Earned Settlement: what employers need to know about the Government's plans

How will Earned Settlement work?

Settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain, allows an individual to live and work in the UK without an immigration time limit. For a sponsored worker, it marks the point at which they no longer need sponsorship.

Under the Government's proposed framework, the standard qualifying period for settlement will increase from five to ten years. Individuals may qualify sooner because of their earnings, occupation or other recognised connection to the UK:

A three-year pathway will be available to the highest earners and a proposed "Highest Talent Group"
A five-year pathway will include workers who meet a specified earnings threshold and eligible public-service workers
A ten-year pathway will become the standard route for many other workers.

Longer pathways will apply in some circumstances, including specified immigration breaches and continuing or recent reliance on specified public funds.

These are intended to be qualifying pathways rather than an automatic entitlement to settlement. Applicants will also have to satisfy mandatory requirements relating to matters such as criminality, Government debt, English language ability and knowledge of life in the UK.

What does this mean for sponsored workers?

Skilled Workers will not all have the same settlement timetable. Under the proposed framework, the employee's earnings and occupation could determine whether they qualify after three, five or ten years.

A worker whose earnings take them into the additional income tax rate (currently £125,141) in three of the four years before applying could potentially use the three-year pathway. A five-year pathway is proposed for those with earnings that take them into the higher income tax bracket (currently £50,271) in three of the previous five years. The standard ten-year pathway will be subject to a lower minimum earnings requirement over a specified period.

Eligible workers in specified health and education sector occupations will retain a five-year pathway. This is expected to include occupations such as doctors, nurses, teachers and social workers.

For employers, the practical consequences could include:

Employees needing further extensions before they qualify for settlement
Longer periods of sponsor reporting and record-keeping responsibility
Additional visa fees, Immigration Health Surcharge payments and, where applicable, Immigration Skills Charge liabilities
Increased demand for immigration support from affected employees
Retention pressures if workers seek roles offering higher earnings or access to a faster settlement pathway.

Will existing workers be protected?

There will be no blanket protection for everyone already in the UK. The Government's position is that settlement applications will usually be decided under the Immigration Rules in force when the decision is made, unless specific transitional provisions apply.

This means an employee currently expecting to settle after five years could potentially move onto a longer pathway. This is likely to be one of the most significant and sensitive aspects of the new framework for employers and their staff.

Targeted arrangements have, however, been confirmed for some groups. Care workers who entered or switched into the route before the May 2025 Immigration White Paper will retain a five-year pathway if they satisfy the applicable salary, sponsorship, employment and general settlement requirements. Some existing health and education workers in roles below RQF level 6 will receive similar protection.

Skilled Workers benefiting from the transitional salary arrangements introduced following the April 2024 salary changes will also be able to extend on those terms until 2035, rather than 2030.

Employers should avoid guaranteeing settlement dates while the commencement and transitional provisions remain unresolved.

What about workers in other immigration categories?

Time spent under several work routes is expected to count towards Earned Settlement. These include Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Scale-up, Innovator Founder, International Sportsperson, UK Ancestry and Minister of Religion routes.

By contrast, time on temporary routes will not count simply because an individual completes ten years of lawful residence. The affected categories include:

Student and Graduate routes
Global Business Mobility
High Potential Individual
Youth Mobility
Seasonal Worker
Other Temporary Worker routes.

The existing Long Residence route will close. This will be particularly important for individuals who expected to combine periods under Student, Graduate and work visas to reach ten years' lawful residence.

Employees moving between protection or human-rights routes and work or family routes will also be affected. Under the proposed framework, time cannot generally be combined across those different pathways, so switching may restart the relevant qualifying period.

Separate arrangements will continue to apply to categories including the EU Settlement Scheme, British National (Overseas) status, the Windrush Scheme and specified Afghan routes.

How will dependants be treated?

The Government has stepped back from the consultation proposal to assess every dependant on a wholly individual basis.

A partner who arrived with the main applicant should generally be able to settle at the same time, provided the relevant requirements are met. Partners will also be able to combine their earnings to meet a proposed household threshold. A partner who joined the main applicant later will normally need to complete the same qualifying residence period separately.

Children under 18 will generally be able to settle with their parents. Young adults aged 18 to 24 who retain dependant status will also receive some protection, although they will need to meet relevant adult requirements. Those aged 25 or over will normally need to qualify independently.

These provisions should reduce the risk of family members being placed on entirely different settlement timetables, although employers should not assume that every dependant will qualify alongside a sponsored employee.

What changed following consultation?

Several of the initial proposals have been modified:

The proposed 15-year route for workers in jobs below RQF level 6 has not been taken forward. The standard period will instead generally be ten years, with targeted protection for some existing care, health and education workers.
Dependants will not be assessed on a wholly individual basis, with greater recognition given to family unity and household income.
Volunteering will not reduce the qualifying period.
English at C1 level will not accelerate settlement. B2 will instead be the standard English-language requirement, subject to exemptions.
Rather than adding varying periods for specified adult immigration breaches, the Government has selected a 20-year pathway.
Targeted transitional arrangements have been added, but there will be no general grandfathering of everyone already on a route to settlement.

What should employers do now?

No employee's current immigration permission has changed, and employers should not alter sponsorship arrangements solely because of the Government's response. However, you may want to:

Identify employees expecting to qualify for settlement within the next few years
Review upcoming visa expiry dates and likely extension requirements
Model the possible cost of longer sponsorship
Check immigration assistance and repayment policies
Consider the impact on recruitment and retention in key roles
Avoid making contractual or informal promises about settlement dates
Communicate carefully with affected employees, making clear that the detailed Rules are still awaited.

A longer settlement pathway does not, by itself, affect an employee's present right to work. Employers must continue to carry out right to work checks and follow-up checks under the existing rules.

What happens next?

The Government has confirmed the overall direction of travel, but has not yet announced the general implementation date. Further Immigration Rules and technical guidance will be needed to settle important details, including the precise earnings tests, transitional provisions, treatment of public funds and operation of the new pathways.

The central message for employers is clear: many overseas workers could remain subject to immigration control and sponsorship for longer. Reviewing the potential cost, workforce and employee-relations implications now will help employers prepare once the final Rules are published.