What Is Earned Settlement in the UK? New ILR Rules, 10 Year Requirement and Key Changes
Earned settlement refers to the UK government’s proposed changes to the qualifying criteria for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The reforms are intended to create an earned settlement model based on an individual’s contributions, replacing the current UK Indefinite Leave to Remain application process, which focuses on time-served rights after meeting a five-year lawful and continuous residence requirement.
UK Immigration Solicitors warn that the potential settlement reforms may affect you if you are living in the UK on a visa, or you or a relative are planning to come to the UK to live and work in anticipation of being able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years and to then qualify for British citizenship.
Contact OTS Solicitors for visa advice or help with making a settlement application.
Who will be affected by the earned settlement reform?
The quick answer is that no one is sure who will be affected by the proposed reforms to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
At present, no changes have been made to the eligibility criteria for Indefinite Leave to Remain. The current five-year residence requirement for most settlement applicants remains in place.
The government currently intends its settlement reforms to affect those living in the UK on visas who plan to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) but can't apply for ILR until after the earned settlement rules come into force, as they don’t meet the five-year residence requirement. In other words, those who came to the UK expecting to settle once they met the five-year residence requirement, or those planning to apply for ILR using the current ten-year long residence route.
Under government proposals, the ten-year long residence route will be abolished, with all applicants required to earn settlement rather than obtain it after meeting a long residence requirement.
There is significant opposition to the proposed reforms to the UK settlement criteria. There is speculation that the proposals may be changed to include transitional provisions to:
- Only apply the earned settlement rules and increased residence requirement to people who secured visas after a specified date.
- Allow some categories of visa holders, such as Skilled Worker Visa holders working in specified job roles and living in the UK on a specified date, to apply for settlement on the current ILR criteria.
No one knows if the earned settlement proposals will become law or if substantial amendments and wide-ranging transitional provisions will water down the impact of the reforms.
When will the earned settlement come into force?
UK Immigration Solicitors don’t know when the earned settlement rules will be implemented. It was originally thought that the new settlement criteria would be in place by Autumn 2026, but there is now speculation that the reforms will be introduced in early 2027.
Earned settlement immigration legal advice
At this stage, the best advice for individuals and employers is:
- Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain now if you want to stay in the UK and you meet the current ILR criteria.
- Sponsor a family member or partner now to come to the UK if they meet the Spouse Visa, Family Visa, or Unmarried Partner Visa eligibility criteria.
- Take specialist immigration legal advice on how the ILR reforms may affect your life plans or business plans if your company sponsors overseas workers.
Key earned settlement reforms
The three key earned settlement reform proposals are:
- Ten-year residence requirement for most settlement applicants.
- Earned settlement criteria of residence, contribution, integration and character.
- Residence requirement adjustment for those who contribute the most according to new criteria.
The earned settlement criteria
The four earned settlement criteria require all settlement applicants to demonstrate:
- Residence – the residence must be lawful and continual for the required residence period.
- Contribution – this is a financial contribution measured by National Insurance contributions linked to earnings above a specified threshold.
- Integration – this will be established through an enhanced English language test and knowledge of life in the UK.
- Character – this element requires the applicant to have no criminal record that makes them unsuitable for settlement and no outstanding debt to the NHS, HMRC, or other government body.
In addition to these four criteria, the applicant will need to meet the general suitability requirements (Part suitability in the immigration rules).
Integration into UK life and the enhanced English language requirement
The government is emphasising the importance of integration into UK society as an essential component of the revised settlement criteria. Integration can be hard to assess, but requiring settlement applicants to demonstrate enhanced English-language skills is one way to demonstrate it.
In the March 2026 Statement of Changes, the government introduced the CEFR Level B2 English requirement for several ILR routes. This commences from 26 March 2027. CEFR Level B2 is equivalent to A-level standard.
The enhanced English language requirement applies to all who, unless otherwise exempt, thought they needed to meet the English language test at CEFR Level B1 to settle in the UK. These ILR applicants have 12 months to pass the enhanced test if they cannot apply for ILR before March 2027.
The government's settlement proposals include a suggestion that ILR applicants who pass the English language test at CEFR Level C1 could reduce their residence requirement by one year.
Residence requirement adjustment
The residence requirement adjustment means that the new standard ten-year residence requirement could be adjusted up or down, depending on how the settlement applicant scores on the new settlement criteria. In practice, this means entrepreneurs or highly talented or skilled individuals (the brightest and best) could qualify for settlement in three years.
Lower earners (with job roles under RQF Level 6) could face a standard 15-plus-year residence requirement unless they can reduce it by demonstrating they have earned a reduction through additional integration or community contributions.
Some applicants hoping to secure ILR after entry on a Dependant Visa may face an earned settlement assessment based on their own contributions, rather than relying on the earnings or other demonstrable contributions of the main work or business visa holder.
Qualifying residence adjustment and earned settlement
With earned settlement, the general rule is that all settlement applicants must have lived in the UK for 10 years before qualifying for settlement and must also meet the other three settlement requirements: character, integration, and contribution. However, the residence requirement could be adjusted depending on:
- The value placed on the visa category.
- If the applicant meets the specified residence requirement time adjustment criteria.
Visa categories with accelerated settlement or reduced residence requirements are likely to be the Innovator Founder Visa and Global Talent Visa.
Proposed contributions to reduce the ten-year residence requirement
The government's earned settlement model seeks to incentivise settlement applicants who commit to integration and contribution (both financial and community) by reducing the qualifying period of lawful and continuous residence.
The suggested contributions and incentivising time discounts include:
| Suggested settlement contribution | Residence requirement time discount |
| English language at CEFR Level C1 | One year, so the standard residence requirement of ten years would be reduced to nine years. |
| Earned taxable income of £50,270 each year for three years. | Five years, so the standard residence requirement of ten years would be reduced to five years. |
| Employment in public service (limited to specific job roles). | Five years, so a standard residence requirement of ten years would be reduced to five years. |
| Earned taxable income of £125,140 each year for three years. | Seven years, so a standard residence requirement of ten years would be reduced to three years. |
| Community volunteering | Reduction of the ten-year residence requirement by three or five years. |
| The spouse, unmarried partner, child or parent of a British citizen. | Five years, so a standard residence requirement of ten years would be reduced to five years. |
Proposed factors to increase the settlement residence requirement
The government suggests that the ten-year lawful and continuous residence requirement could be increased for some ILR applicants. The settlement period could be increased on no-fault and fault grounds. For example, the government is proposing that ILR applicants in job roles below RQF Level 6 may have to meet a 15-year residence requirement.
The fault grounds for an increased residence requirement could include:
- Criminal conduct that falls short of an immediate refusal but is sufficient to increase the residence requirement.
- Immigration non-compliance, such as breach of visa requirements or overstaying on a visa, that falls short of an immediate refusal but is sufficient to increase the residence requirement.
The government consultation on increasing the standard residence requirement from ten years suggested:
| Factors to increase the ten-year residence requirement | Residence requirement time increase |
| Public funds claimed for less than 12 months. | Five years, so the residence requirement to qualify for earned settlement would be fifteen years. |
| Public funds claimed for over 12 months. | Ten years, so the residence requirement to qualify for earned settlement would be twenty years. |
| Illegal entry | Twenty years, so the residence requirement to qualify for earned settlement would be thirty years. |
Consult Indefinite Leave to Remain Lawyers
The settlement proposals are not law, and substantial changes may be made to the government's proposals. However, settlement in the UK is likely to become more difficult to obtain. It will move from a time-served right to an assessment of an individual’s contribution to the UK over a standard ten-year period, which could be reduced or extended depending on the visa route and other factors.
Applying for settlement under the earned settlement rules will be more complicated, as applicants will have the Home Office reviewing their ten-year history of visa applications, time spent outside the UK, financial and tax contributions, and general conduct. For some families, the main visa holder may, in the future, be able to secure settlement faster than accompanying family members on Dependant Visas, or a high-earning, financially contributing visa holder may be held back from settlement because they are unable to meet the Level B2 English language requirement. However, the B1 Level was attainable for them.
For those nearing the five-year residence requirement, it is essential to consider applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain as soon as practicable and to support their dependent family members in doing so. Likewise, sponsoring employers need to consider how best to support employees in obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain, as well as the long-term implications of extended sponsorship for some lower-paid or lower-skilled sponsored jobs.
The Immigration Lawyers at OTS Solicitors can answer all your Indefinite Leave to Remain questions and provide you with the expert immigration law legal advice you need to make a compelling settlement application.
Contact OTS Solicitors for visa advice or help with making a settlement application.
Contact us by phone or complete our online form to schedule an appointment at our London offices or arrange a phone or online consultation.
Related Posts
ILR Lawyer In London - OTS Solicitors
OTS Solicitors are Ranked in the 2026 Editions of the Chambers and Partners Guide and Legal 500
Changes to the Skilled Worker Visa Salary Framework From 8 April 2026
The Differences Between the Global Talent Visa and the Skilled Worker Visa