Kim Day | Senior Immigration Lawyer

UK Earned Settlement Plans: Just Not Cricket!

17/12/2025

In May 2025, the UK government published a White Paper proposing sweeping changes to the country’s immigration system. One of the key changes proposed in this White Paper was an overhaul of the UK’s Settlement system, with the introduction of a new “Earned Settlement” model.

As of the end of November 2025, the Home Office published a lengthy statement proposing a framework for the concept of Earned Settlement and what this will mean for the future of UK immigration. The government is inviting both organisations and individuals to share their views on these proposals, which are titled “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement”.

We’ve reviewed the new proposals regarding UK Earned Settlement in detail, and have written this article to explain everything you need to know about the current plans and how this new process might impact you in the future. We are deeply concerned about these radical proposals, which will affect many individuals in unfair and disproportionate ways.

Please note that this document is an open consultation. The Home Office is asking for views on the proposed changes, which you can do by selecting “Respond online” on this gov.uk page. We would encourage everyone to respond to the consultation after reading through this blog, in order to make your views heard.

What is UK Earned Settlement?

“Settlement” in the UK is defined as a person having no time limit on their permission to stay in the UK - it is also referred to as Indefinite Leave to Remain or Permanent Residence. You must first earn Settlement before you can gain UK Citizenship, and the pathways to Settlement vary depending on which visas you’ve held and your length of stay in the country. In many cases, including for those on most work or family visas, you can currently earn Settlement in the UK within 5 years.

As part of substantial, ongoing changes to the migration system, the Home Office plans to change this process to a different model known as “Earned Settlement”. This concept introduces additional requirements to the current basic premise that settlement is awarded after a set period of time.

The plan for UK Earned Settlement is for the baseline qualifying period for settlement to be increased from 5 years to 10 years. Applicants will then be able to reduce this baseline qualifying period by meeting certain criteria.

In addition to this qualifying period change, the Home Office has set out plans to introduce new general requirements which will need to be met in order for individuals to apply for Settlement.

Please note that these Earned Settlement changes are in the consultation stage. These are only changes the Home Office is proposing, and none of them are a part of UK immigration law yet. However, it is clear that the policy intention is to make significant changes within a short period of time. The consultation closes on 12 February 2026 and the government have stated that they may introduce new legislation as early as April 2026.

Will Earned Settlement impact me?

Parents, spouses and dependants of British Citizens will not be impacted by these changes. You also won’t be affected if you have permission to stay within the Hong Kong (BNO) route.

However, for all other individuals, these changes could impact those who are already resident in the UK, as well as those who move to the UK in the future.

The consultation includes a very important section titled “Transitional Arrangements”, which notes that the decision on whether these changes will apply to people already in the UK and part-way through their path to Settlement has not yet been made. We have grave concerns about the extent to which the government intends to listen to public opinion on this point in particular. The Home Secretary states clearly in her foreword to the document:

“Crucially, for these and every other group mentioned here, we propose to apply these changes to everyone in the country today who has not already received indefinite leave to remain. This would mean that those who are due to reach settlement in the coming months and years would be subject to the new requirements for earned settlement, as soon as our immigration rules have changed.”

It is clear, therefore, that significant public opposition will need to be voiced to steer the government away from this intention. There will be many individuals and families who have planned and built their lives around the promise of settlement over the last four years. To be told that the rules of the game are changing at the last minute is incredibly unfair. Some would indeed say this is Just Not Cricket.

To make your opinion heard on this matter, please make sure to select “Respond online” on the gov.uk page and fill in the consultation response form.

What are the UK Earned Settlement Requirement Pillars?

The Home Office has introduced 4 core “pillars” which are all designed to make sure Settlement applicants have made a “meaningful contribution to UK society” to reduce the length of their qualifying period. These are:

Character: It will be mandatory to meet the requirement of “good character” for Settlement. In practice, this means not holding criminal convictions (the Home Office has stated that their expectation is that it won’t be possible to settle with a criminal record) and avoiding non-compliance with immigration requirements.
Integration: This requirement is designed to ensure applicants have “meaningfully engaged with British society”.
Contribution: The new Earned Settlement UK model is designed to reward individuals who have made a “sustained and measurable economic contribution to the UK”.
Residence: Though the new Earned Settlement model will involve recognising lawful and continued residence in the UK, applicants will no longer normally qualify on the basis of residence alone.

All of the possible criteria for reducing the Earned Settlement qualifying period currently fit into one of these categories.

What are the minimum UK Earned Settlement requirements?

All applicants will need to meet certain minimum requirements to be eligible for Earned Settlement in the UK. These minimum requirements are:

Meet Suitability for Settlement, which includes having no criminal convictions and no current litigation, NHS, tax or other government debt.
Meet an Integration requirement by evidencing that you meet the English Language requirement at a B2 level, and passing the Life in the UK test.
Financially Contributing by proving you have achieved annual earnings of above £12,570 for a minimum of 3-5 years. It is notable that this will apply to all applicants, including dependants of Skilled Workers for example. Those who choose not to work in order to undertake family or caring responsibilities will be penalised through this requirement and prevented from gaining ILR.

Alongside meeting these minimum requirements, you will need to be able to evidence that you have spent 10 years of continued residence lawfully in the UK.

How Can The Earned Settlement Qualifying Period be Shortened?

One of the main features of the Home Office’s new Earned Settlement plan is the opportunity for applicants to shorten their qualifying period. Here are the proposals for attributes which will provide the opportunity for reduction.

Please bear in mind that only one listed consideration (the one with the largest reduction) will apply per application, so you can’t combine criteria together.

Meeting a C1 level in the English Language requirement, results in a 1 year reduction.
Earning a taxable income of £125,140 for 3 years immediately before applying for Settlement, results in a 7 year reduction.
Earning a taxable income of £50,270 for 3 years immediately before applying for Settlement, results in a 5 year reduction.
Being employed in a specified public service occupation for 5 years, results in a 5 years reduction.
Applicant has worked in the community (volunteering etc.), results in a 3-5 year reduction.
Applicant holds a permission as the parent/partner/child of a British citizen and meets core family requirements, results in a 5 year reduction (not subject to consultation).
Applicant holds a permission granted under the British National Overseas route, otherwise known as the Hong Kong route, results in a 5 year reduction (not subject to consultation).
Applicant has 3 years continuous residence as a Global Talent or Innovator Founder, results in a 7 year reduction.

The Home Office has also noted that other “specific and vulnerable” groups will have access to reductions, but has not made any promises regarding this. We are particularly concerned that the current concession for victims of Domestic Violence is protected at this time.

Alongside being able to reduce the Earned Settlement qualifying period, these plans also include criteria which will extend the qualifying period for certain applicants. These are the currently announced ways in which the Earned Settlement qualifying period could be extended for certain applicants:

Receiving public funds for less than 12 months during Settlement, results in a 5 year addition.
Receiving public funds for more than 12 months during Settlement, results in a 10 year addition.
Arriving into the UK illegally (e.g. via a small boat), results in an up to 20 year addition.
Applicant entered the UK on a visit visa, results in an up to 20 year addition.
Overstaying a permission for 6 months or more, results in an up to 20 year addition.

How Will UK Earned Settlement Impact Dependants?

These proposed plans for Earned Settlement in the UK will mean that adult dependants will be treated separately from the main applicant.

Dependant qualifying periods may be shorter or longer than their main applicants, depending on whether they meet any of the above criteria.

UK Earned Settlement could also impact child dependants if they turn 18 during the qualifying period. This is another vital point within the consultation, and we would encourage you to have your say by responding to the consultation by selecting “Respond online” on the gov.uk page.

Will the UK Also Change Citizenship Rules?

Earned Settlement may also impact the route to British Citizenship in the future.

The Home Office has stated that Earned Settlement and a revised Citizenship model will need to “work together and make sense, for both the applicant and the system.”

If you’re currently eligible for Citizenship but haven’t applied yet, we strongly advise proceeding with this as soon as you are able, to protect yourself from any future changes.

When Will the UK Earned Settlement Changes Happen?

This document is an open consultation on the Earned Settlement UK model. The Home Office will be collecting responses to their proposed changes, which will remain open until 23:59 on 12 February 2026.

It’s the Home Office’s intention that any changes will be announced in April 2026 and could take effect as quickly as 21 days after the statement of changes is released.

As we’ve mentioned a few times throughout this article, we strongly encourage everyone to respond to these proposed changes through the online form, which you can do by selecting “Respond online” on the gov.uk page.

If you are eligible to apply for settlement within the next 6-9 months, we would urge you to contact us for a free consultation using the form at the bottom of this page, to ensure you have the best possible chance of gaining ILR as quickly as possible. In some cases it may be possible to submit early applications, noting that any applications submitted before the new legislation takes effect will be considered under current rules.

We will continue to monitor Home Office announcements and will look to inform everyone on any further developments, either through future blogs or our newsletter.