UK government plans 10-year standard for permanent settlement

Refugee waiting periods range from five to 30 years

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out plans in the House of Commons as she announced final decisions on 2 November 2026 to overhaul the UK’s immigration rules for permanent settlement, a decision that would double the standard qualification period from five to 10 years. The changes cover migrants already in the UK who have not yet received settlement, while they do not apply to people who have already been granted settlement.

The 10-year route requires applicants to have earned at least £12,571 for five of the seven years immediately before being granted settlement. Applicants also must have no criminal record, speak English to a high standard, owe no debt to the taxpayer and have a record of sustained National Insurance contributions.

The five-year route is available to people who earned at least £50,271 for three of the five years immediately before applying for settlement. It also covers care workers who earned at least £25,000 a year while meeting their visa conditions and arrived in the UK before May 2025. A BBC image caption accompanying the report notes that some care workers will be able to qualify for settlement after five years.

Other five-year categories include public-service workers designated as skilled, such as doctors, nurses and teachers. Other health and education public-service workers below that skill level, including nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, qualify under the five-year route if they arrived in the UK before May 2025. People from Hong Kong who hold British National (Overseas) status are also in the five-year group.

People earning over £125,141 a year can qualify after three years. Highly skilled migrants using Global Talent or Innovator Founder visas can also qualify after three years.

Migrants who have claimed certain benefits or breached immigration rules would have to wait at least 20 years to settle.

Refugees would be assessed under separate rules. The BBC defines the relevant refugees as people who have been granted asylum in the UK because they are unable to return to their own country as they fear persecution. Refugees who arrived in the UK through an official government scheme would qualify for settlement after five years. Other refugees would need to wait 10 years and either work or study, while those who did neither would wait 20 years.

Refugees arriving by small boat or another illegal route would wait 20 years if they worked or studied and 30 years if they did not.

Permanent settlement, also known as indefinite leave to remain, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like. Under the current system, people with indefinite leave to remain can apply for benefits if they are eligible. People who have lived in the UK for 12 months after being granted that status can apply for British citizenship if they meet other requirements.

The proposals were first outlined in detail in November 2025, when Mahmood was home secretary in Sir Keir Starmer’s government. Following a consultation, she announced the final decisions on the changes to be taken forward.