Home Office sets out revised earned settlement framework

On 2 November 2026, the Home Office published its response to the earned settlement consultation, confirming in general terms how the new framework will work. The Immigration Rules changes are due to begin being laid from December 2026, with implementation over the course of 2027. In this article, we summarise the changes to settlement eligibility for non-refugees and highlight the many details still to be finalised.

Headlines

Significant points include:

• The standard qualifying period for settlement will increase from five to 10 years, with faster or slower pathways depending on a person's character, contribution, integration and residence; 

• All adult applicants will need to meet tougher mandatory requirements, including no criminal record, English proficiency to Level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and an earnings requirement of £12,571;

• Couples will be able to combine their earnings to meet a mandatory earnings requirement of £25,142;

• An immigration breach committed as an adult, such as overstaying or working in breach of visa conditions, or recent use of public funds, will mean a 20-year pathway;

• The long residence route will close, and time on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate will no longer count towards settlement;

• Targeted transitional arrangements will apply to some existing care, health and education workers, and Skilled Workers on the pre-April 2024 salary thresholds will be able to extend on their current terms until 2035.

Background

The Government published a consultation, 'A fairer pathway to settlement' in November 2025. The consultation received 204,667 responses, and the Home Office has made changes to its original proposals as a result. Most notably, the proposed 15-year pathway for workers in roles below RQF level 6 has been dropped.

Pathways to settlement

The Home Office's consultation response sets out four settlement pathways for non-refugees, summarised in Table 1 of the document. The time it takes to settle will depend on the pathway a person qualifies for. All mandatory requirements (see below) apply to every pathway.

Further commentary on the requirements is set out below.

Earnings

It's not clear from the consultation response whether 'earnings' means taxable or gross earnings; however, taxable earnings appear more likely, because the thresholds are linked to income tax and National Insurance thresholds. The response confirms that the settlement thresholds will move in line with any future changes to the tax thresholds. It remains to be seen whether and how any transitional arrangements might apply in those circumstances.

Contribution and the 'best years' approach

Recognising that earnings can dip because of maternity or parental leave, caring responsibilities or ill health, the Home Office will look at a person's 'best years' over a longer period as follows:

• Three-year pathway: £125,141 in three of the four years before applying;

• Five-year pathway: £50,271 in three of the five years before applying; and

• Ten-year pathway: £12,571 in five of the seven years before applying.

Volunteering and English language proficiency at Level C1 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) won't be recognised as factors leading to a reduction in the eligibility period for settlement.

Highest Talent Group

It's not clear which immigration routes may be included, since Table 1 states this will be subject to the Migration Advisory Committee's report on its review into talent routes. That report is due by the end of December 2026.

Note that although the consultation response contains a fairly wide definition of 'high talent permission' (which forms the 'high talent group'), it should not be assumed this will align with the eventual Highest Talent Group definition. This is because 'high talent permission' includes Skilled Worker route permission, and it's clear elsewhere in the consultation response that not all Skilled Workers are intended to be eligible for settlement after three years.

Eligible public service occupations

The five-year pathway will be available to those working in health and education public sector roles that the Immigration Rules treat as paid on national pay scales, e.g. doctors, nurses, pharmacists, teachers and social workers. A full list of eligible occupations is set out in the consultation response at Annex C.

British connection

A recognised 'British connection' gives access to the five-year pathway, provided the applicant meets the requirements of their route and the mandatory requirements. It covers:

• Eligible partners, parents and children of British citizens, and 

• Commonwealth citizens on the UK ancestry route. 

Qualifying immigration breach

A qualifying immigration breach committed as an adult (aged 18 or over) will place an applicant on the 20-year pathway, whatever their earnings or other contribution. The full details will be set out in the Immigration Rules, but will include:

• Overstaying a visa;

• Breaching a condition of immigration permission (for example, working in breach of a work restriction);

• Using deception in an application; and

• Taking action to frustrate immigration controls.

Breaches committed as a child will not trigger the longer pathway.

Combining time under qualifying settlement routes

The consultation response states that when an individual switches between 'fundamentally different' routes (e.g. from a work or family route to a protection or human rights route), the clock will restart for their settlement pathway. Which routes can be combined will need to be confirmed when the Immigration Rules are published.

Routes outside the framework

Some groups will keep their existing settlement arrangements, e.g. Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders (five years), HM Armed Forces personnel and their families, bereaved partners, victims of domestic abuse, and certain children and young people. Existing commitments to the Windrush generation will also be honoured. The EU Settlement Scheme and closed legacy routes such as Tier 1 (Investor), Turkish businesspeople and workers are also not affected. However, people on these routes will generally still need to meet the strengthened criminality and B2 English requirements unless an exemption applies.

Mandatory requirements

Everyone applying for earned settlement will need to meet a minimum set of requirements. These can't be offset by higher earnings, public service or any other positive contribution. 

Applicants must:

• Show good character and suitability, which will include having no criminal record in the UK (see below);

• Have no outstanding government debt, including NHS debt, unpaid tax and National Insurance, or litigation debt owed to the Home Office;

• Have English language ability at Level B2 on the CEFR, up from the current B1 level – this is due to be rolled out for applications from 26 March 2027;

• Have passed the Life in the UK test; and

• Show sustained contribution to the UK, normally through earnings of at least £12,571 a year for the required period.

The existing exemptions from the English language and Life in the UK test requirements continue for children, people aged 65 and over, and people with a physical or mental condition that prevents them from meeting the requirement. The same groups are exempt from the minimum earnings requirement.

The requirements regarding criminality and household income are discussed further below. 

No criminality

This is a significant tightening. Under the earned settlement framework, any adult applicant with a criminal record in the UK will be refused settlement. This includes custodial or suspended sentences, absolute and conditional discharges, conditional cautions, court-imposed fines, community sentences, detention and training orders, and civil orders where there has been a conviction. Overseas convictions will also lead to refusal where the conduct would be a crime in the UK, with some discretion to account for differences between legal systems. Offences committed under the age of 18 may still lead to refusal at the Home Office's discretion.

Household income

Following on from recommendations made by the Home Affairs Committee and the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, couples will be able to combine their earnings to meet the mandatory contribution requirement. The household income threshold is £25,142, twice the individual minimum. This means one partner can meet the threshold alone, or both partners can combine their earnings. A partner who works fewer hours, for example to care for children, will not need to meet the £12,571 threshold personally, provided the couple meets the combined threshold.

The couple must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship, and only one person may rely on the other's income. The household threshold will stay at twice the individual rate, so it will change if the individual threshold changes.

Which routes will count towards settlement?

Only time on routes intended to lead to settlement will count. These include longer-term work, talent and family routes (referred to as 'core permission'), specified talent and innovation routes (the 'Highest Talent Group'), family and private life routes, and certain protection and resettlement routes. Not every route gives access to every pathway, e.g. family and private life permission will not qualify someone for the three or five-year pathways.

Time on temporary routes won't count. These include Visit, Student, Graduate, High Potential Individual, Global Business Mobility, Temporary Worker, Youth Mobility, Seasonal Worker, Overseas Domestic Worker and the Ukraine schemes. The treatment of those with leave outside the Rules is still under consideration.

The Long Residence route, which currently allows settlement after 10 years' continuous lawful residence on almost any route, will close. Time spent on temporary routes such as Student and Graduate will no longer count towards settlement, even if a person reaches 10 years of lawful residence. The response does not give a specific closure date. This is a significant change for individuals who had been relying on long residence, and for employers whose staff began on student or other temporary visas.

Transitional arrangements

The Government has confirmed there will be no general exemption for people already in the UK. Unless transitional provisions are made, applications are normally decided under the Rules in force at the date of the decision. However, targeted arrangements will apply to defined groups who were already in the UK before the Immigration White Paper was published on 12 May 2025:

• Care workers: Those who entered, or switched into the care worker route before 12 May 2025 keep the five-year qualifying period if they meet the salary (£25,000 a year), sponsorship and employment requirements, plus the new mandatory requirements. Those who do not qualify after five years can apply for a further five-year Health and Care visa, restricted to genuine work in the sector, to give them a second chance. All other care workers will be on the standard 10-year pathway.

• Health and education workers below RQF level 6: Workers on national pay scales, such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, who came to the UK before May 2025 keep a five-year route if they meet their visa requirements. This is a one-off arrangement; later arrivals will be on the 10-year pathway.

• Pre-4 April 2024 Skilled Workers: Workers who benefit from the transitional lower salary thresholds introduced in 2024 will be able to extend their visas on their current terms until 2035 (instead of the previous 2030 sunset date). This gives some workers the opportunity to qualify under the 10-year earned settlement pathway without needing a substantial salary increase.

Sponsored workers in the care sector should also note that, from 1 February 2027, care workers whose sponsor's licence is revoked will have up to 120 days to secure a new job offer and a further 60 days to resolve their visa and employment status, after which their visa will be curtailed.

Outside these groups, people already in the UK will move to the new framework. Workers in roles below RQF level 6 will be on the 10-year pathway, with the chance to settle sooner if they meet the requirements for a faster pathway.

Dependants

A partner who arrives with the main applicant can settle at the same time, provided they meet the requirements. A partner who joins later must complete the same qualifying period as the main applicant. This suggests that partners of individuals on the three-year pathway may also have a three-year qualifying period, which would be a reduction from the current position.

Children under 18 can settle with their parents and are exempt from the income, debt, English and Life in the UK requirements. Young adults aged 18 to 24 with child dependant status can settle with their family without meeting the income requirement but must meet the other adult requirements. Anyone aged 25 or over when the family becomes eligible for settlement will need to qualify independently.

When will the changes take effect?

The Home Secretary confirmed in Parliament on 2 November 2026 that the 'changes that have been announced will begin to be laid from the December immigration rules. They will be implemented over the course of 2027.' This leaves open the possibility of a phased implementation for some affected groups. 

What are the next steps?

The Government will continue to engage with affected groups and stakeholders before publishing detailed Immigration Rules and operational arrangements. Further guidance with technical and operational detail will be made available before implementation, and detailed arrangements for vulnerable groups will be set out in guidance next year. A full impact assessment will also accompany implementation. 

Many technical details are still to come, including:

• How earnings will be assessed;

• How the 'Highest Talent Group' will be defined following the Migration Advisory Committee's report;

• The closure date and any transitional arrangements for the long residence settlement route;

• The full list of qualifying immigration breaches and how they will operate (e.g. if and when overstay will be ignored);

• How receipt of public funds will be treated;

• Safeguards or exemptions for vulnerable groups; and

• Any amendments to application fees and other government charges such as the Immigration Skills Charge and Immigration Health Surcharge.

What should employers and individuals do now?

Although significant details of the earned settlement framework are still outstanding, the broad direction of travel is now known. We would therefore suggest a proactive approach of triaging affected cohorts, identifying the live issues for settlement eligibility and considering the possible options for addressing them.  

Actions for employers

We would suggest the following for employers:

• Consider a plan to provide your workforce with information about the new requirements, noting that these changes may affect all non-settled staff and/or their non-settled family members.

• Review your sponsored workforce to identify who may be on each pathway, and who may benefit from the transitional arrangements.

• Identify which workers (both sponsored and non-sponsored) may need further visa extensions and consider the available options.

• Start the process of considering the budgetary impacts of these changes.

Actions for individuals

We would suggest the following for individuals:

• Check for any outstanding NHS, tax or other Government debt;

• Consider whether you or any family member are able to meet the CEFR Level B2 English language level and take action to complete additional tuition and testing if necessary;

• Take advice on your position if you are in the process of relying on the long residence settlement route;

• Take advice on your position if you have a criminal conviction or ongoing criminal prosecution; and 

• Take care to avoid any immigration breach, such as overstaying or working outside visa conditions, as this could lead to a 20-year pathway.

Need more information?

We will be providing further updates as the Home Office releases additional details. For more specific assistance, please get in touch with a member of our Immigration team.