Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has confirmed plans to double the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years, while retaining a five-year route for eligible existing care workers and introducing new contribution-based settlement requirements.
In a Commons statement on 2 November 2026, Mahmood set out the Government’s final earned settlement framework following a consultation with more than 200,000 responses. The new approach will be implemented progressively during 2027.
Standard settlement period doubles to ten years
The Government has confirmed that the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) will rise from five to ten years under an earned settlement model. ILR allows an eligible person to remain in the UK without a time limit on their immigration permission. Qualifying periods will vary according to earnings, employment, compliance and other requirements.
Three, five, ten and twenty-year routes
The published framework provides a three-year route for some exceptional talent applicants and those meeting a £125,141 earnings threshold over the relevant period. A five-year route will apply to qualifying higher earners meeting a £50,271 threshold, certain public-service workers and people with specified British connections. The standard ten-year route includes an earnings requirement of £12,571 for five of the previous seven years. Certain cases involving immigration non-compliance or public funds may face a twenty-year pathway. All routes carry additional conditions.
Five-year concession for existing care workers
Eligible migrant care workers who joined the relevant routes before the May 2025 immigration white paper will retain a five-year settlement pathway if they have complied with their visa conditions, including earning at least £25,000 annually in social care. The concession replaces the earlier proposal for a fifteen-year route for many lower-paid workers. The Government estimates that approximately 146,000 care workers and 136,000 dependants may benefit from transitional provisions; eligibility is not automatic.
Second chance for some care workers
The Home Secretary said around a quarter of people who entered or switched to the care route between 2022 and 2025 had not met their visa conditions. Affected workers will be able to apply for a further five-year care visa without being tied to their former employer, with support to find legitimate care-sector work. This is not an automatic grant of permanent residence. Related transitional provisions cover certain health and education staff.
New baseline conditions
Mahmood set out requirements concerning English-language proficiency, criminal records, outstanding debts to the taxpayer and at least three years of National Insurance contributions. Precise eligibility and exemptions will be governed by the Immigration Rules and subsequent guidance.
Refugee settlement pathways
Refugees admitted through designated safe and legal routes may qualify for settlement after five years. Other recognised refugees will generally face a twenty-year core-protection pathway, with a further ten years potentially added for illegal entry. Sustained work, education or training can shorten some pathways. The published framework includes exceptions where Article 31 of the Refugee Convention applies. These periods concern eligibility for settlement, not detention.
Projected effects on welfare and applications
The Government estimates that approximately 500,000 people will face delayed settlement compared with the previous system. Mahmood said the Department for Work and Pensions expects welfare savings amounting to billions of pounds, but a full impact assessment has not yet been published. Those savings are Government projections rather than established outcomes.
Consultation and response
The Home Office received 204,667 consultation responses, comprising 202,241 from individuals and 2,426 from organisations. The Government changed its original proposals following consultation, including dropping a plan to use volunteering to reduce settlement waiting times amid safeguarding and verification concerns.
Reaction and next steps
Care-sector organisations welcomed the concession for existing workers while expressing concern about the wider effects of longer waits. Refugee and legal organisations raised concerns about uncertainty and long settlement periods. Opposition parties criticised the Government from differing perspectives. The first changes are expected to be laid in Immigration Rules from December, with implementation across 2027; announced proposals are not necessarily already in force.