From the white paper to the settlement decision

From White Paper to Decision

The settlement reform has moved through three documents. Each one did something different.

The last row comes from the Home Secretary, not from a published document. She told the House of Commons on 2 November 2026: "The changes that have been announced will begin to be laid from the December immigration rules. They will be implemented over the course of 2027." On 3 November 2026 no such statement of changes had been laid.

What the White Paper Proposed for Settlement

The white paper said that "This expansion of the Point-Based System will increase the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years." It said a 5-year pathway would continue for non-UK partners and other dependants of British citizens, and that settlement rights for victims of domestic violence and abuse would be kept. It also proposed raising the English level for settlement from B1 to B2.

The white paper's reference to the "Point-Based System" describes the existing visa system. Neither the white paper's follow-up consultation nor the decision scores settlement in points. See our guide to the proposal and the decision for the details of each.

What Was Decided on 2 November 2026

The government's response, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation (CP 1707), keeps 10 years as the starting point and sets four pathways (Table 1, page 42):

• 3 years: earnings of £125,141 in 3 of the last 4 years, or the "Highest Talent Group", which is subject to review.
• 5 years: earnings of £50,271 in 3 of the last 5 years, or 5 years in an eligible public service job, or a British connection, such as being the partner, parent or child of a British citizen.
• 10 years: the standard pathway, with earnings of £12,571 in 5 of the previous 7 years.
• 20 years: for people who have used specified public funds in the 5 years before applying, or committed a specified immigration breach as an adult.

Every applicant must also meet mandatory requirements: good character and no criminal record, no government debt, B2 English, the Life in the UK test, and sustained contribution. The response says these "cannot be offset by higher earnings, public service or other positive contributions" (page 4).

The response dropped several consultation ideas, including the 15-year path for jobs below degree level and reductions for volunteering and C1 English. Our guide to earned settlement covers the decided model in full.

The Long Residence Route Will Close

When the white paper was published, Long Residence allowed settlement after 10 years of continuous lawful residence on almost any route, including Student and Graduate time. The consultation proposed replacing it, and the response confirms the closure:

"Under Earned Settlement, the Long Residence route will close. Time spent on temporary routes will no longer build towards settlement simply because an individual subsequently reaches 10 years of lawful residence." (page 19)

No closure date has been published, and the response gives no arrangement for people part-way through 10 years. Until a statement of changes removes it, Long Residence remains in the Immigration Rules. See our Long Residence guide and our guide to which visas count.

May 2025 as a Cut-Off

The white paper matters for one more reason: its publication is the cut-off date for the transitional arrangements in the response. The response says its publication "provides a clear and transparent cut-off point, after which new applicants would have been aware of the intended change in settlement policy" (page 38). The response says "May 2025" and does not give a day. GOV.UK records the white paper as published on 12 May 2025.

• Care workers who entered, or switched into, the route before publication keep a 5-year qualifying period if they meet the £25,000 salary, sponsorship and employment requirements and the new mandatory requirements (page 38). See our guide to care workers.
• Health and education workers below degree level on a national pay scale who came to the UK before publication keep a 5-year route, as "a one-off arrangement" (page 40). See our guide to public service jobs.

Outside these groups, the response says applications are "ordinarily considered under the Immigration Rules in force at the date of settlement decision" (page 37).

What Is Already Law

These white paper changes are already in the Immigration Rules, laid in statements of changes with dates:

• Settlement English rises to B2 on 26 March 2027. Laid in HC 1691 on 5 March 2026. An application made before that date is at B1 in speaking and listening; one made on or after it is at B2. It applies on routes including Skilled Worker, Global Talent and Long Residence. See our B2 English guide.
• New Skilled Worker applications have needed B2 since 8 January 2026. Laid in HC 1333 on 14 October 2025.
• Skilled Worker salary and skill level. Since 22 July 2025 a new applicant's job must be at RQF level 6 (roughly degree level), and the general threshold is £41,700 a year or the going rate, whichever is higher. See our guide to the settlement salary threshold.
• Refugee permission. HC 1691 set refugee permission at 30 months for claims made from 2 March 2026.

Statements of changes are published in the GOV.UK collection. See also our guide to this year's rule changes.

Which Rules Apply Today

Until the earned settlement rules are laid and in force, applications are decided under the current rules: 5 years on most work and family routes, 3 years on some Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes, 10 years on Long Residence, and 5 years with refugee or humanitarian protection status (with the 30-month refugee permission for claims made from 2 March 2026).

A decision on a settlement application usually arrives within 6 months of giving fingerprints and a photo; see our processing times guide. The fee is £3,226 for each person applying; see our cost breakdown.

Sources

• HM Government, A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation, CP 1707, November 2026, on the GOV.UK earned settlement consultation page. Page numbers are the printed page numbers.
• HM Government, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, May 2025.
• House of Commons, "Immigration: Earned Settlement", 2 November 2026, in Hansard.

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