Earned Settlement — the Proposed 10-Year ILR Reform

On this page ▾

• Is this law yet?
• What "earned settlement" means
• The proposed qualifying periods
• The proposed requirements
• Who is in & out of scope
• Firm vs still undecided
• The consultation & next steps
• What you can do now

Is this the law yet? (No — it is a proposal)

It is important to be clear at the outset: earned settlement is not in force. It exists as a policy proposal in two documents — the government's May 2025 White Paper, Restoring control over the immigration system, and a more detailed November 2025 consultation, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement. That consultation closed on 12 February 2026. The government has said it will publish a paper summarising the responses, "alongside economic and equality impact assessments … in due course," but at the time of writing it has not published its response and has not set an implementation date.

Until the government responds and lays the necessary changes to the Immigration Rules, the current settlement rules continue to apply — in most work and family routes that means a five-year qualifying period. Everything below describes what could change if the proposals are implemented as drafted, which they may not be.

What "earned settlement" means

The core idea is that settlement (indefinite leave to remain) would no longer be granted automatically once a person has held leave for a set number of years. Instead it would have to be "earned" by meeting a set of criteria, grouped by the government under four principles:

The proposed qualifying periods

The headline is a 10-year default, up from five. Around it, the consultation proposes reductions for people seen as contributing strongly, and longer periods for others. The table below is a simplified summary of the proposals; the exact figures, and whether each applies, are subject to consultation unless noted.

Other proposals would add years for particular immigration history — for example a period of claiming public funds, illegal entry, or a long overstay could each push the qualifying period out further. These penalty figures are among the points expressly left open in the consultation.

The proposed requirements

Alongside the longer wait, the proposals would introduce or tighten a set of conditions that an applicant would have to meet. As drafted, these include:

• A clean criminal record. The consultation states the "expectation … that you should not be able to settle with a criminal record" — a stricter bar than the current good-character approach.
• English language. A B2 level is proposed as the minimum, with a further reduction in the qualifying period floated for those at a higher (C1) level.
• Life in the UK. The existing knowledge-of-life-and-language test would continue to apply.
• Contribution. Earnings above a set level (a figure around the National Insurance threshold is discussed) sustained over a number of years, and payment of tax and National Insurance.
• No relevant debt. No outstanding NHS, tax or other government debt, and not being in current litigation with the government.

Several of these — particularly the number of years earnings must be shown, and how benefits are treated — are among the points the government expressly asked for views on, so the final shape is uncertain. Our Knowledge of Language & Life page explains the current English and Life in the UK requirements that would sit inside this framework.

Who is in — and out of — scope

This is the question most people ask, and the answer needs care.

Also stated to be out of scope of the consultation and the planned reforms:

• people with status under the EU Settlement Scheme;
• people granted status under the Windrush Scheme;
• children in care and care leavers.

The controversial part is everyone else. The consultation is explicit that people who have not yet been granted settlement — including those "due to reach settlement in the coming months and years" — could be brought within the new requirements. In other words, the proposals are not limited to people who arrive after a future start date. How far that applies, and what transitional protection there should be for people part-way through a five-year route, is one of the questions the government put out for consultation — so it is not settled.

What is firm, and what is still undecided

Because so much of this is open, it helps to separate the parts the government has stated as its position from the parts it is still consulting on. Select a tab:

The consultation and what happens next

The consultation, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, ran for twelve weeks and closed on 12 February 2026. It attracted a very large response. The government has said it will publish a document summarising the responses, together with economic and equality impact assessments, and then decide on its "preferred option, or combination of options."

Only after that would the government lay the necessary changes to the Immigration Rules, which take effect on stated dates. Until those changes are laid, nothing here is in force. We are monitoring for the government's response and will update this page when the position becomes clearer.

What you can do now

It is understandable to feel anxious about a proposal that could lengthen the path to settlement. A measured approach is best:

• Don't make irreversible decisions on a proposal. The detail may change, and the current rules still apply today.
• Keep your record clean and documented — continuous lawful residence, earnings, tax and National Insurance, and absences. These matter under the current rules and any likely future ones.
• If you are close to qualifying now, take advice on whether to apply under the current five-year rules while they remain in force.
• Watch the primary source. The government's response, not press coverage, is what will matter.

You can read the proposal in full on GOV.UK. See the Earned settlement consultation and the Restoring control over the immigration system White Paper.

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