United Kingdom replaces near-automatic five-year settlement with an earned settlement model

2 November 2026

The Home Office has set out new rules under which the wait for indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom will turn on a migrant's earnings and record rather than being granted almost automatically after five years. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called it an earned settlement model. The default waiting period becomes ten years. The highest earners may settle after three years, while those earning above £50,271 and some public service workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers keep a five-year route; care workers who met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year also keep five years. People who have breached immigration rules will wait at least twenty years, and those who arrived by small boat or clandestinely face a further ten years on top of that. Four conditions apply to everyone: a clean criminal record, English to a high standard, no debt owed to the taxpayer and a record of sustained National Insurance contributions. Settled status already granted will not be withdrawn. Present routes stay open for the relatives of British citizens, for Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) and for those serving in the armed forces. More than 500,000 people are expected to wait longer than five years as a result.