Most migrants in Britain will now have to wait ten years before they can apply for permanent settlement, double the previous five-year wait, under a major overhaul confirmed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in Parliament on Monday 2 November.
The new system, called earned settlement, replaces the long-standing arrangement under which indefinite leave to remain followed almost automatically after five years of lawful residence. Instead, the government says settlement must be earned through contribution, good conduct and language ability, and decisions will be based on what applicants give to the country rather than simply on time spent there.
Under the plan, ten years becomes the standard qualifying period for most migrants. People earning above about fifty thousand pounds a year, along with doctors, nurses, teachers and similar public service workers, can still qualify after five years. The fastest route, three years, is reserved for top earners on more than about one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds and for people on the highest talent schemes.
Everyone will also have to pass baseline tests, according to summaries of the sixty-two-page policy document, including a clean criminal record, high-level English, no debts to the taxpayer and at least three years of National Insurance contributions. Care workers who entered or switched into the relevant visa route before May 2025 will keep their five-year pathway, the government has confirmed.
The wait could stretch far longer for people who break the law, with reports of the plan putting settlement back by many years in cases of criminality. Refugees will no longer receive automatic indefinite leave; their stay will be reviewed regularly, and permanent settlement would come only after a much longer period. Low-skilled workers will no longer have a route to settlement at all, and a new eighteen-month temporary protection status is planned for people refused asylum.
The announcement has drawn criticism from both sides. Labour MP Nadia Whittome described the plan as a race to the bottom, while some Labour MPs also criticised it. The Conservatives, meanwhile, dismissed it as a watered-down version of their own proposals. Ministers say the changes are needed to bring immigration levels down after the post-Brexit surge in arrivals, while business groups have warned that tougher rules could deter workers Britain still needs.
The government has confirmed the policy framework, but detailed immigration rules, implementation dates and further guidance have yet to be published, so migrants already on the path to settlement are waiting for clarity on exactly how the new system will apply to them.