What the white paper proposes for settlement
The 2025 immigration white paper proposed a lot. Some of it is now in the Immigration Rules with dates attached; the largest settlement proposal is still a consultation whose responses are being analysed. This guide separates the two.
- Section
- ILR & Settlement
- Reading time
- 10 min
- Last checked
- 25 February 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- Settlement English rises from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027 (HC 1691).
- New Skilled Worker applications have needed B2 English since 8 January 2026 (HC 1333).
- The longer qualifying period is a consultation, not a rule; responses are being analysed.
- An application is judged against the rules in force on the date it is made.
- Settlement already granted is not re-opened by a later rule, though it can be lost by long absence.
Two things get run together here. Changes already made: the English requirement at settlement rises from B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027, and new Skilled Worker applications have needed B2 since 8 January 2026. A change not made: the longer qualifying period, consulted on from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026, with responses still being analysed. An application is judged against the rules in force on the day it is made.
What Has Actually Changed
These are in the Immigration Rules, laid in statements of changes, with dates. They are not proposals.
- Settlement English rises to B2 on 26 March 2027. HC 1691, laid 5 March 2026. An application made before that date is at CEFR B1 in speaking and listening; one made on or after it is at B2. It appears at LR 13.1 in Appendix Long Residence and SETF 5.1 in Appendix Settlement Family Life, among others.
- New Skilled Worker applications have needed B2 since 8 January 2026. HC 1333, laid 14 October 2025. An extension on the same route is still at B1.
- Skilled Worker salary and skill level. Since 22 July 2025 a new applicant's job must be at RQF level 6, and the general threshold is £41,700 a year or the standard going rate, whichever is higher. At settlement the same £41,700 applies, with lower figures in some cases. See our guide to the salary threshold.
- Refugee permission. HC 1691 set refugee leave at 30 months for claims made from 2 March 2026.
- Suitability. HC 1691 made a suspended sentence of 12 months or more a mandatory ground of refusal.
Statements of changes are published in the GOV.UK collection. See also our guide to this year's rule changes.
What Has Not Changed
The white paper's largest settlement proposal — a longer qualifying period — has not become a rule. The government consulted on it as A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, from 20 November 2025 to 11:59pm on 12 February 2026. GOV.UK's page for it reads "We are analysing your feedback". The principle consulted on was that "Settlement will no longer be granted automatically after a fixed period. Instead, migrants will need to earn it by demonstrating sustained good conduct, contribution and integration."
Until an outcome is published and a statement of changes laid, the qualifying periods in force are unchanged: 5 years on most routes, 3 on Global Talent for exceptional talent and on Innovator Founder, 10 on long residence, and 5 with refugee or humanitarian protection status. See our guide to the proposal.
Transitional Arrangements
For the changes already made, the transitional position is written into the rule and turns on a date. The settlement English requirement is B1 for an application made before 26 March 2027 and B2 for one made on or after it — the date you apply, not the date you started the route. The Skilled Worker English change works the same way, which is why an extension on that route is still at B1.
For the qualifying period proposal, nothing has been published. Who would be protected, and on what terms, is not a question GOV.UK has answered, and Rowan will not answer it on GOV.UK's behalf.
Which Rules Apply to Your Application
The ones in force on the date the application is made. That is what makes the commencement dates above the useful part of any rule change, and it is why Rowan puts a date against each one.
A decision on a settlement application usually arrives within 6 months of you giving your fingerprints and photo; see our processing times guide. The fee is £3,226 for each person applying, with no fee for biometrics and no healthcare surcharge on the application; see our cost breakdown.
Whether to apply at a particular moment is a decision about your own circumstances. Rowan does not make it, and cannot: assessing an individual's position is regulated advice.
Staying Informed
Immigration rules can change with relatively little notice. To stay informed:
- Check GOV.UK UKVI page regularly for announcements.
- Follow the 2026 immigration rules changes guide for updates.
- Only an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, or a solicitor or barrister, may apply the rules to your own circumstances for a fee. See our guide to paid help with a settlement application.
Questions and answers
Will the immigration white paper change ILR rules?
Some of it already has, and the biggest piece has not. The English requirement at settlement rises from CEFR B1 to B2 for applications made on or after 26 March 2027, laid in HC 1691 on 5 March 2026. The longer qualifying period is different: it was consulted on between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026 and GOV.UK says the responses are being analysed. No rule has been made.
Which rules will my application be judged against?
The rules in force on the date you apply. That is why the changes that are already made carry dates: the settlement English requirement is B1 for an application made before 26 March 2027 and B2 for one made on or after it. Whether to apply at a particular time is a decision about your own circumstances, and only a regulated adviser can help you with that; Rowan sets out the rules and their dates.
Will the white paper affect people who already have ILR?
A change to the qualifying period is about reaching settlement, not about holding it, and settlement already granted is not re-opened by a later rule. Settlement can be lost for other reasons, though: GOV.UK says you lose it if you stay outside the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man for more than 2 years, or 5 years if you have EU settled status (4 for a Swiss citizen with it). It can also be lost through deportation, and someone with protection status can lose it by travelling back to the country they sought asylum from.
When will the white paper changes take effect?
Piece by piece, and each piece is dated when it lands. Changes to the Immigration Rules arrive in a statement of changes, published on GOV.UK, with commencement dates in it. Those from HC 1333 on 14 October 2025 and HC 1691 on 5 March 2026 are already in force or dated. The earned settlement consultation has not produced one yet.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.