The UK government has replaced the near-automatic right to permanent settlement after five years with an Earned Settlement model, announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday (November 2). Under the new rules, migrants must earn the right to live in the UK permanently, with faster routes for higher earners and longer waits for those who breach rules or arrive illegally.
Key Changes to Settlement Rights
Under the revised plans, foreign care workers who meet their visa conditions and earn at least £25,000 a year will now only have to wait five years for settlement, Ms Mahmood told the Commons. This contrasts with her initial proposals, under which lower-qualified workers on health and social care visas from the “Boriswave” from 2022 could have been made to wait 15 years.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “People want to see an immigration system based on control, contribution, and which rewards those who play by the rules. These proposals are based on that principle and recognise the contribution made by overseas workers to our country.” He added that following Brexit, the previous government lost control of immigration, with an unprecedented spike in numbers, and that the Home Secretary has his full support in gripping the problem.
Earning Settlement: Tiers and Conditions
Under the new plans, the highest earners will be able to settle within three years. Those earning more than £50,271 and some public service workers will be able to settle after five years. Others will settle at a new default of ten years, and those who have breached immigration rules will only be able to settle after at least 20 years.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Settled status is one of the most valuable rights this country can offer. Until now it has been given almost automatically. From today, it must be earned. Those who contribute most will settle fastest. Those who don’t play by the rules will be refused or wait much longer.”
Anyone seeking settlement will need to meet four conditions: a spotless criminal record; English spoken to a high standard; no debt owed to the taxpayer; and a record of sustained National Insurance contributions.
Refugees and Small Boat Arrivals
The policy also sets out settlement rights for refugees, encouraging the use of controlled, capped safe and legal routes, and discouraging illegal and unsafe small boat crossings. Refugees on Home Office-approved routes will be able to settle after five years. Others will settle at 20 years, reduced to 10 years for those who work or study.
Anyone who arrived by small boat, or another clandestine means of entry, will face an additional 10-year waiting period, meaning they could wait up to 30 years for settlement.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described Ms Mahmood’s announcement as “a U-turn” and claimed it would cost the taxpayer £10 billion. He told the Commons that a Home Office document published on March 5 said social care workers, because they work on lower wages and have brought in many dependents, will cost the taxpayer £10 billion. He added that the Home Secretary now proposes to allow every care worker and their dependents who arrived prior to May 2025, a number running into hundreds of thousands, to stay beyond their visa expiry, with 75% staying permanently, even though she acknowledges many arrived fraudulently.
