Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out the UK government’s final ‘earned settlement’ plans in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday 2 November 2026, doubling the standard wait for permanent settlement from five years to ten years for most migrants.
Under the plans, indefinite leave to remain (ILR) — the status that lets a person live and work in the UK without immigration time restrictions — will no longer be automatic after a fixed period of residence. Instead, how quickly someone qualifies will depend on what they have contributed.
The most controversial part of the original proposals has been dropped: lower-paid workers will no longer face a 15-year wait. Care workers who entered or switched into the care route before the Immigration White Paper was published in May 2025, and who earn at least £25,000 a year in sponsored care work, will keep their existing five-year route to settlement. The same transitional protection applies to health and education workers below degree level on national pay scales, such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, who arrived before May 2025. Official estimates suggest around 146,000 care workers and 136,000 dependants could benefit, while those in the group who do not meet the conditions are being offered a further five-year visa.
Faster routes remain for others: people earning at least £125,141 can qualify after three years, and people earning at least £50,271, along with eligible health and education workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers, can qualify after five years. Everyone else faces the standard ten-year wait and can keep renewing temporary visas until they qualify.
All applicants will first have to meet tougher conditions, including no criminal record, English at B2 level (up from B1), a pass in the Life in the UK test, and no outstanding debt to the government. Refugees who arrive through designated safe and legal routes will be on a five-year path, while those who claim asylum after arriving another way face a 20-year route, falling to ten years if they move into sustained work or study; illegal entry, including by small boat, adds a further ten years, up to 30 years in total. The Home Office estimates that over 500,000 people will settle later than they would have done under the current rules.
Importantly, nothing in the announcement is law yet. The current five-year rules stay in force until a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules is laid and takes effect, and the government has not given an implementation date. The plans follow a consultation that drew 204,667 online responses and 904 by email.
Source: Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-unveil-migrant-settlement-overhaul-after-months-debate-2026-11-02/) and BBC News live coverage of the Commons statement, as summarised in post-announcement reporting.
