Government Opens Consultation on New ‘Earned Settlement’ Criteria

Last week, the Government published proposals on ‘earned settlement’. Under these proposals, the starting qualifying period for settlement for most migrants will increase from five to ten years. This period may be adjusted based on factors such as earnings and voluntary work. A public consultation has now been opened.

The proposals appear driven by concerns over the high number of sponsored workers arriving in the UK between 2021 and 2023; aiming to restrict their eligibility for settlement and access to public funds.

Do the proposals apply to me and what is the timeline for implementation?

Most of the proposals will only be finalised after the consultation. The consultation will close at 23.59 GMT on 12 February 2026. It is proposed that the changes will be implemented from April 2026, although this may be in phases.

Bates Wells will be submitting a response to the consultation and we encourage views from clients, contacts and sector organisations to shape what we say. Please share your experience, concerns and suggestions via our survey – and feel free to forward it to colleagues or employees who are affected

• Deadline for contributions to our consolidated response: 19 January 2026

In her foreword, the Home Secretary states that the proposals will be applicable to all individuals in the UK who have not yet applied for settlement. However, the consultation seeks input on whether transitional arrangements should be implemented for those already here.

Given the far-reaching implications, it is important that all impacted organisations and individuals respond with clear examples demonstrating how the proposals would affect them. Any organisation or member of the public may participate.

Eligible applicants may wish to consider making settlement and citizenship applications immediately. For those who are not yet eligible, they may wish to review their financial and personal circumstances in light of the proposals.

The Home Secretary confirms that for the spouses and children of British citizens and for British Nationals (Overseas) (BN(O)s) from Hong Kong, the qualifying period for settlement will stay at 5 years. This does not seem to include the dependants of those settled in the UK, indicating that they could potentially be impacted.

Those with permission under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) are unaffected due to their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. Those who already hold settlement will also be unaffected. It is unclear how dependants of Irish citizens resident in the UK without EUSS status are impacted.

For all others, the proposal for a baseline qualifying period of 10 years will apply (although see the seven year reductions for the Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes below).

Notably, there is a proposal that dependants of those on work visas or those with settlement would not have their qualifying period reduced in line with the main applicant, but that they would be individually required to meet specific income thresholds and an upper intermediate English language requirement in order to reduce their qualifying period from 10 years. Further, there is a proposal that dependant children who turn 18 before they can apply to settle, may at some point need to meet the contribution requirements to qualify in their own right. Meeting these criteria may present significant challenges for many dependants.

Finally, the long residence route will be scrapped, meaning that many who came to the UK for secondary school on Student visas could have accrued close to 10 years’ residence comprising of time spent at school, University and in the Graduate route, and would be forced to remain potentially a further 10 years on a work visa before they can apply for settlement. Anyone who can apply for settlement under the long residence route should do so straight away.

Current route to settlement

Most routes eligible for settlement, also known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR), like Skilled Worker, require 5 years of residence to apply. The Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes allow settlement after 3 years.

Settlement allows holders to stay in the UK permanently, so they no longer have to pay high visa fees to extend or comply with stringent visa conditions; for example they may work for any employer and access public funds. Settlement can still be lost after two years’ absence from the UK.

Currently to apply for settlement, main applicants and dependants must meet a good character requirement and a lower intermediate English language requirement.

How will earned settlement work?

Applicants will need to meet the following pillars. They are not consulting on whether to include these, except for ‘contribution’, where they are consulting on how long (between 3 to 5 years) a person should have to meet the income threshold:

• Suitability – a criminal record will mean a mandatory refusal. All criminality thresholds will be tightened; no NHS, tax or other government debt
• Integration – they must meet English language requirements at the upper intermediate level B2 (presumably for dependant partners this will only be in speaking and listening, not reading or writing)
• Contribution – has earned taxable income above £12,570 for at least 3 to 5 years (subject to consultation), or an alternative amount of income. (The consultation asks which groups should be exempt from this, e.g. those on maternity leave or with long-term illness/disability, and those in certain occupations with different pay arrangements (e.g. Ministers of Religion).

This potentially has discriminatory consequences against women, as there is no exemption for stay-at-home parents or those with other caring responsibilities. Further, as only taxable income can be counted, salary sacrifice or pension contributions could affect eligibility for settlement.

Further proposals are to extend the starting point to 15 years for settlement for those working in below degree level (RQF6) roles, including care workers; and to prevent those newly acquiring settlement from claiming public funds until they have obtained citizenship.

It is intended that eligibility for citizenship will be updated in line with settlement once this has been finalised.

Calculation of adjustment to the qualifying period for settlement

• Reductions to the 10-year baseline. This table is subject to consultation (unless where indicated). This states the factors that can reduce the settlement period from 10 years.

For many in Graduate or entry level professional roles, they are unlikely to hit the £50,270 in taxable income within two years of entering the Skilled Worker route, even though sponsors are desperate to retain them and are otherwise unable to attract talent. They seem open to exempting those in vital health and education occupations, but many key industries will not fall within this exemption.

The consultation seeks views on “how far” volunteering or other contributions to the community should reduce the qualifying period. The proposed reduction is by 3-5 years. It indicates that volunteering can be formal and organised by organisations or informal within communities. There is no indication of what amount or regularity or type of volunteering would qualify or whether there would be a single minimum amount or a sliding reduction which would correspond with the amount of volunteering.

On the upside, high earners and those in the Global Talent or Innovator Founder routes may be able to settle in 3 years. The proposal is that their partners may still be able to settle after 5 years, although they may need to meet the other requirements, such as the income requirement.

Those earning at least £50,270 in the previous 3 years will still be able to settle after 5 years, as is currently the case. However their partners may still have a baseline of 10 years.

• Increases to the 10 year baseline. This table is subject to consultation. This states the factors that can increase the settlement period from 10 years.

This could cause significant strain for lower paid families, often in key roles such as care work, who are likely to be forced into destitution as a result of this policy.

What types of questions does the consultation include?

Some key questions the consultation asks are as follows:  

• How criminal convictions or immigration history should be considered in relation to settlement;
• How ‘integration’ should be considered in relation to settlement;
• Which groups should be exempt from the requirement to have earned £12,750 for at least 3 to 5 years;
• Whether those newly granted settlement should be eligible to claim public funds;
• To what extent volunteering should reduce the qualifying period and how this should work;
• Whether transitional arrangements should apply to those already in the UK;
• Whether dependant partners and children should earn settlement in their own right;
• The impact on your organisation of the proposals.

Tips for organisations and individuals and how we can help

Organisations should consider the following:

1. communicating with employees via town hall meetings or email; and to leadership and other stakeholders;
2. whether to give employees the opportunity to take immigration advice;
3. which employees are eligible to apply for settlement now;
4. the potential cost to the organisation and employee of the government fees required for additional extensions;
5. do consider responding to the consultation. We can help you with this.

Individuals should consider the following:

1. applying for settlement or citizenship immediately if eligible;
2. taking immigration advice on how they may be impacted;
3. do consider responding to the consultation. We can help you with this.

Please contact us if you need assistance with responding to the consultation or advice on minimising the potential impact of the proposals for your organisation or yourself.

The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice upon which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. Please do contact the Bates Wells team if you require further advice or information about management training which we offer.