The Home Office has launched a major consultation on reforms that would fundamentally change how migrants qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
The reforms, set out in the Command Paper, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, propose an earned settlement system that replaces the standard five-year ILR route for most migrants with a ten-year default qualifying period, adjusted up or down according to contribution, conduct and integration.
The consultation runs until 11:59pm on 12 February 2026. No Immigration Rules have changed yet and all existing ILR routes remain in force. The paper, however, gives a clear indication of the policy direction and the scale of change that is being considered.
Shift to an earned settlement model
Under the proposals, settlement is presented as something to be earned rather than a stage that follows automatically from time spent in the UK. The ten-year default period is described as a baseline for most routes that lead to settlement.
The existing ten-year long residence route would be removed and its function absorbed into this new baseline. Time in the UK still matters, but duration alone would no longer be enough. The focus moves towards whether an individual has integrated, contributed economically and complied with immigration and criminal law over the longer term.
Consultation timeline and current position
The settlement proposals are subject to public consultation only at this stage. The government will consider responses before deciding whether and how to bring forward changes to the Immigration Rules.
Until new rules are laid and commenced, current ILR provisions continue to apply. Migrants who are already on five-year routes, and those planning future applications, still need to work from the system as it stands today, while keeping a close eye on the emerging framework.
Four core pillars of earned settlement
The paper groups the reforms around four core pillars: character, integration, contribution and residence. These pillars underpin a new time adjustment model, with a standard ten-year qualifying period that can be reduced or extended depending on an individual’s circumstances.
Ten-year baseline and mandatory conditions
For most migrants who are on routes that lead to settlement, the standard qualifying period would move from five years to ten. On top of this, every applicant would be required to satisfy a series of mandatory conditions.
These include meeting new suitability thresholds under Part Suitability, with the stated expectation that settlement should not normally be granted where someone has a criminal record. Applicants are also expected to demonstrate at least B2-level English, pass the Life in the UK test, show a period of earnings above the income tax and National Insurance threshold, and have no outstanding NHS, tax, litigation or other government debt.
Failure on any of these criteria would prevent a grant of ILR even where the residence requirement has been met.
Reductions for high earners and high-skill routes
The new model introduces time reductions for people who can evidence sustained higher earnings or who are on specific high-skill immigration routes. Under the proposals, taxable income above £125,140 for three years could reduce the ten-year baseline by seven years, creating a three-year settlement period. Taxable income above £50,270 for three years could generate a five-year reduction, giving an effective five-year pathway.
Global Talent and Innovator Founder visa holders are also identified for accelerated settlement, with potential access to the three-year pathway, subject to the same mandatory conditions and the absence of upward adjustments.
Longer routes for lower-paid roles and benefit use
The paper proposes extended timelines for certain cohorts. Skilled Workers in roles below RQF level 6, including many Health and Care Worker roles, are the subject of consultation on a standard qualifying period of fifteen years instead of the ten-year baseline.
Use of public funds would also carry consequences. Accessing public funds for under twelve months could add five years, while public funds for twelve months or more could add ten years to the qualifying period. For some individuals this creates potential twenty-year routes. For those who entered illegally, overstayed, or misused visit permission, the time adjustments could be even more severe, with example scenarios running to thirty years before settlement becomes available.
Family routes and excluded cohorts
The proposals draw most family categories into the earned settlement framework while confirming that some groups will sit outside the reforms altogether.
Family routes within the earned model
Partners, parents and children of British citizens and BN(O) status holders are brought into the new structure but are intended to retain an effective five-year route. This is achieved through a fixed reduction of five years from the ten-year baseline that is not itself subject to consultation.
Other dependants, particularly those attached to sponsored workers, may have their own qualifying periods assessed separately. That could mean a family unit seeing different members reach settlement at different times, depending on their earnings, benefit history and ability to meet the mandatory conditions.
Groups out of scope of the reforms
The paper confirms that several cohorts are excluded from the settlement reforms. These include people who already hold ILR, those protected under the EU Settlement Scheme, and individuals granted status through the Windrush scheme. Some protection routes are also identified as outside the settlement changes.
For these groups, the proposed earned settlement framework would not apply and there is no indication in the consultation that this position will change.
Implications for different applicant groups
The consultation is framed at system level, but the practical effects would vary across different types of migrants if the proposals are implemented.
Workers, students and early-career migrants
For many workers, settlement becomes a longer, more conditional objective. Those in stable, higher-paid roles with clear progression routes may be able to plan around the ten-year baseline and potential reductions. In contrast, workers in lower-paid sectors, or in roles with irregular hours or frequent changes of employer, are more exposed to extended timelines, benefit penalties and gaps in contribution records.
Students and early-career migrants, including graduates moving into the labour market, may find that periods of study, part-time work or lower earnings delay the point at which they can satisfy the sustained earnings requirement, pushing settlement further into the future.
Families, long-term residents and those with complex histories
Families are likely to experience greater divergence in routes and timelines. Some family members retain a relatively clear five-year pathway, while others may need longer to demonstrate the required earnings level or English standard. Household decisions on work, care, study and benefit use all start to carry settlement consequences.
For those who would previously have relied on long residence across multiple categories, removal of the standalone ten-year route shifts focus towards broader contribution and suitability questions. People with periods of overstaying, illegal entry or unresolved debt face the prospect of significantly extended qualifying periods, with settlement becoming a long-term goal rather than a near-term stage.
Future direction
Taken together, the proposals signal a move towards a more selective, contribution-driven settlement system. Settlement is repositioned as a reward for sustained economic activity, integration and compliance over an extended period, rather than a relatively predictable outcome after five years of lawful residence.
The consultation remains open and the final scheme could differ from the current proposals. However, migrants, sponsors and advisers will need to start planning on the basis that the UK is preparing for a much longer and more conditional pathway to permanent status. For full details, readers can refer to the Command Paper, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, available on the government website at gov.uk.
