The 10-Year ILR Rule & Earned Settlement 2026: What You Need to Know

What is happening with the 10-year ILR rule?

In May 2025, the UK Government published its Immigration White Paper, Restoring Control over the Immigration System, which proposed replacing the standard 5-year ILR route with a 10-year “earned settlement” model. A formal public consultation ran from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 and received over 200,000 responses, making it the largest consultation in UK immigration history.

On 1 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told The Times that the government intends to proceed with the reforms, targeting implementation in Autumn 2026. She said the government intends them to apply retrospectively to people already in the UK who have not yet been granted ILR, not only to future arrivals. These remain proposals: the government has not yet published its consultation response and no Immigration Rules have been laid.

What does “earned settlement” actually mean?

Under the proposed framework, the standard qualifying period would become 10 years for most economic migrants (Skilled Worker and similar routes). However, applicants could potentially “earn” a shorter pathway by meeting contribution criteria:

• Very high earners could qualify after as few as 3 years (exact threshold not confirmed)
• High earners or public service workers might qualify at 5 years
• Standard applicants: 10-year baseline
• Lower earners, or those who have claimed public funds: potentially 15 years or more
• Illegal entrants or those with long overstays: up to 20 years or more

These figures are proposals from the consultation document, not confirmed rules. The final thresholds will only be known when the Statement of Changes is laid before Parliament.

Who is likely to be protected?

The Government has indicated that certain groups may not face the 10-year extension:

• EU Settled Status holders: protected under the Withdrawal Agreement
• Spouse and Partner route applicants: signals suggest this route may retain a 5-year path
• BNO visa holders: signals suggest BNO may also retain the 5-year route
• Refugees: confirmed transitional arrangements; asylum claims made before 1 March 2026 keep the existing settlement track
• People who already hold ILR: settled status, once granted, cannot be removed

Workers on the Skilled Worker route face the greatest risk of the 10-year change applying to them. No confirmed transitional protection has been announced for those already part-way through the 5-year route.

What happened at the Westminster Hall debate?

On 2 February 2026, two petitions, one with 234,000 signatures calling for the 5-year route to be retained and one with 107,000 signatures calling for the 10-year proposal to be scrapped, triggered a Westminster Hall parliamentary debate. The Immigration Minister confirmed the Government intends to proceed but acknowledged transitional arrangements remain “under active consultation”. No assurances were given to protect those already on a 5-year pathway. For full coverage of the legislation introduced on 30 June 2026, see our guide to the Immigration and Asylum Bill 2026.

What should you do right now?

If you are approaching 5 years of qualifying residence and could apply for ILR before the rules change in Autumn 2026:

• Check your qualifying date with the ILR calculator, and use the 28-day early window to apply as soon as you are eligible
• Do not wait for the formal rules to be published; by then it may be too late for your window
• Get your documents in order now: passport travel history, payslips, Life in the UK test, English language certificate
• Consider professional advice from an OISC-registered adviser if your case involves any complications (absences near the limit, employment gaps and so on)

Read the full 2026 deadline action guide for a step-by-step plan.

What happens to the existing 10-year Long Residence route?

The consultation also proposes abolishing the existing 10-year Long Residence route as a standalone pathway, absorbing it into the new earned settlement framework. Under the new model there would be no need for a specific “long residence” category, since the baseline becomes 10 years for all economic routes anyway. Transitional arrangements for those already part-way through the Long Residence route have not been confirmed. The current route remains fully operative until the rules formally change.

Caseworker guidance: how the 10-year period is scrutinized

When you apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the 10-year Long Residence route, Home Office caseworkers examine your continuous residence in exceptional detail. They check for gaps in lawful status, excessive absences and discrepancies in tax records. Even a single day without a valid visa in the last 10 years can break your continuous residence. Under the current policy, you must show you held consecutive, uninterrupted leave to enter or remain in the UK, which means checking every visa approval letter, passport stamp and Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) grant date to build an unbroken timeline.

Caseworkers use the daily lookback method for absences. Under the traditional rules, applicants must not have been outside the UK for more than 184 days in any single absence, and no more than 548 days in total across the whole 10-year period (only absences that started before 11 April 2024 count towards the 548 days). For absences from 11 April 2024, the rolling 180-day rule applies instead, requiring that you spend no more than 180 days abroad in any rolling 12-month window. This creates a dual-system calculation that caseworkers audit meticulously, matching physical passport stamps against electronic border records.

HMRC tax history and financial auditing

A common cause of ILR delays or refusals under the 10-year route is a mismatch between the earnings declared to the Home Office for visa renewals and the tax records held by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Caseworkers have direct access to HMRC portals and cross-check your self-assessment records or PAYE income logs. If you were self-employed, an owner-director of a limited company, or switched visa categories within the 10-year window, make sure that all your tax filings are accurate.

It is strongly recommended that you request an official HMRC Employment History Letter covering the entire 10-year period. This free record lists every employer, your annual earnings and the tax paid. It lets you confirm that your immigration applications align exactly with your tax declarations, and helps prevent any allegation of deception under the general grounds for refusal.

Compiling the 10-year residency log

Building a robust document pack for a 10-year application is a substantial administrative undertaking. Because physical passports may have been lost or renewed, or lack clear entry stamps, you should make a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Home Office. This gives you the electronic border crossing records held by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).

Once you receive the SAR data, compare it against your travel history, flight confirmation emails and old passports. Every departure and arrival date must be logged. Remember that the days of departure and return are counted as days present in the UK, not as absences. Any discrepancy can lead caseworkers to raise queries, which extends processing times significantly.

10-year Long Residence checklist

Before submitting your 10-year ILR application, make sure you have compiled all primary and secondary evidence. Caseworkers expect a logical, clear presentation of your history:

• Passports and travel documents: all current and expired passports covering the 10-year qualifying period. If any are missing, you must provide alternative travel logs and explanation letters.
• Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs): a complete set of all physical cards or eVisa digital share codes showing continuous grants of leave.
• HMRC employment history: the official tax history statement matching all declared earnings throughout the residency period.
• Absence log and travel evidence: a chronological spreadsheet listing every trip, with flight tickets or hotel bookings where passport stamps are faint.
• Life in the UK and English test: a valid certificate for the Life in the UK exam (try our free Life in the UK mock test) and an approved English language certificate at B1 level or above (or try our free B2 English mock test).