New ILR Rules: Earned Settlement explained – what it means for you 

On 2 November 2026, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced new rules for settlement in the UK. Settlement is also called indefinite leave to remain (ILR). The new system is called “earned settlement”.

Under this system, many people will no longer be able to apply for ILR after 5 years which is the current rule. Instead, the standard qualifying period will now be 10 years. Some people can qualify sooner, based on how much they earn and some groups are exempt from the 10-year rule.

The government set out the final plan in its consultation response, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement. Most ideas from the May 2025 Immigration White Paper and the November 2025 consultation will go ahead.

Importantly, the changes will apply to those already in the UK. That means if you are on a 5-year route to settlement, you may now have to wait 10 years unless an exemption applies.

The Home Office estimates over 500,000 people will wait longer than 5 years.

When will the new ILR rules be implemented?

The new ILR rules are not law yet. They will likely start to appear in the Immigration Rules from December 2026, and we will then know more about the legal details. The government plans to bring the new rules in during 2027. That means some changes may start before others.

What are the new ILR rules? The four mandatory requirements

Everyone applying for ILR will need to meet four conditions:

• A clean criminal record.
• Better English. You will need a higher level of English, B2. This has already been implemented into law and will apply to ILR applications made from 26 March 2027. 
• No debts to the taxpayer. For example, unpaid NHS charges or tax.
• Regular National Insurance payments for at least 3 years.

These are the baseline requirements. How long you must wait before you qualify for ILR will depend mostly on your earnings.

The ILR 10-year route, and who can settle sooner

Under the new ILR rules, your earnings decide how long you wait before you qualify. Until now, most could get ILR after 5 years.

Children, people aged 65 and over, and people who cannot meet it because of a physical or mental condition do not need to earn the £12,571 minimum.

Only your best years count towards these earnings levels. This is called the “best years” approach, and it is meant to allow for career breaks, maternity leave, illness or similar situations.

This impacts people on lower pay the hardest. They must wait the longest which means at least 5 more years of visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge payments and often legal fees. The people who can least afford these costs will be forced to pay them for the longest time.

You must also be on the right type of visa for your pathway. For example, time on the private and family life route will not count towards the 3- or 5-year pathways. You will also not be able to add time on protection or human rights routes to time on work or family routes. If you move between these, your qualifying time starts again. 

Who is exempt from the new ILR rules?

Those who have been on a Talent visa route, can qualify for ILR after three years regardless of earnings. This includes the Global Talent visa, Innovator Founder visa and the International Sportsperson visa. 

Some groups can still get ILR after 5 years or have different rules.

Public service workers 

Doctors, nurses and teachers can get ILR after 5 years. Other health and education staff on national pay scales, such as teaching assistants, can stay on the 5-year route if they came to the UK before May 2025.

Care workers 

Some care workers can still get ILR after 5 years. They must have been on the care visa route before May 2025 and complied with their visa conditions. They must also have earned at least £25,000 a year. Those who do not meet this can apply for another 5-year visa to qualify for ILR. 

Other groups will be exempt or have different rules because of their vulnerability or existing government commitments.

Other rules apply under existing government commitments: 

• Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) 
• Afghan Scheme 
• Windrush  
• Other legacy safe and legal routes such as resettlement schemes
• Members of HM Armed Forces

Vulnerable groups: 

• Bereaved partners
• Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC)
• Children in local authority care
• Children and young people who grew up in the UK without secure status
• Victims of domestic abuse.

Public funds

You must not have used public funds in the 5 years before you apply. If you have, you must either go 5 years without using them or wait 20 years for settlement.

Spouse visa, dependants and family ILR

Partners of workers

Main visa holders and their dependent partners will be able to combine their earnings together as a household. The dependent partner does not need to reach the earning level by themselves. Instead, the household must earn at least £25,142 in total.

Family of British citizens

In this situation, family members will stay on the 5-year route. This covers partners (for example, on a spouse visa), parents and children of British citizens. It also covers people on the UK Ancestry route. They must still meet the new four main conditions.

Refugees: settlement after 5 to 30 years

For refugees, the wait depends on two things. How did they arrive? And are they working or studying?

Refugees will mostly need to meet the same conditions as everyone else. This covers contributions, English, criminal record and public funds, with some changes. They may also have to pay back the cost of asylum support.

What the ILR changes mean in practice

Seraphus has opposed the earned settlement plans since the consultation began. The final policy does not fix our main concerns.

• It applies to people already here. Many people planned their lives around a 5-year route. Now they face several more years of uncertainty and significant costs. The exemptions only cover a limited number of people.
• It links settlement to income. This splits migrants into “deserving” and “undeserving” based on income. Economic contributions are being valued higher than societal contributions from care, family and community life.
• Lower earners pay the most. Longer routes mean more visa fees, health surcharges and legal costs. Often this is for whole families. This will be mostly felt by lower income families.
• Long uncertainty causes harm. Years on temporary visas are linked to anxiety and depression. They also make it hard to plan for the future deeply impacting families already in the UK.
• The UK will be out of step. Waits of 10 to 30 years for permanent residence are much longer than in other countries comparable to the UK.
• Immigration breaches. Leads to a 20-year route to settlement. 
• Key details are still missing. Impact assessments and full guidance will only come as the changes roll out. This will make it difficult for people to get a clear picture of their options and will likely lead to more uncertainty and anxiety in the coming year. 

These concerns are not theoretical. They are already shaping many people’s lives and will continue to impact migrants lives in the UK.