Partners and children under earned settlement

Where This Stands

On 2 November 2026 the Home Secretary announced the government's decision on "earned settlement", and the government published its response to the consultation, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (Command Paper CP 1707). It sets 10 years as the new standard wait before most people can apply for settlement (also called indefinite leave to remain), with 3, 5 and 20-year paths. Our guide to earned settlement covers the whole decision.

This guide covers what the decision says about families: partners, children and young adults.

This is not yet law. No change has been made to the Immigration Rules. The Home Secretary told the House of Commons on 2 November 2026 that the changes "will begin to be laid from the December immigration rules" and "will be implemented over the course of 2027". Until rules are laid and take effect, the current rules apply. See our guides to settlement on a spouse visa and settlement for dependants.

The response says the government "has moved away from a wholly individualised model for dependants" and that the final approach "will place greater weight on family unity, shared household contribution and the continuing dependency of children and young adults" (page 24). The November 2025 consultation had asked whether partners and children should earn settlement in their own right.

Families at a Glance

Partners of British Citizens: the "British Connection" Path

Under the decision, a "recognised British connection" keeps a 5-year path. The response states:

"Under Earned Settlement, recognised British connections will continue to qualify for a five-year pathway, provided the applicant meets the relevant route and mandatory settlement requirements." (CP 1707, page 14)

It lists who this covers:

"A recognised British connection will include: eligible partners, parents and children of British citizens; and Commonwealth citizens who qualify through the UK Ancestry route on the basis of having a UK-born grandparent." (page 14)

Three points about this wording:

• "Will include." The list may not be complete. In describing the current rules, the same section also mentions "other specified cohorts" (page 13) without naming them.
• No earnings threshold for the 5 years. The government's own example (page 15) is a person who "earns £42,000 and is married to a British citizen. Because they have a recognised British connection, they qualify for the five-year pathway despite not meeting the higher earnings threshold."
• It was not consulted on. The response says "This element of the framework was not subject to consultation" (page 14).

The government's forecast includes about 223,000 people on family routes sponsored by a British citizen, who keep a 5-year path, and about 39,000 on family routes sponsored by someone who is not a British citizen, who move to a longer path (Home Office — A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation (CP 1707), Annex A, page 46). The response says people sponsored by a British citizen on a family route who meet the core requirements "will continue to be able to settle after 5 years". The estimate counts people who "have not needed to rely on exceptional circumstances". The estimates cover people expected to settle between 2026 and 2030.

The minimum requirements still apply

A 5-year path is not an exemption from the new requirements. The response sets the condition: the applicant must meet "the relevant route and mandatory settlement requirements" (page 14). Under the decision, the minimum requirements for everyone are:

• Good character: "Any adult applicant with a criminal record in the UK will be refused settlement" (page 8). This includes cautions and fines.
• No government debt: including NHS debt, tax and National Insurance debt, and debts to the Home Office from court cases (page 8).
• English at level B2: "B2 will be the standard English-language requirement for settlement", with exemptions for people aged 65 and over, for children, and for people with a physical or mental condition that prevents it (page 17). See our guide to B1 and B2 English.
• The Life in the UK test, with the existing exemptions (page 17). See our Life in the UK test guide.
• Sustained contribution: an earnings requirement. Couples can combine earnings (see below).

There is also a public funds rule. People on the 3, 5 or 10-year paths "will be expected not to have accessed specified public funds during the five years immediately before applying for settlement" (page 14). Otherwise, they need 20 years on a qualifying route. Which benefits count will be "set out before implementation" (page 14). See our guide to no recourse to public funds.

The GOV.UK news story said family members of British citizens "will keep their current pathways". That is true of the length of the wait. In the response, they sit inside the new framework and are subject to the requirements above.

Partners of People Who Are Not British

The response does not list partners of settled people, or of people on work visas, as a British connection. Its estimates (page 46) state:

"The remaining [people] who arrived on a family visa not sponsored by a British citizen will move to a longer pathway to settlement."

The response does not say which pathway each person in this group would be on. The general framework sets 10 years as the starting point, with shorter paths for higher earnings or public service work, and a longer path for people who have used public funds or broken immigration rules. These are set out in our main earned settlement guide.

Family and Private Life routes

Some family permission is given under the "Family and Private Life" routes, which includes the 10-year partner and private life routes, where a person relies on exceptional circumstances or human rights grounds. The response says:

"Permission granted under the Family and Private Life routes will not qualify a person for the three or five-year settlement pathways. Applicants on those routes may instead qualify through the relevant 10 or 20-year pathway if they meet the applicable requirements." (pages 19–20)

The list of "core permission" routes (page 19, footnote 9) includes "Family – Partner, Family – Partner/Parent (excluding Article 8 ECHR cases)". Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects family and private life. See our guides to the 10-year spouse route and settlement on private life grounds for the rules in force today.

The response also says that time on protection or human rights routes "will not be able to be combined with time spent on work or family routes" (page 21). See our guide to which visas count towards settlement.

Dependant Partners on Work Routes

Many partners come to the UK as the dependant of a person on a work visa, such as a Skilled Worker. The decision keeps the current position for a partner who arrives together with the main applicant, and sets a rule for a partner who arrives later.

"A partner who arrives with the principal applicant will continue to be able to settle at the same time, provided they meet the relevant requirements. A partner who joins later will need to complete the same qualifying residence period before settling." (page 25)

The government's examples (page 27):

• Partner who arrives at the same time: "A lead applicant and their partner arrive in the UK at the same time. The lead applicant qualifies for a five-year pathway to settlement and their partner remains in the UK as their dependant throughout that period. After five years, they can apply for settlement together, provided they each meet the relevant requirements."
• Partner who arrives later: "A lead applicant comes to the UK on a five-year settlement pathway. Their partner joins them as a dependant two years later. The lead applicant can apply for settlement after five years. The partner will normally need to complete five years as a dependant and can therefore apply two years later."

In the House of Commons, the Home Secretary put it this way: "Spouses will normally settle at the same time as the main applicant if they arrive at the same time; if they arrive after the main applicant, they will do the same time period."

The length of the path depends on the main applicant's path: 3, 5, 10 or 20 years. Care workers who joined the route before May 2025 have their own arrangement, covered in our guide to care workers.

Household Income: the £25,142 Figure

Under the decision, every adult applying for settlement must show sustained contribution through earnings. The individual figure for the 10-year path is £12,571 a year. The government decided that couples can combine their earnings:

"Eligible couples will be able to combine their earnings to meet the minimum economic contribution requirement. The household income threshold will be £25,142, twice the individual minimum income requirement. It will remain set at twice the individual rate and will therefore change in line with any future changes to the National Insurance threshold." (page 13)

The response explains how it works (page 13):

• One partner can reach the household figure alone, or both partners can add their earnings together.
• A partner who works fewer hours, "for example because they are caring for children or other family members, will not necessarily need to meet the individual £12,571 threshold themselves, provided the couple meets the combined partner threshold together."
• "A partner must be in a genuine and subsisting relationship with the main applicant, and only one person may rely on the other's income for this purpose."

The government's example (page 15) is a person who "works part-time while caring for children and does not meet the contribution requirement of £12,571. Their household meets the combined partner income requirement (£25,142). They are therefore able to qualify once they have completed the required residency period, provided they meet all other mandatory requirements."

The response does not say whether a couple can combine earnings to reach the higher figures for the shorter paths: £50,271 for 5 years or £125,141 for 3 years. It presents the household figure only as a way to meet "the minimum economic contribution requirement".

The response also describes a "best years" approach, so that "periods of maternity leave, parental leave, caring responsibilities or ill health do not automatically place someone on a longer route to settlement" (page 29). For example, on the 5-year path, "we will consider an individual's strongest three years from a five-year period".

Children and Young Adults

Children under 18

"Children under 18 will continue to be able to settle with their parents. They will be exempt from the income, government debt, English language and Life in the UK test requirements, but will remain subject to the relevant suitability and criminality requirements." (page 25)

The government's example (page 27) is a 14-year-old whose parents both qualify and apply together: "The child may also apply for settlement as their dependant… They will not be expected to meet the income, debt, English language or knowledge of life in the UK requirements."

The Home Secretary said in the House of Commons that "children will normally settle when both of their parents get ILR, which is the same position as today". See our guide to children on a spouse visa for the rules in force today.

Children who have lived in the UK for 7 years

"Children who have spent seven years or the majority of their life in the UK will remain on their existing settlement arrangements." (page 25)

The response adds (page 30) that children in local authority care, and young people who have grown up in the UK and "reach 18 having lost the path to settlement through their parents", will also stay on their existing arrangements and "will not be brought into the standard Earned Settlement framework".

Young adults aged 18 to 24

"Young adults aged 18 to 24 who retain child-dependant status will continue to be able to settle alongside their family. They will be expected to meet the adult mandatory requirements, but will not need to meet the individual income/earnings requirement." (page 25)

This means a young adult in this group would need to meet requirements such as B2 English, the Life in the UK test and no criminal record, but would not need their own earnings. The government's example (page 27) is a 22-year-old graduate with child dependant status: "They can settle as a dependant only when both of their parents settle. Alternatively, they may apply for settlement independently if they meet all the mandatory and qualifying requirements of a relevant pathway."

Age 25 and over

"Someone who is aged 25 or over when their family becomes eligible for settlement will be expected to qualify independently or move onto an appropriate immigration route in their own right. The age of 25 reflects the existing threshold for young people under the Skilled Worker rules." (page 26)

The response says this "will principally affect young adults whose family has not yet reached settlement by the time they turn 25, for example because the family is on a longer settlement pathway" (page 26). Its example (page 27) is a 25-year-old whose parents have not met the requirements of a settlement path: "They will be able to apply independently if they meet all the mandatory settlement requirements. If they do not qualify, they will be expected to move onto an appropriate immigration route in their own right."

Groups That Keep Their Current Arrangements

The response keeps separate arrangements for some family situations:

• Victims of domestic abuse: "eligible victims of domestic abuse will remain outside the Earned Settlement framework and continue to be able to settle on their existing arrangements" (pages 30–31). Asked in the House of Commons, the Home Secretary said: "It will not change." See our guide to settlement after domestic abuse.
• Bereaved partners: "Eligible bereaved partners will continue to be able to apply for settlement without completing the standard qualifying period. They will, however, need to meet suitability and character requirements unless an exemption applies" (page 30). See our guide for bereaved partners.
• Families of the armed forces: service personnel "qualify for settlement after at least four years' reckonable service, while their partners and children qualify after five years' continuous residence" (page 22).
• Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders: settlement after five years, "subject to route requirements" (page 22). The response says groups like this must still meet "the new criminality requirements and the B2 English language standard, unless an existing exemption or safeguard applies" (page 21).
• The EU Settlement Scheme is "not affected by the Earned Settlement reforms" (page 23).

What Has Not Been Published

The response leaves these family questions open:

• Adult dependent relatives. The route for parents and grandparents who need care is not mentioned.
• Partners of non-British sponsors. The response says these people will move to "a longer pathway" but does not say which one.
• Whether "will include" is a complete list of British connections.
• Combining income for the shorter paths. Only the minimum contribution requirement is mentioned.
• How earnings are measured for the household figure, for example by tax year or calendar year.
• The start date. No date is given for any of the family arrangements.

The government says it will publish "further guidance setting out additional technical and operational detail" before implementation (page 6).

Sources

• A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation (CP 1707), November 2026. Household income and British connection: pages 13 to 15. Routes: pages 19 to 21. Dependants: pages 24 to 27. Vulnerable groups: pages 28 to 31. Estimates: Annex A, page 46.
• Home Secretary's oral statement on earned settlement, 2 November 2026, and the House of Commons debate that followed (Hansard, 2 November 2026).
• GOV.UK news story: Home Secretary unveils new rules for migrants settling in the UK, 2 November 2026.

Related guides: earned settlement, which visas count towards settlement, care workers, public service jobs, what changed from the 2025 proposal, and settlement as a UK Ancestry visa holder.

Only a person regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor, can advise on an individual case. See our guide to getting help with an application.

Questions and answers