The UK government has proposed significant changes to the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), potentially moving away from the traditional five-year route towards a longer, contribution-based settlement system.
The new Earned Settlement model, announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood yesterday, introduces different qualifying periods depending on an individual’s earnings, employment history and contribution to the UK.
The revised proposals are as follows:
- 10 years: The new standard qualifying period for most migrants, including those earning below £50,271.
- 5 years: Available to individuals earning above £50,271 for the required period, as well as eligible public service professionals, including doctors, nurses and teachers, plus care workers who earned at least £25,000 a year while meeting their visa conditions and arrived in the UK before May 2025
- 3 years: Available to exceptional high earners earning above £125,141 and individuals qualifying through certain high-talent immigration routes. 20 years: May apply to individuals who have breached immigration rules or whose circumstances prevent them qualifying through earlier routes.
Commenting on the changes the Home Secretary said: “From today, those who contribute more will qualify for settlement sooner. Those who fail to follow the rules will be refused or made to wait much longer.”
The changes are expected to be implemented throughout 2027, with further guidance to follow.
The reforms could significantly affect migrants currently working towards ILR, particularly those who entered the UK expecting to qualify after five years.
While a shorter qualifying period applies for some professions and sectors, there appaers little to accommodate those working within engineering and manufacturing.
The government talks about reindustrialisation, but it will remain an empty political slogan unless we have the skills and people needed to deliver it.
Jamie Cater, Senior Policy Manager, Make UK
“It’s disappointing that the government has failed to listen to us on this issue,” said Make UK‘s Senior Policy Manager, Jamie Cater. “We told ministers in no uncertain terms that extending the qualifying period for ILR and applying it retrospectively would damage UK manufacturing.
“Not only will it make it harder for businesses to fill vacancies from overseas, it will make it much more difficult to retain the skilled people already working here. We will undoubtedly lose talent to countries that welcome skilled workers rather than moving the goalposts.
“This is yet another barrier to hiring at a time when businesses are already pulling back from recruitment. Government now needs to recognise the contribution overseas manufacturing workers make to UK economic growth. It should accept the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the Temporary Shortage List, boost apprenticeship funding for these roles and exempt them from today’s ILR changes.
“With nearly 50,000 vacancies in the sector, we need all the skilled workers we can get. The government talks about reindustrialisation, but it will remain an empty political slogan unless we have the skills and people needed to deliver it.”
Make UK’s report, Manufacturing Priorities for the Temporary Shortage List, Earned Settlement, and the UK’s Points-Based Immigration System, warns that increasingly restrictive immigration rules risk worsening skills shortages and undermining growth across the sector.
It also raises serious concerns about proposed changes to permanent settlement, which could risk making the UK less attractive to international talent at a time when manufacturers are already struggling to fill critical vacancies.
The report also claims that longer settlement periods would also increase visa sponsorship costs for employers and create greater uncertainty for workers and their families, potentially driving skilled employees towards countries offering more accessible routes to permanent residency.
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