24 February 2026

On 20 November 2025 the UK government published a statement and accompanying consultation containing proposals for introducing a new ‘earned settlement’ model for migrants to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK.  The public consultation on these proposals, to which Laura Devine Immigration submitted a substantial response, closed on 12 February 2026 and the consultation responses are currently being considered by the government.

In this article we focus on the role of the new earnings requirements in the earned settlement proposals and assess how they – if implemented – may unevenly impact migrants who wish to settle in the UK.

‘Settlement’ and ‘earned settlement’

‘Settlement’ refers to the right to live permanently in the UK without time restrictions, and without restrictions on work, study or access to public funds.

A migrant may at present become eligible for settlement in the UK (also known as ILR) if:

• they have spent a qualifying residence period of usually 3 to 5 years with temporary immigration permission in certain immigration categories; and
• they meet certain other general requirements, such as continuous residence and knowledge of life in the UK, and certain requirements specific to the immigration category for settlement in the UK (such as a minimum salary threshold requirement for settlement as a Skilled Worker).

The proposed earned settlement model aims to reduce net migration to the UK and ensure integration of migrants in the UK by increasing the standard residence period for settlement to 10 years for most applicants (15 years for some sponsored in lower-skilled roles, and 20 years for refugees). The model introduces new mandatory settlement requirements, alongside positive factors which will permit applicants to reduce their qualifying residence period for settlement, and negative factors which will cause that period to increase.

Mandatory minimum earnings requirement

The earned settlement consultation document sets out a proposal for a mandatory earnings requirement for all settlement applicants, under which migrants must have annual earnings (or an alternative amount of income) of above £12,570 for a minimum of 3 to 5 years to become eligible for settlement in the UK.

This new mandatory minimum earnings requirement applies to all applicants, including migrants who have permission in an immigration category that at present is not subject to earnings requirements for settlement in the UK. For example, currently the partner of a British citizen or settled person in the UK may currently exclusively rely on the income or savings of their British or settled partner (rather than that of themselves) to qualify for settlement in the UK. Such an applicant – for example, a stay-at-home parent – may never earn £12,570 and may therefore never qualify for settlement under the proposals.

Individuals with fluctuating income patterns, such as self-employed individuals and creative workers, are also likely to be negatively impacted by the requirement to earn above £12,570. Such individuals may earn far in excess of the required threshold in some years, and may contribute substantially by way of income tax, however a single year of income below the threshold due to any number of reasons would cause their residence period to qualify for settlement to reset. This appears to impose a disproportionate penalty on such individuals for having a fluctuating income.

‘Qualifying residence period’ earnings requirement

The UK government’s second proposal for a new earnings requirement is that a migrant may reduce the qualifying residence period (from the default baseline of 10 years) if they earn a certain taxable income for 3 or 5 years immediately prior to the date of application for settlement in the UK:

• to 3 years if they earn £125,140; or
• to 5 years if they earn £50,270.

Note that the qualifying period for settlement may be longer than the above in certain circumstances, including if the individual is sponsored in a lower-skilled role, is a refugee, or if a factor applies which extends their qualifying settlement period, such as claiming public funds.

The new ‘qualifying residence period’ earnings requirement is important for most migrants because it goes hand in hand with the proposed extended baseline periods for settlement mentioned above (10, 15 or 20 years). Therefore, while higher earners may be eligible to settle after 3 or 5 years, those on lower incomes will be required to wait for at least 10 years before settling.

These earnings thresholds accordingly positively promote higher earning migrants and negatively target lower earning migrants respectively, thereby disproportionately impacting the latter who may struggle to obtain settlement in the UK.

Who may be most affected?

Such negative impacts will likely be disproportionately felt by women, who earn less on average than men, and employees working outside London and the South East, where average earnings are lower.

Another example of those likely to be impacted by is lower-earning migrant workers such as health care workers who may make important social and economic contributions but are likely to become subject to longer qualifying residence periods before they become eligible for settlement in the UK.

A critical question is if and how the UK government decides to protect certain categories of migrants – such as vulnerable groups, dependent partners and children, and public service workers (as mentioned in the proposals) – from the negative consequences of introducing new earnings requirements for settlement in the UK. If such groups are not protected, by being forced to rely for a prolonged or indefinite period of time on temporary immigration permission to stay in the UK, they would continue to be subject to limitations on their right to work and study in the UK and attract the considerable immigration application fees to extend their stay in the UK.

Conclusion

A model of earned settlement with a key role for new earnings requirements unevenly impacts migrants who wish to settle in the UK. A key unanswered question is to what extent certain categories of migrants may be protected from the negative consequences of introducing earnings requirements for settlement in the UK. Additionally, the government has indicated that it may consider imposing the changes to individuals already in the UK on a pathway to settlement, rather than just new arrivals, without transitional provisions to protect them. This could potentially impact millions of individuals who have made their home in the UK and now find that they may need to accrue a significant amount of further residence in the UK before finally being in a position to settle.

The public consultation closed on 12 February 2026, and the government has indicated that it may commence implementation of the earned settlement model from April 2026. Immigration advisers and other stakeholders have expressed hope that the public consultation draws the UK government’s attention to the arguably unjustifiable consequences of introducing new earnings requirements for the immigration status of non-earning or low-earning migrants in the UK.