Earned Settlement UK: The Final 10-Year ILR Rules Explained
Written by Bill Zahr
Last Updated 02 November 2026
The Home Office has published its final earned settlement framework. See the 3, 5, 10 and 20-year pathways and what changes for you.
Start the eligibility checkContact usThe short version
Ten years becomes the starting point. Anyone playing by the rules and making a contribution qualifies after ten years.
Three-year and five-year routes remain for higher earners, qualifying public service workers and people with a recognised British connection.
Twenty years applies where someone has committed a qualifying immigration breach or has accessed public funds in the five years before applying.
Everyone must meet minimum standards that cannot be traded off against higher earnings: good character, no outstanding Government debt, B2 English, the Life in the UK test and sustained contribution.
The Long Residence route will close. Time on temporary routes such as Student or Graduate will no longer build towards settlement.
The response gives no commencement date. It says further guidance will be published before implementation. Check GOV.UK and the Immigration Rules before relying on any date you see elsewhere.
How we got here: the consultation and the final framework
The Immigration White Paper, published in May 2025, committed the Government to raising the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten. A Fairer Pathway to Settlement followed in November 2025 and asked how a new Earned Settlement framework should work.
The consultation drew 204,667 responses: 202,241 from individuals and 2,426 from organisations. Of the individual respondents, 73% were current visa holders and 18% were British citizens. The Government notes that respondents were self-selecting and should not be treated as representative of the public as a whole.
The final framework differs from the proposals in several important ways. The Government describes it as simpler, as recognising a wider range of contributions, as supporting families to settle together, and as giving targeted protection to vulnerable and transitional groups. The main changes are:
The proposed 15-year pathway for workers in occupations below RQF level 6 has been dropped. These workers now fall under the 10-year pathway.
Dependants are no longer treated on a wholly individual basis. Couples can combine earnings, and families can settle together.
Volunteering will not reduce settlement periods.
A British connection and qualifying public service now count towards a five-year route.
Higher English levels (C1) will not shorten the qualifying period.
The four pathways at a glance
The Government organises the framework around four principles: character, contribution, integration and residence. These produce four pathways.
| Pathway | Who it is for | Earnings or other test | Must not have |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | Exceptional economic contribution | £125,141 in 3 of the last 4 years, or qualification through the Highest Talent Group (subject to review pending a Migration Advisory Committee report) | Accessed public funds in the last 5 years; a qualifying immigration breach |
| 5 years | Strong contribution: higher earners, public service workers, people with a British connection | £50,271 in 3 of the last 5 years, or 5 years in an eligible public service occupation, or a British connection | Accessed public funds in the last 5 years; a qualifying immigration breach |
| 10 years | The starting point for anyone playing by the rules and contributing | £12,571 in 5 of the previous 7 years | Accessed public funds in the last 5 years; a qualifying immigration breach |
| 20 years | People whose non-compliance or use of public funds rules out an earlier pathway | £12,571 in 5 of the previous 7 years | None |
All mandatory requirements apply to every pathway. The earnings thresholds track income tax thresholds, so they will move if those thresholds change.
The minimum standards everyone must meet
These requirements cannot be offset by high earnings, public service or any other positive contribution. If you are searching for ILR requirements under the new system, this is the foundation.
Good character and suitability.
No outstanding Government debt.
Strong English language ability, set at B2.
A pass in the Life in the UK test.
Sustained contribution to the UK.
The English and Life in the UK requirements keep their existing exemptions for children under 18, people aged 65 and over, and those who cannot meet them because of a physical or mental condition. The earnings requirement has the same exemptions.
Chapter 1: Character
A stricter "no criminality" rule
Under the current rules, a custodial or suspended sentence of 12 months or more means mandatory refusal. Shorter sentences, non-custodial sentences and out-of-court disposals lead to discretionary refusal.
Under Earned Settlement, any adult applicant with a criminal record in the UK will be refused settlement. The Government defines a criminal record broadly. It includes custodial or suspended sentences, out-of-court disposals such as cautions and conditional discharges, court-imposed fines, community sentences, detention and training orders, and civil orders where there has been a conviction.
Overseas convictions also lead to refusal where the underlying conduct would be a criminal offence in the UK. The Government keeps discretion for cases where conduct is criminalised overseas but would not be an offence here. Discretion also remains for offences committed under the age of 18.
If you have any caution, fine or conviction in your history, you should understand how it will be treated before you plan your application.
"No Government debt"
Applicants will need to have no outstanding NHS debt, tax debt (including unpaid tax), National Insurance contributions owed, or litigation debt owed to the Home Office. Where an applicant has received asylum support and must repay it, they must have repaid the amount or be complying with an agreed repayment plan.
Under the current rules this test is discretionary and applies only above a threshold. Under Earned Settlement it becomes mandatory and wider.
Immigration breaches mean a 20-year pathway
The consultation asked whether a breach should add 5, 10, 15 or 20 years. The Government chose the longest option. Specified immigration breaches committed as an adult place an applicant on a 20-year pathway, regardless of earnings.
The qualifying breaches will be set out in the Immigration Rules. They will include overstaying, breaching a condition attached to your permission, using deception in an application, and taking action to frustrate immigration controls. Illegal entry is covered in the refugee chapter but applies to all migrants. The rule applies only to adults aged 18 or over, because children often have no control over their status.
Chapter 2: Contribution
The earnings thresholds
Applicants must earn at least £12,571 a year, aligned to the basic rate of income tax. The faster routes sit at the higher and additional rates:
£125,141 for the three-year pathway (the additional rate threshold).
£50,271 for the five-year pathway (the higher rate threshold).
£12,571 for the ten-year default.
The "best years" approach
The Government accepted that careers do not run in a straight line. Maternity leave, caring and ill health can all reduce earnings for a time. So you do not need to meet the threshold in every year. You rely on your best years within a longer window:
Three-year pathway: the £125,141 threshold in three of the four years before applying.
Five-year pathway: the £50,271 threshold in three of the five years before applying.
Ten-year pathway: the £12,571 threshold in five of the seven years before applying.
The Government's own example is someone on the ten-year pathway who earns above £12,571 for three years, takes two years of maternity leave, then returns and earns above the threshold for two more years. That makes five qualifying years out of seven, so she meets the requirement.
Public service: a five-year route
Workers in specified health and education occupations can qualify after five years, provided they meet the other requirements. These are roles already identified in the Immigration Rules as paid on national pay scales, and the list follows Migration Advisory Committee advice. Annex C lists the qualifying occupations:
Generalist and specialist medical practitioners
Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists
Psychotherapists, clinical psychologists and other psychologists
Midwifery, community, specialist, mental health and children's nurses, nurse practitioners and other registered nursing professionals
Pharmacists, optometrists and dental practitioners
Medical radiographers, paramedics and podiatrists
Further, secondary, primary, nursery and special needs teaching professionals
Head teachers and principals
Social workers
The Government's illustration is a social worker earning below £50,271. Because social work is a qualifying public service occupation, they can still use the five-year route.
A recognised British connection
Recognised British connections keep a five-year route. This covers eligible partners, parents and children of British citizens, and Commonwealth citizens on the UK Ancestry route who qualify through a UK-born grandparent. The Government's example is a person earning £42,000 who is married to a British citizen. They qualify for the five-year pathway even though they do not meet the higher earnings threshold.
Household income for couples
Eligible couples can combine earnings to meet the minimum contribution requirement. The household threshold is £25,142, twice the individual figure, and it will move if the individual figure does. One partner can meet it alone, or both can contribute. A partner who works fewer hours because of caring does not need to hit £12,571 personally if the couple reaches the combined figure.
The partners must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship, and only one person may rely on the other's income for this purpose.
Public funds
Applicants on the three, five or ten-year pathways are expected not to have accessed specified public funds in the five years before applying. If they continue to access public funds, they must complete 20 years on a qualifying route. For now the Government will follow the existing definition of public funds in the Immigration Rules and Home Office guidance. It will decide later which benefits count and what safeguards or exemptions apply for vulnerable groups, and it says more detail will come before implementation.
Volunteering is out
The consultation floated cutting three to five years for volunteering. Voluntary-sector organisations raised concerns about safeguarding, verification and the risk of vulnerable people being pressured into unpaid work. The Government will not use volunteering to reduce settlement periods.
Chapter 3: Integration, English and Life in the UK
Integration will be assessed through English language ability and knowledge of life in the UK. The Government chose these because they are well understood and can be applied consistently.
B2 English
The standard English requirement for settlement rises from B1 to B2. The response describes B1 as roughly a GCSE in a foreign language and B2 as roughly an A level in a foreign language. B2 applies subject to the existing exemptions. C1 English will not shorten the qualifying period, because the Government wants to avoid creating different settlement periods for different English levels.
If you are searching for a B2 English test, plan for it early. Many applicants have only ever needed B1, and a higher level takes time to prepare for.
Life in the UK test
The test stays as a mandatory requirement, with its current exemptions, and the Government is reviewing it so that it better reflects modern Britain. Refugees admitted through the UK Resettlement Scheme will be exempt until a version at A2 English level exists.
Chapter 4: Residence, and the end of the Long Residence route
This chapter changes the most for people who have built up time on temporary routes.
Which routes count, and which do not
Time spent on the routes in the left-hand column below counts towards settlement. "Core permission" covers Minister of Religion, Skilled Worker, UK Ancestry, Global Talent, Scale-up, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, Family Partner, Family Partner/Parent (excluding Article 8 cases) and Stateless Person. Not every route qualifies for every pathway. For example, permission under the Family and Private Life routes will not qualify someone for the three or five-year pathways, although those applicants can qualify through the relevant ten or twenty-year pathway.
| Routes that will count | Routes that will not count |
|---|---|
| Core permission (longer-term work, talent and family routes) | Visit |
| High talent group (specified talent and innovation routes) | Student |
| Family and Private Life | Global Business Mobility |
| Core Protection Work and Study | Temporary Worker routes |
| Core Protection | Youth Mobility |
| Safe and Legal routes | Seasonal Worker |
| Overseas Domestic Worker | |
| Graduate and High Potential Individual | |
| Ukraine Scheme routes | |
| Leave Outside the Rules (approach to be set out in due course) |
Long Residence closes
Today, a person can reach settlement through the Long Residence route after ten years of continuous lawful residence, including time on routes such as Student and Graduate. The Government has confirmed that the Long Residence route will close. Time on temporary routes will no longer count simply because someone later reaches ten years of lawful residence. The stated principle is that temporary routes should remain temporary.
No topping up across route types
Time on protection or human rights routes cannot be combined with time on work or family routes. Someone who arrives on a work visa and later claims asylum cannot count their earlier work-route residence towards settlement through the protection system.
Chapter 5: Dependants
The Government moved away from the idea that every adult in a family must earn settlement on their own. The final approach gives more weight to family unity, household contribution and the continuing dependency of children and young adults.
Partners who arrive together can settle at the same time as the main applicant, provided they meet the requirements.
Partners who join later must complete the same qualifying residence period. If the main applicant is on a five-year pathway and the partner joins two years later, the partner can apply two years after the main applicant.
Children under 18 can settle with their parents. They are exempt from the income, debt, English and Life in the UK requirements but remain subject to suitability and criminality requirements.
Young adults aged 18 to 24 who keep child-dependant status can settle with their family. They must meet the adult mandatory requirements but not the individual earnings requirement.
At 25, a dependant whose family has not yet become eligible must qualify independently or move onto an appropriate route in their own right. The Government points out that 25 mirrors an existing threshold in the Skilled Worker rules.
Children who have spent seven years or the majority of their life in the UK stay on their existing settlement arrangements.
Chapter 6: Vulnerable groups
The age and disability exemptions from English and the Life in the UK test continue. The "best years" approach protects people with maternity leave, caring responsibilities or periods of ill health.
A smaller set of groups stays outside the standard framework and keeps its existing settlement arrangements, though each must still meet the strengthened minimum standards such as criminality and English, with existing exemptions:
Bereaved partners, who can apply without completing a qualifying period.
Victims of domestic abuse, where the relationship their status depended on has broken down because of abuse.
Children in local authority care, and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Children and young people with insecure status who have grown up in the UK.
The Government says detailed arrangements for these groups will follow in guidance next year, after engagement with affected people and the organisations that support them.
Routes outside Earned Settlement
Some groups are outside the main framework because of specific Government commitments:
Hong Kong BN(O): settlement after five years, subject to route requirements. If you searched for BN(O) visa settlement, your route is unaffected by the new pathways, though the strengthened criminality and B2 English requirements apply unless an exemption applies.
Afghan schemes: immediate settlement, subject to scheme eligibility.
Legacy Safe and Legal routes: five years, subject to route requirements.
Windrush: existing status can be confirmed, with no qualifying period.
HM Armed Forces, including Gurkha and Hong Kong military unit veterans discharged before 1 July 1997: four years' reckonable service for personnel, and five years' continuous residence for partners and children.
Several closed or legacy arrangements are also unaffected: the EU Settlement Scheme, Turkish ECAA, Tier 1 Investor, pre-2012 Overseas Domestic Worker, and the Calais and Section 67 children's routes.
Chapter 7: Refugees
The Government keeps the architecture it proposed earlier, and it separates how someone arrived from what they do afterwards.
Safe and Legal routes: five years to settlement, with no requirement to have been off public funds. UK Resettlement Scheme refugees need A2 English rather than B2.
Refugees who claim asylum in the UK ordinarily move onto Core Protection, which has a 20-year pathway.
Protection Work and Study: refugees on Core Protection who move into sustained work, education or training can move onto this route and qualify after ten years on it. Time on Core Protection does not count towards those ten years.
Illegal entry: anyone who enters illegally ordinarily faces an additional ten years. That means 20 years for someone on Protection Work and Study and 30 years for someone who remains on Core Protection. The extra period does not apply where Article 31 of the Refugee Convention protects the person, and more detail on that safeguard will follow.
Chapter 8: Transitional arrangements
The Government reminds readers that applications are ordinarily decided under the Immigration Rules in force on the date of decision. It is also clear that being in the UK does not give a right to settle under the rules that applied on arrival. It still creates a small number of one-off transitional arrangements for people who were already here before the White Paper was published in May 2025.
Care workers
Care workers who entered or switched into the route before May 2025 keep the five-year qualifying period if they meet the salary requirement (£25,000 a year), sponsorship and employment requirements. They must also meet the new minimum standards, including criminality and English.
Care workers who do not qualify after five years get a second opportunity. They can apply for a further five-year Health and Care visa, restricted to genuine work in the sector, with no recourse to public funds.
From 1 February 2027, care workers who lose their job because their sponsor's licence is removed will have up to 120 days to secure a job offer and a further 60 days to resolve their visa and employment status. If they cannot do so within 120 days, or resolve their status within 180 days, their visa will be curtailed and they will need to leave the UK. Those who entered or switched after May 2025 follow the standard ten-year pathway.
Health and education workers below RQF 6
Workers in healthcare and education occupations below RQF level 6 who are on a national pay scale, such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, keep a five-year route if they came to the UK before May 2025 and meet their visa requirements. This is a one-off arrangement. Later arrivals use the standard ten-year pathway.
The pre-April 2024 Skilled Worker cohort
Workers who were in the route before the 2024 salary threshold increase benefited from transitional arrangements with a 2030 sunset date. Because their qualifying period in roles below RQF 6 is now ten years, the Government will let them extend their visas on their current terms until 2035.
The numbers behind the policy
The Home Office estimates that between 2026 and 2030, between 1.3 million and 2.2 million people will settle in the UK, with a central estimate of 1.9 million. It says over 500,000 people will become eligible to settle later than they would have under the current arrangements. This includes people on work routes under a ten-year pathway, family members not sponsored by a British citizen, and refugees.
For people on work routes, the Annex gives illustrative volumes:
Three-year pathway: 27,000 Skilled Workers with 17,000 dependants, and 15,000 Global Talent and Innovator Founder migrants with 3,000 dependants.
Five-year pathway: 86,000 Skilled Workers with 52,000 dependants, and 136,000 on the Health and Care route (excluding care workers) with 170,000 dependants.
Ten-year pathway: 146,000 Skilled Workers with 85,000 dependants.
Family routes: 223,000 people sponsored by a British citizen keep a five-year route. The remaining 39,000 who arrived on a family visa without a British citizen sponsor move to a longer pathway.
Care workers: roughly 146,000 could keep the five-year route and around 50,000 could fall to the ten-year pathway, though the Government says these figures are uncertain.
The economic case rests on the Migration Advisory Committee's fiscal framework. Home Office modelling estimates the lifetime net fiscal impact of a Skilled Worker earning £41,700 at about £347,000. At £50,271 it is about £456,000, and at £125,141 about £1.53 million. The Government will publish a full Impact Assessment alongside implementation.
What this means for common situations
These are general illustrations drawn from the framework. Individual circumstances vary, so treat them as a starting point.
Skilled Worker. If you are on the Skilled Worker route, your pathway depends on earnings and occupation. The standard route is ten years. Meeting £50,271 in three of five years, or working in a qualifying public service occupation, puts you on five years. Meeting £125,141 in three of four years puts you on three. If you are searching for ILR for a Skilled Worker visa under the new rules, check your earnings history year by year now, because the "best years" test looks back over a window.
Partner of a British citizen. A recognised British connection keeps the five-year route, provided you meet the route and mandatory requirements. Combined household income of £25,142 can satisfy the contribution requirement. The practical risks are debt, criminality, B2 English and the Life in the UK test.
Student or Graduate. Time on these routes will not count towards settlement, and the Long Residence route will close. Anyone planning a long-term future in the UK should consider whether a longer-term route is open to them.
Care worker. If you entered before May 2025 and meet the salary, sponsorship and employment requirements, you keep the five-year route. If you do not, the second five-year Health and Care visa offers another chance. The 1 February 2027 sponsor-licence rules matter if your employer is at risk.
Anyone with a past immigration breach or public funds use. These are the two triggers for the 20-year pathway. It is worth understanding your history before you plan.
What we do not know yet
The response is a statement of policy, not the Immigration Rules themselves. Several points remain open:
Start date. The response gives no commencement date for the framework as a whole. Only the care worker sponsor-licence change names a date (1 February 2027).
Public funds detail. Which benefits count, and what safeguards apply, will be set out before implementation.
Highest Talent Group. The three-year route for this group is subject to review pending a Migration Advisory Committee report.
Leave Outside the Rules. The Government will set out its approach for this cohort in due course.
Protection Work and Study. Further detail is promised on how time already spent in the UK applies for people granted protection before the route is introduced.
Vulnerable groups. Detailed arrangements will follow in guidance next year.
Impact Assessment. A full assessment will accompany implementation.
What to do now
Identify your pathway. Work out whether you are on a three, five, ten or twenty-year pathway, or outside the framework altogether.
Check your earnings record against £12,571, £50,271 and £125,141 for each of the relevant years.
Clear any debts to the state. NHS charges, unpaid tax, National Insurance and Home Office litigation debt all count.
Book a B2 English test and prepare for the Life in the UK test if you have not already passed them.
Review your history for any criminal record, immigration breach or public funds use.
Keep your evidence organised: payslips, P60s, tax records, relationship evidence and residence records.
Watch for the Immigration Rules and guidance. Do not rely on a date until it is published on GOV.UK.
Is ILR now 10 years?
The Government's final framework makes ten years the standard starting point for settlement. The response itself does not give a start date, so confirm the current position on GOV.UK before relying on it for your own application.
When will earned settlement come into effect?
The response says further guidance will be published before implementation. It does not name a general start date. Only the care worker sponsor-licence change carries a date, 1 February 2027.
Does the Graduate visa count towards ILR?
No. The Graduate route is one of the routes that will not count towards settlement, along with Student, Visit, Youth Mobility, Seasonal Worker, Global Business Mobility and others.
Does the Long Residence route still exist?
The government has confirmed it will close under Earned Settlement. Time on temporary routes will no longer count towards settlement simply because a person reaches ten years of lawful residence.
Can I still qualify after five years?
Yes, if you meet one of the five-year criteria: earning £50,271 in three of the last five years, working in a qualifying public service occupation, or holding a recognised British connection. You must also meet every mandatory requirement and must not have accessed public funds or committed a qualifying immigration breach.
What English level do I need?
B2 is the standard, with exemptions for children, people aged 65 and over, and those unable to meet the requirement because of a physical or mental condition. UK Resettlement Scheme refugees need A2.
Does a caution or fine affect my settlement application?
Under the new criminality rule, any adult applicant with a criminal record in the UK will be refused. The government's definition includes cautions, conditional discharges and court-imposed fines.
Are Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders affected?
BN(O) settlement remains outside the Earned Settlement framework, with settlement after five years, subject to route requirements. The strengthened criminality and English requirements still apply unless an exemption applies.
Talk to an adviser before you plan
Earned settlement changes the timeline, the evidence and the risk for almost everyone heading towards permanent status. The sooner you know your pathway, the more time you have to fix problems with earnings, debt, English or documents.
If you want to understand how these changes apply to you, Contact Us. Noble Rose Immigration Service can review your route, your history and your options. We are an IAA regulated Cambridge immigration law firm.
This article is general information based on the Government's consultation response (CP 1707, November 2026), not advice on your case. The position may change as the Immigration Rules and guidance are published; always check GOV.UK.
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