Earned settlement is not law yet. If you are on a 5-year route to Indefinite Leave to Remain, you can still apply after 5 years of qualifying residence under the rules that exist today. The government’s consultation closed on 12 February 2026, and responses are still being considered. No final earned settlement rules have been laid before Parliament.
That distinction matters. Much of the coverage since late 2025 has blurred the line between proposal and law. The suggested 10-year baseline, and longer 15-year route for some lower-paid or lower-skilled workers, remain proposals. They do not currently replace the existing 5-year Skilled Worker settlement route.
Say you arrived on a Skilled Worker visa in 2021 and your 5-year point falls in 2026. Under today’s rules, you check your Skilled Worker visa eligibility, absences, salary, sponsorship and documents, then apply if you qualify. You do not need to wait for reforms that have not arrived. Waiting could work against you if future rules apply to people already in the UK.
One point to check early is time outside the UK. For Skilled Worker ILR, you must usually have spent no more than 180 days outside the UK in any 12-month period. People often track this only when they are ready to apply, which is late to find a problem.
Some rules have changed around the edges. Overseas recruitment of care workers and senior care workers under the Health and Care route ended in July 2025, with transitional arrangements for some workers already in the UK. New applicants on certain work routes, including Skilled Worker, Scale-up and High Potential Individual, have needed B2 English since 8 January 2026. The salary thresholds for Skilled Workers have also changed. None of that has yet changed the 5-year ILR qualifying period for Skilled Workers.
| Position | Status now, July 2026 |
| Standard Skilled Worker ILR period | 5 years, unchanged |
| 10-year baseline for most migrants | Consultation proposal, not in force |
| 15-year route for some roles | Consultation proposal, not in force |
| B2 English for some settlement routes | Written into rules for 26 March 2027 |
| Final earned settlement rules | Not yet laid before Parliament |
If you sponsor staff, or run a business through Skilled Worker sponsorship, assess anyone close to 5 years now. Founders using the self sponsorship route should do the same, because their timelines are also exposed to future change.
Families sit slightly differently. Partners on the spouse visa route are expected to remain on a 5-year route under the proposals, but final rules are still awaited. The long residence route is less certain, because the consultation suggested folding some long-residence planning into the new framework. If your longer plan is citizenship, remember that naturalising as a British citizen usually depends on settling first.
None of this is settled, and that is the point. You can read the government’s consultation for yourself, but the practical takeaway is simple: check your position under the current rules and do not delay because of reforms that have not arrived.