Today the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, told the House of Commons the Government’s final position on “earned settlement”. In our June guide we set out what was being proposed. We now have the confirmed direction of travel, and it is a mixture of welcome clarity and real cause for concern.

In this follow-up we cover what has been confirmed, what is positive, what is worrying, and what is still unknown. This article is based on the Home Secretary’s statement to Parliament. The full policy document and the Immigration Rules changes will need to be read carefully when they are available, and we will update this page as they are.

The Headline Changes at a Glance

• Standard route: The qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) rises from 5 to 10 years for most migrants.
• 5-year route: Those earning over £50,000 a year, and those in public service professions such as doctors, nurses and teachers.
• 3-year route: Those earning over £125,000 a year, and those arriving through the UK’s highest talent schemes.
• Everyone else, including those earning under £50,000: A 10-year route, with the ability to keep renewing existing temporary visas until they qualify.
• Refugees: 5 years via new safe and legal routes; 20 years for those who arrived by other routes; 30 years for those who entered illegally, including by small boat. Entering work or education reduces the period by 10 years.

⚠️ Critical Update: Four Baseline Requirements

Before the length of your route even matters, you must clear four conditions:

1. No criminal record
2. English to a high standard
3. No outstanding debts to the taxpayer
4. At least three years of National Insurance contributions

Two further conditions apply. Anyone who commits an immigration breach will see settlement pushed back to 20 years, and anyone who has claimed benefits must have had five continuous years without claiming before they apply.

✅ The Good News

• Clarity at last. After a consultation that drew over 200,000 responses, the shape of the policy is now known. Uncertainty has been hard on families and employers alike, and certainty, even where we dislike it, lets people plan.
• Settlement has not been abolished. Proposals to scrap ILR altogether were not adopted. Lower earners still have a defined path to settlement, and they can continue renewing their existing visas while they work towards it.
• Contribution is not only about salary. Public service is recognised, so doctors, nurses and teachers keep a 5-year route.
• Genuine fast tracks. High earners and those on top talent schemes can settle in 3 years.
• A second chance for care workers. Those who complied with their visa conditions, including earning at least £25,000 a year in the sector, keep their existing 5-year route. Those who did not (around a quarter of people who came or switched into the route between 2022 and 2025) can apply for a further 5-year care visa that is not tied to their previous employer. This is a real lifeline for workers stuck with rogue sponsors, and the Government says it will help them find a legitimate provider and allow longer before existing visas are curtailed. Similar arrangements will apply to certain healthcare and education roles, including auxiliary nurses.
• Protected groups. Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas), overseas members of the armed forces, those with a British connection and legacy routes such as Windrush are to keep their current paths.
• A faster route for refugees on safe and legal routes, and a way for refugees already here to shorten their wait by working or studying.

❌ The Bad News

• Double the wait for most people. Ten years on temporary visas means a decade of renewal fees, Immigration Health Surcharge payments and exposure to future rule changes. For families, that is a very long time without security.
• Salary is a blunt measure of contribution. Many essential workers, carers, part-time workers, career-breakers and those in lower-paid regions or sectors will fall into the 10-year group however hard they work.
• No protection for people mid-journey. The Home Secretary confirmed that the rules are set when the settlement decision is made, not when someone arrives. People who came on the basis of a 5-year route can still find the goalposts moved.
• Transitional help is narrow. The concessions apply only to those who joined the relevant routes before the May 2025 Immigration White Paper. Anyone who arrived after that date, and anyone outside the care and public sector groups named, is not covered by what we have seen.
• Very long periods for refugees. Qualifying periods of 20 and 30 years leave people in temporary status for most of a working life. Supporters say this deters dangerous crossings. Critics will say it penalises refugees for how they arrived, and we expect these provisions to be contested.
• The benefits rule needs detail. Five continuous years without claiming could catch families who fall into temporary hardship, such as after job loss, illness or childbirth. How “claimed benefits” is defined will matter enormously.
• Absolute-sounding baselines. “No criminal record” and “no outstanding debts” need careful definition. Will minor, old or spent offences count? Which debts are included? A rule that is too blunt could trap people with relatively minor issues.

How This Compares With Our June Guide

In June we set out the proposals as they then stood. Compared with those, the Home Secretary’s statement:

• Does not mention the 15-year route we described for occupations below degree level. Everyone outside the faster tiers is described as being on a 10-year path. If that is confirmed in the final rules, it is softer than feared.
• Describes the 5-year earnings threshold as “over £50,000”, whereas the consultation figure we reported was £50,270. We will confirm which figure appears in the final rules.
• Lists National Insurance contributions (three years) as a baseline requirement. The £12,570 minimum earnings floor we discussed was not mentioned in the statement, so we do not yet know whether it remains.
• Adds detail on refugees, care workers and public sector transitional arrangements that was not available in June.

What We Still Don’t Know

• The start date. No implementation date or Statement of Changes was announced in the statement. The B2 English requirement, which we previously reported as taking effect from March 2027, remains one to watch.
• Partners, children and dependants. We have not seen how they will be treated, including children who turn 18 before their parents qualify.
• Exact definitions of “high standard” English, “criminal record”, “outstanding debts” and “claimed benefits”.
• Whether other groups, for example skilled workers already on a 5-year route who arrived before May 2025, will receive any transitional protection.

Proactive Next Steps: Protect Your Position

• If you already meet the ILR or citizenship requirements under the current rules, do not wait. Because the rules are applied when the decision is made, delay can only increase risk. We cannot promise an application made today will be decided before any change takes effect, but waiting will not help.
• Gather your evidence now: payslips, P60s, tax records, your National Insurance record, English language evidence, and proof of any debts settled.
• Check your three years of National Insurance contributions and resolve any gaps early.
• Care and public sector workers: check you are meeting the conditions of your visa, including the £25,000 salary requirement. If your sponsor has lost its licence or you are being underpaid, take advice promptly.
• Employers: review your sponsored workforce, make sure your sponsor compliance is in order, and plan for staff retention over a longer qualifying period.
• Refugees and families: get advice early on your qualifying period, particularly if work or study could shorten it.

Expert Legal Assistance: Contact Tito Mbariti and the specialist team at Cross Border Legal Solicitors to review your visa pathway, protect your position and plan around these changes.

Take advantage of our free initial advice to discuss your legal options. Enquire Online: Contact us 24/7 using our Quick Enquiry Form to request a callback at a time that suits you. Call Us Directly: Speak to our specialist legal team during office hours on 0116 380 0744 or 07544 669131.

This article is general information based on the Home Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons on 2 November 2026 and is not legal advice. The detail of the policy may change when the full policy document and Immigration Rules are published. Cross Border Legal Solicitors Ltd is a UK solicitor law firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It is headed by Mr Tito Mbariti, a UK Immigration and Human Rights Solicitor, practising lawyer and member of the Law Society of England and Wales.