The Home Secretary has launched a formal consultation on a new earned settlement system for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK.
The consultation proposes moving away from the familiar five-year route to ILR for most workers and their families and replacing it with a ten-year default that can be shortened or lengthened depending on a person’s behaviour, contribution and route. Settlement is reframed as something that has to be built over time against four pillars, rather than a near-automatic outcome once someone reaches a time threshold.
Overview of the Earned Settlement Consultation
The consultation, set out in the command paper on a ‘fairer pathway to settleme’, runs until 12 February 2026. During this period the government is seeking views on the structure of the earned settlement model, the groups it should apply to, and the extent of any transitional arrangements. No Immigration Rules have changed yet, but the document makes clear that the intention is to introduce a single earned settlement framework that will sit over most permanent routes, including work and family pathways that currently lead to Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years.
For UK employers and HR teams, this could mark a system-wide recalibration of how long sponsored workers and their families are likely to remain on time-limited status, and the conditions that will apply during that period. It affects recruitment messaging, retention planning and everyday people management decisions, since an employee’s conduct, earnings and benefit history during their time with the organisation will carry more weight in the eventual settlement decision.
Core Features of the Proposed Earned Settlement Model
The consultation explains that earned settlement will be built around four pillars: character, contribution, integration and residence. Each pillar has its own criteria, and applicants would need to satisfy all four to secure ILR. Residence provides the time baseline. Character, contribution and integration sit above that baseline and shape whether someone qualifies at all, and if so how long they are likely to wait.
For most migrants on routes that lead to settlement, the standard qualifying period would move from five years to ten. The separate ten-year long residence route would be removed, with its purpose absorbed into this single ten-year baseline. Some groups would face longer periods. Skilled Workers in roles below RQF level 6, including many Health and Care Worker roles, are the subject of consultation on a fifteen-year standard qualifying period.
Alongside the new timeframes, the government proposes common mandatory conditions for all ILR applicants. These include meeting stricter suitability thresholds under the new Part Suitability, with an explicit statement that settlement should not normally be granted where someone has a criminal record. Applicants are also expected to demonstrate at least B2-level English, pass the Life in the UK test, show a period of taxable earnings above the income tax and National Insurance threshold, and have no outstanding NHS, tax, litigation or other government debt. Falling short on any of these baseline conditions would block ILR even if the residence requirement is met.
The time-adjustment model is designed to create both reductions and upward adjustments. High earners and certain high-skill routes could see their route shortened. Under the proposals, taxable income above £125,140 for three years could reduce the ten-year baseline by seven years, giving an effective three-year route. Income above £50,270 for three years could reduce the baseline by five years, preserving a five-year route in effect. Global Talent and Innovator Founder migrants are expressly identified for similar accelerated treatment, subject to the same conditions.
In contrast, lower-paid workers and anyone who depends on benefits would see longer routes. Use of public funds for less than twelve months could add five years to the qualifying period. Use of public funds for twelve months or more could add ten years. For many workers this would create fifteen- or twenty-year routes. For people with irregular histories, such as illegal entry or overstaying, example scenarios in the command paper show settlement timelines stretching to around thirty years, underlining how heavily non-compliance is intended to weigh in the new structure.
The government is also consulting on attaching a No Recourse to Public Funds condition to some grants of settlement, so that access to many benefits would not automatically follow from ILR. Instead, access to public funds would be more closely linked with citizenship or separate policy decisions for specific cohorts. The paper confirms that some groups, including existing ILR holders, EU Settlement Scheme status holders and Windrush cases, are outside the scope of these reforms. Certain family routes, such as partners and children of British citizens and BN(O) status holders, are intended to retain an effective five-year path through a fixed reduction from the ten-year baseline.
Implications for Employers and HR Professionals
For employers, the earned settlement proposals change the long-term value proposition that sits behind a sponsored role. The familiar narrative of a five-year pathway to ILR for most skilled workers is replaced by a more segmented picture. Senior staff and certain high-skill categories could gain faster routes, which strengthens the UK’s position in the market for global executives and specialists. At the same time, many sponsored workers, particularly in lower-paid sectors, would face extended periods on temporary status with more scope for refusal at the settlement stage.
This has direct consequences for attraction and retention. In sectors such as health, social care, hospitality and logistics, where pay progression is limited and benefit use is more likely during downturns, a ten- or fifteen-year route with benefit penalties may be a harder sell. Candidates may be more inclined to view the UK as a medium-term posting rather than a place to settle. Employers that rely heavily on these roles may need to rethink how they present opportunities, build internal progression and support migrants through long periods on sponsored or limited leave.
The proposals also heighten the importance of HR governance and support throughout the employment relationship. A worker’s conduct, income pattern and any interaction with public funds now have a more direct link to their settlement prospects. Disciplinary matters that lead to criminal convictions, inconsistencies in employment records, or unresolved disputes around repayments to public bodies can all feed into the character and contribution assessments. HR teams are likely to see more requests for letters, evidence of contribution and internal support where an employee is trying to safeguard their position ahead of a future ILR application.
Longer and more conditional routes also increase the exposure to right to work and sponsorship risk over time. A decade or more of sponsored employment means more extension points, more chances for status gaps and more touchpoints with Home Office systems. Employers will need to keep records accurate and up to date, and treat changes to hours, role, location and salary with care, because each change now plays out against a longer and more sensitive immigration journey.
From a strategic perspective, the main risk for employers is churn. If the new settlement framework dilutes the perceived stability that the UK can offer, particularly for those on lower salaries, sponsored workers may be more inclined to look for opportunities in other jurisdictions or to leave sponsored roles earlier. Employers and HR professionals should consider scenario planning around staffing models, pipeline development and the balance between sponsored and homegrown talent, so that they are ready to adjust if the consultation leads to rule changes that affect retention in key roles.
Author
Gill Laing is a qualified Legal Researcher & Analyst with niche specialisms in Law, Tax, Human Resources, Immigration & Employment Law.
Gill is a Multiple Business Owner and the Managing Director of Prof Services - a Marketing & Content Agency for the Professional Services Sector.
