If you are on a route to indefinite leave to remain and worried about the government’s earned settlement plans, the short version is this: nothing has changed yet. On 15 September 2026, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee and confirmed that the new settlement policy, including any transitional arrangements, would be set out later in 2026. No new earned settlement rules had been laid before Parliament at that point, and routes that currently lead to ILR after five years continue to operate under the existing rules unless and until new Immigration Rules take effect.
That will not make the uncertainty disappear, and it is fair to feel unsettled when your long-term future is being debated in a committee room. What follows is a calm read of what has actually been said, what is confirmed, what is not, and what you can sensibly do while the picture is still forming. We are fielding this question daily from clients approaching their five-year mark, so you are not alone in asking it.
Have the settlement rules changed?
No. As of late September 2026, the earned settlement reforms remain proposals, not law. The current Immigration Rules continue to apply to ILR applications, and the Home Office has not yet published the final post-consultation model or the transitional arrangements.
The important point is timing. Applications are decided under the rules in force at the time they are made. The Home Secretary’s evidence pointed back to that ordinary position, but the final transitional wording still matters and has not yet been published.
What the Home Secretary actually said
The 15 September session was a general accountability hearing on the work of the Home Office, but a large part of it turned to migration and settlement. A few points stood out.
First, she was clear that earned settlement is meant to be a new model rather than a small adjustment to the existing one. She described settlement as something that should be “earned through contribution” and tied to a new set of tests. Whatever your view of that, it tells you the government is not planning a minor tweak.
Second, she said the new policy would be set out later in 2026, taking account of consultation responses and any transitional arrangements the government decides to implement. Third, she indicated that applications are considered under the Immigration Rules in place when they are made. Fourth, when a committee member suggested the uncertainty was stopping people near the five-year point from putting down roots, she disagreed, and referred to people who arrived in 2022 reaching eligibility under the current rules from early 2027.
What earned settlement would change
The proposals come from the 2025 Immigration White Paper and the earned settlement consultation, which closed on 12 February 2026 after receiving more than 200,000 responses. The direction of travel is a higher default wait, adjusted up or down by your circumstances. It is worth stressing again that these are proposals under review, not current law.
| Situation proposed | Effect on the qualifying period |
|---|---|
| Standard baseline | 10 years, up from the current 5 for many routes |
| Higher earners | Possible reductions, with larger reductions proposed at higher income levels |
| Roles sponsored below degree level | Longer routes, proposed at up to 15 years |
| Long reliance on public funds, or certain protection routes | Longer routes, proposed at up to 20 years |
Alongside the qualifying period, the consultation proposed firmer mandatory requirements covering suitability, English language, the Life in the UK test, no outstanding debts to the Home Office and no undue reliance on public funds. Dependants may also need to meet requirements in their own right rather than settling automatically with the main applicant. None of this is settled, and the final version may look different once the consultation response is published.
What is confirmed and what is still uncertain
Separating the two is the most useful thing you can do right now.
| Confirmed as of now | Still uncertain |
|---|---|
| Current ILR rules continue to apply until changed | The final shape of the earned settlement policy |
| No earned settlement rules have yet taken effect | The exact date any new rules will take effect |
| The policy is due to be published later in 2026 | The detail of transitional arrangements for people already here |
| Existing ILR is not being reopened by these proposals | Whether the 10-year baseline survives in its proposed form |
The timing has already moved more than once, from earlier political signals to later consultation and post-consultation review. That history is worth remembering when you read confident predictions online. Parliamentary scrutiny and consultation responses can delay and reshape this kind of reform.
Who is affected, and who is not
If you already hold ILR, these changes are not aimed at you. Settled status you have already been granted is not being reopened by this reform. The people watching most closely are those partway through a route to settlement who have not yet reached ILR, particularly on work sponsorship and partner visa routes.
That is why both parliamentary committees pushed back on retrospective application. The Home Affairs Committee and the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee both raised concerns about applying a longer wait to people who arrived under the current rules, with the Lords committee describing retrospective change as manifestly unfair. Committee recommendations are not binding on the government, so treat this as meaningful pressure rather than a guarantee.
If you are close to your five-year mark
The clearest way to remove uncertainty is to qualify and apply while the current rules are still in force. Under the present system, many applicants can apply for ILR up to 28 days before completing their qualifying period, and no earlier. There is no way to jump the queue. What you can do is make sure you are ready to apply the moment you are eligible.
In our experience, the people who cope best with this uncertainty are the ones who focus on what they can control. That means keeping your continuous residence clean and within the permitted absence limits, sitting the Life in the UK test in good time, keeping your documents and your partner’s or dependants’ documents in order, and knowing your exact earliest application date. If you arrived in 2022 and reach five years in early 2027, you may still be dealt with under the current rules, but you should confirm your own timeline rather than rely on a general reassurance.
If settlement is further away
If your five years is still some way off, there is no action you can take today that locks in the current rules, because you cannot apply until you qualify. What you can do is keep your route to settlement solid and your options open. Time on a sponsored work route or a partner visa still counts towards settlement under the current rules, and business owners using self-sponsorship follow the same Skilled Worker settlement path, as our guide to the self-sponsorship route explained sets out.
It is also worth checking whether a different status already fits your situation. Some people qualify through the long residence route after ten years of continuous lawful residence, though how that route is treated under the new model remains one of the open questions. A smaller number turn out to hold the right of abode through a UK-born parent, which sits outside the settlement rules entirely. And if you are planning beyond ILR towards citizenship, our note on dual citizenship in the UK covers what settlement leads to. Planning your switch between routes early matters too, which is the theme of our guide on why 2026 students should plan their Skilled Worker switch early.
Frequently asked questions
Will the ILR qualifying period definitely rise to 10 years?
Not necessarily. A 10-year baseline is the government’s proposal, but it has not yet been enacted and the final policy has not been published. Until new rules take effect, current qualifying periods continue to apply.
Do the new rules apply if I already have ILR?
No. People who already hold indefinite leave to remain are not the target of these reforms. The changes concern how and when people who have not yet settled can qualify, not settled status that has already been granted.
Should I apply for ILR now to beat the changes?
You can only apply once you meet the current requirements, and normally no earlier than 28 days before completing your qualifying period. If you are eligible, applying while the current rules are in force is the clearest way to remove uncertainty. If you are not yet eligible, there is no way to apply early.
Will earned settlement apply retrospectively to people already here?
This remains the biggest open question. The government has indicated that the new model may affect people already in the UK who have not yet settled, but both the Commons and Lords committees raised concerns about retrospective application. The transitional arrangements are due with the final policy later in 2026.
When will the new settlement policy be published?
The Home Secretary said on 15 September 2026 that the policy would be set out later in 2026, including any transitional arrangements. No commencement date for new rules has been confirmed.
Talk to us about your settlement timeline
General reassurance only goes so far, because what matters is your specific route, your dates and your evidence. If you want to understand where you stand, whether you can apply under the current rules, and how to protect your position while the policy is finalised, we can go through it with you. Speak to Hedgley Immigration about your ILR application. Call Sean on 07704 909490 or Lydia on 07587 145994, and we will give you a straight answer based on the rules as they actually stand today.