes laid before Parliament, on the date stated in that document.

3. “The rules in force when the application is made will apply.” The response records, by reference to the case law, that unless transitional provisions are made, applications are considered under the rules in force at the date of the settlement decision. That distinction may matter more to timing than the date of application.

4. “Global Talent and Innovator Founder are outside the framework.” Neither route is outside it. Both fall within core permission and the high talent group, and the three-year pathway may arise where the applicant qualifies through the Highest Talent Group. The response records that this heading is subject to review pending the Migration Advisory Committee report.

5. “Time on a Student or Graduate visa counts towards ten years.” With the closure of the Long Residence route, time on temporary routes will not count towards the qualifying period. That includes Visit, Student, Graduate, High Potential Individual, Youth Mobility, Seasonal Worker and Global Business Mobility.

6. “Volunteering shortens the period.” The option canvassed in the consultation has not been carried into the final framework.

7. “High earnings overcome every obstacle.” The response states expressly that the minimum mandatory requirements cannot be offset by higher earnings. Specified immigration breaches committed as an adult bring the twenty-year pathway into play irrespective of the applicant’s earnings.

Announced Policy Is Not the Rule in Force

Earned Settlement converts settlement from an entitlement attached to a single qualifying period into a structure graded by earnings, occupation, family connection and compliance. The most decisive element of that structure is not the periods themselves but the route on which the time is spent. The residence provisions draw a clear distinction between routes intended to lead to permanent status and routes that are explicitly temporary, and state that time on the latter will not count.

As at 2 November 2026, however, nothing has changed in the Immigration Rules. The qualifying period for settlement remains five years on most routes. The only confirmed change in the calendar is the B2 English language requirement for settlement introduced by HC 1691 of 5 March 2026, which takes effect on 26 March 2027.

Preparation is therefore better approached not from the table of qualifying periods but from the route on which a given case sits and the timeline on which it is progressing. Where five years has been completed or is approaching, it is sensible for that timeline to be considered alongside the excluded routes and the transitional arrangements.

Would You Like Your Settlement Timeline Reviewed?

You are welcome to contact Visavis to discuss the circumstances of your case, where your route sits within the Earned Settlement framework and the timing of any application.

To see the possible period for your own visa and income, use our Earned Settlement Calculator; for your date under today’s rules and your time abroad, use our ILR calculator.

Email: team@visavisuk.com
London: +44 7936 910 888
Web: www.visavisuk.com

Visavis is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), registration no. F202100232. This article is provided for general information. It addresses the rules in force as at November 2026 and the policy decision published in the same month. Immigration rules, Home Office guidance, application fees and decision-making practice may change over time. Every application is assessed on its own facts. This content does not constitute legal or immigration advice in relation to any individual’s circumstances.

Sources

• Home Office, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation, CP 1707, November 2026. The qualifying periods, earnings thresholds, route lists and transitional arrangements in this article are drawn from that document: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement
• Statement to the House of Commons by the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, 2 November 2026. For the record of the sitting: https://hansard.parliament.uk
• Home Office, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, consultation document, November 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement
• Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules collection, where the commencement date will be published: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-rules-statement-of-changes
• HC 1691, 5 March 2026 (B2 English language requirement for settlement, in force 26 March 2027)

Rules, Home Office guidance and decision-making practice may change. Readers are encouraged to check the relevant pages on gov.uk for the current position.

Image: UK Parliament, House of Commons sitting, 2 November 2026. Parliamentary footage is made available under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.