Taking action on ‘Earned Settlement’ proposals

‍UK Government “Earned Settlement” Proposals: What You Need to Know

Overview

In November 2025, the UK Government set out major proposed reforms to the immigration system, introducing an “earned settlement” model that would significantly change how migrants become settled in the UK.

The Home Office proposals represent one of the most far-reaching shifts to settlement pathways in recent years. The NRPF Partnership is deeply concerned about the potential impacts on individuals, families, and communities across the UK.

What is being proposed?

The Government’s plans include:

• Increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement from 5 years to 10 years

• Extending the pathway to settlement to up to 30 years for some individuals, particularly those who access public funds

• Applying these changes retrospectively to people already living lawfully in the UK

• Introducing new mandatory criteria, including minimum earnings thresholds

• Expanding the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, potentially making it applicable to all non-citizens

• Making Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) subject to NRPF restrictions

Why this matters

These proposals would fundamentally reshape the lives of people already contributing to and settled in UK communities.

Scale of impact

• Over 1.35 million people could be affected, including approximately 300,000 children

• Up to 90,000 additional children in working families could be pushed into poverty

  • See here for more details on the methodology used by IPPR and Landman Economics in carrying out this new analysis we commissioned

  • The analysis found that 90,000 children with parents on a skilled worker route to settlement, which includes care workers, will be locked into poverty if the standard wait for settlement goes up to 10 years.

  • Learn more about the Partnership’s efforts to influence the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy here.  

Our key concerns

1. Prolonged insecurity and hardship - Extending settlement timelines will lock families into years (or decades) of uncertainty, limiting their ability to plan, integrate, and thrive.

2. Retrospective rule changes - Applying new rules to people already on a settlement pathway moves the goalposts mid-process, undermining trust and creating widespread instability.

3. Increased poverty and exclusion - Expanding NRPF restrictions and extending settlement timelines will increase financial hardship, particularly for low-income households and families with children.

4. Disproportionate impacts - The proposals are likely to disproportionately affect:

• Low-paid workers

• Women

• People of colour

• Disabled people

• Refugees and those in precarious work

5. Workforce risks - There is a significant risk of:

• An exodus of care workers and NHS staff

• Increased strain on already stretched public services

The proposals pose a significant risk to our communities. They undermine integration, fuel divisive narratives about migrants, and weaken social cohesion.

Concerns about the consultation process

The Home Office consultation on these proposals has been:

• Limited in scope, relying heavily on closed questions

• Insufficient for capturing lived experience and real-world impact

• Lacking transparency and depth, given the scale of the proposed changes

As a result, it is critical that policymakers hear directly from affected communities and the organisations that support them.

Our asks to Government

Immediate

• Rule out retrospective application of these changes

Short-term

• Publish a full impact assessment

• Ensure meaningful parliamentary scrutiny and debate

Long-term

• Work in partnership with affected communities and sector organisations to design a fair and workable pathway to settlement

What MPs can do

Significant elements of these proposals may be implemented without a full parliamentary vote. Parliamentary engagement is therefore essential.

We are calling on MPs to:

• Write to the Home Secretary requesting a pause until a full impact assessment is completed

• Raise concerns in Parliamentary debates and question:

  • The Home Secretary on the overall proposals

  • The Education Secretary on impacts on child poverty

  • The Health Secretary on workforce risks

  • The MHCLG Secretary on impacts on integration and communities

MPs play a critical role in ensuring these proposals receive the scrutiny they require. If you are an MP and need a terrific multi-sector briefing created specifically for you on this topic by our friends at Reunite Families, please click here.

Get involved

We encourage organisations, community groups, and individuals to:

• Engage with their MP

• Share evidence and lived experience

• Join collective advocacy efforts

• Help ensure that the full impact of these proposals is understood

A fair system is possible. We believe the UK can build an immigration system that is:

• Fair and humane

• Economically sustainable

• Supportive of integration and community cohesion‍ ‍

Achieving this requires meaningful engagement with those most affected so that the resulting policies are grounded in dignity, stability, and inclusion.