The UK Home Office announced on 2 November, in a news release on GOV.UK, that migrants will have to earn the right to settle permanently in the country. Under the plan, settled status will no longer be granted almost automatically after five years: the waiting time will depend on a person's contribution and character, and the standard qualifying period becomes ten years.
According to the release, the highest earners could qualify after three years; it gives no income threshold for this group. Five years would apply to people earning more than £50,271, to certain public service workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers, and to care workers who met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year. People who have breached immigration rules would wait at least 20 years.
Four conditions would apply to every applicant: a clean criminal record, English at a high standard equivalent to A-Level English as a foreign language, no debts owed to the taxpayer, and a record of sustained National Insurance contributions. The government estimates that more than 500,000 people will wait longer than five years to settle, and says around a quarter of applicants will not qualify after five years and will be offered a new five-year visa.
Settled status already granted will not be removed, and family members of British citizens, Hong Kong BN(O) holders and members of the armed forces keep their current routes. The release describes the reforms as largely in line with the consultation of November 2025. It gives no date of effect and does not mention investor or Innovator routes by name.
What it means
The release sets out the new qualifying periods and conditions but gives no date from which they apply. The shortest route it states, for the highest earners, is three years, and the income level for that group has not yet been published.
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