Earned Settlement: understanding the new pathways to settlement

In a statement to Parliament on 2 November 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the government’s long-awaited response to the consultation on Earned Settlement, first outlined in the Immigration White Paper published in May 2025.

Despite considerable opposition, the Home Secretary confirmed that the settlement goalposts will move for those already in the UK. While many higher earners and other qualifying groups may retain a five-year, or benefit from a new three-year, pathway, others who entered the UK expecting to settle after five years may now have to wait 10. This represents a fundamental shift for individuals and employers who have made long-term plans on the basis of the existing Immigration Rules.

This article summarises the principal changes, who will be affected, who may still qualify for settlement after five years or sooner, and what the reforms mean for individuals and the businesses that employ and sponsor them.

Summary of proposed changes

Mandatory requirements

All applicants will have to satisfy a minimum set of requirements. Some of these are already in place, some have been strengthened and some are new. The new list is as follows:

• good character and suitability – including clean immigration history;
• no criminality;
• no outstanding government debt;
• English-language ability at B2 level, increased from the current B1 standard;
• successful completion of the ‘Life in the UK’ test; and
• sustained economic contribution – earnings of at least £12,571 a year.

The English-language, Life in the UK and economic contribution requirements will be subject to exemptions, including for children, people aged 65 or over, and those unable to meet the relevant requirement because of a physical or mental condition.

New pathways for settlement

Note: The earnings thresholds are linked to income-tax thresholds and may rise. Refugees are not included in this table, as separate settlement pathways apply under the protection framework.

Impact on those already in the UK

The most contentious aspect of these reforms is that they will be applied to those already in the UK, who are afforded very limited protection against these changes. The government has confirmed that settlement applications will generally be decided under the Immigration Rules in force at the date of application or decision.

Many sponsored workers already progressing towards settlement may therefore be caught out by the new rules, even where they entered the UK on what was presented as a five-year route to settlement, unless they fall within a specific transitional provision.

For example, highly skilled workers on lower incomes, such as research scientists, may face a longer route to settlement, with significant financial, administrative and personal consequences. Employers that recruited and retained international talent on the basis of an established five-year pathway may also face increased sponsorship costs, prolonged compliance responsibilities and greater uncertainty over retention and workforce planning.

By contrast, those earning at least £125,141 and certain other qualifying applicants, including eligible Scale-up workers and International Sportspersons and their dependants, may qualify for settlement after three years. For many applicants under the Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes, however, a three-year pathway already exists, so the new rules will not necessarily represent an acceleration for them, but may do so for their family members.

Transitional arrangements

The government has announced that there will be targeted transitional measures for the following groups:

Skilled Workers first sponsored before 4 April 2024

Skilled Workers first assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship before 4 April 2024 can continue to rely on lower transitional salary requirements when extending their permission or applying for settlement. As some may now have to remain sponsored for 10 years, the government will be extending these arrangements from 4 April 2030 to 4 April 2035, enabling affected workers to continue extending on the same salary terms while completing the longer route.

Care, Health and Education Workers

Care workers
Care workers who entered or switched into the route before publication of the Immigration White Paper in May 2025 will retain a five-year pathway where they earn at least £25,000, remain in genuine sponsored employment in the care sector, have complied with the conditions of their visa, and satisfy the new mandatory requirements.

Those who do not qualify after five years may apply for a further five-year Health and Care Worker visa, allowing another opportunity to meet the settlement requirements.

Those who joined the route after May 2025 will be subject to the 10 year pathway.

Health and education workers
Those working in eligible public service health and education occupations at RQF level 6 and above and paid according to national pay scales will continue to qualify for settlement after five years.

A separate one-off five-year route will apply to specified below-RQF 6 health and education workers paid according to national pay scales, who were already in the UK before publication of the White Paper in May 2025, otherwise, they will be subject to the 10 year pathway.

This one-off exemption is not, however, a general exemption for everyone working in the health or education sectors as eligibility depends on individuals’ SOC codes.

Several skilled health, education and welfare occupations do not appear on the protected list, even though their published Skilled Worker going rates are below £50,271, including higher education teaching professionals; biomedical and clinical scientists; environmental health professionals; youth workers; and welfare professionals. An individual may therefore be paid the prescribed going rate for their occupation and still be unable to qualify for settlement after five years.

Dependants

Dependant partners

A welcome change from the original consultation concerns dependant partners.

The consultation raised the prospect of dependant partners being required to earn settlement independently, potentially resulting in different settlement timelines within the same family. The response to the consultation substantially retreats from that position, confirming that dependant partners who accompany the principal applicant will generally continue to be able to settle alongside them, provided the relevant residence and mandatory requirements are met. This means that where the principal qualifies under an accelerated pathway, then their dependants may also qualify. It will remain the case that partners who join later will need to complete their own qualifying period from the date of their arrival.

The consultation response also clarifies the role of household income. Eligible couples will be able to combine earnings to satisfy the minimum economic contribution requirement, with a household threshold of £25,142. This means that a dependant partner who has reduced working hours, paused their career or does not work because of childcare or other caring responsibilities will not necessarily be penalised where the household as a whole satisfies the minimum contribution threshold.

Importantly, combined household income does not qualify a family for accelerated settlement. The principal applicant must personally meet the relevant individual earnings threshold for the three-year or earnings-based five-year pathway, or satisfy the criteria for another accelerated pathway, such as through an eligible public service occupation.

Dependant children

The proposals preserve settlement rights for dependant children under 18. However, children who entered the route as dependants under 18, but are aged 25 or over when their family becomes eligible for settlement, would need to qualify independently for settlement or switch into an appropriate immigration route in their own right.

With some families potentially facing a 10-year route to settlement, this change is likely to affect many dependants who would previously have expected to settle alongside their parents, although the precise position will depend on the final Immigration Rules.

What is going and what is staying?

Long residence route closing

The long residence route will be closed and so time spent on Student, Graduate, Youth Mobility and Global Business Mobility routes will no longer build towards settlement.

Routes remaining at five years

The government also confirmed that certain groups will remain outside the main Earned Settlement framework or retain separate protections. These include Hong Kong BN(O) status holders, those with a British connection (partners, parents and children of British citizens), UK Ancestry, and those on legacy routes, such as Tier 1 Investor. The extent to which strengthened general requirements will apply will depend on the implementing Immigration Rules.

Note: those in the UK with pre-settled status under the EU Withdrawal Agreement remain outside of this framework.

When will the changes take effect?

According to the Home Secretary, the reforms will be introduced in stages. The first changes will begin to be laid from the December 2026 Immigration Rules, with the wider Earned Settlement framework implemented progressively during 2027. The government has not yet confirmed which measures will commence at each stage, or how applications made or pending during the transition will be treated.

What should individuals and sponsors be doing now?

Individuals potentially affected should review their immigration history, current route and expected settlement date. Those approaching eligibility should confirm the earliest date on which they can apply, whether they may qualify before the relevant changes take effect, and whether they are likely to fall within an accelerated or transitional pathway.

Sponsors should identify affected employees and assess:

• when each employee is expected to qualify for settlement;
• which employees may move from a five-year to a 10-year pathway;
• whether employees’ salaries meet, or are close to, the £50,271 or £125,141 thresholds for accelerated earnings-based pathways;
• the cost of extending sponsorship potentially for a further five years;
• communication with impacted employees; and
• the impact on global mobility, succession and workforce-planning strategies.

As the detailed Immigration Rules emerge, individuals and sponsors should keep their position under review and seek advice early to understand how the changes may affect them.

Final thoughts

The reforms represent a significant shift in the UK’s approach to settlement. While the announcement provides greater clarity on the government’s direction of travel, it also creates new uncertainty for individuals planning their long-term future in the UK and for employers seeking to recruit and retain international talent.

The success of the framework will ultimately depend on whether it balances immigration control with the UK’s need for international skills and talent.

Further details are expected in December 2026. In the meantime, if you have any questions or wish to discuss the potential impact of these proposed changes, please liaise with your usual contact in the immigration team or email us at immigration.enquiries@penningtonslaw.com.