What are the new ILR rules in 2026?

Where things stand as of 19 September 2026

The short version: nothing has changed yet. The Government has set out a plan to replace the current settlement rules with an "earned settlement" model, consulted on the detail, and said implementation is coming — but as of 19 September 2026 the consultation response has not been published and no Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules has introduced the new model. If you apply for indefinite leave to remain today, you are assessed under the rules described in our ILR guide: a five-year qualifying period on most routes and the 180-day absence cap.

This page is a status page. It records what has been announced, what has actually been laid before Parliament, and what that means for someone who is close to qualifying. It is reviewed against GOV.UK; the date at the top is the date it was last checked.

How we got here: May 2025 to September 2026

1. 1May 2025 — the immigration white paper "Restoring control over the immigration system" announces a move from automatic settlement after five years to "earned settlement", where the qualifying period depends on an applicant's contribution and conduct.
2. 220 November 2025 — the Home Office opens the consultation "A Fairer Pathway to Settlement" (Command Paper CP 1448), setting out the proposed model and asking whether it should apply to people already in the UK.
3. 312 February 2026 — the consultation closes. The Home Office reports well over 100,000 responses.
4. 4After the consultation closes — the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee publishes a report urging the Government to set a clear implementation timeline and to spell out transitional arrangements for people already part-way through a route.
5. 52026 — the Home Secretary states that implementation would begin from April 2026, and later indicates autumn 2026 instead. Neither date has yet produced published rules.
6. 63 September 2026 — Statement of Changes HC 584 is published, with most changes in force from 8 October 2026. It does not contain the earned-settlement model.
7. 719 September 2026 — the consultation outcome and any earned-settlement Immigration Rules remain unpublished.

What the earned-settlement proposal says (consultation of 20 November 2025)

The consultation document is a proposal, not law, and the final version may differ. What it puts forward:

• A ten-year baseline. The standard qualifying period for most work and family routes would rise from five years to ten.
• Reductions for contribution and integration. Applicants could earn a shorter period than the baseline through the contribution they make and how well they have integrated; the consultation sets out the kinds of factors the Home Office has in mind and asks how much weight each should carry.
• Extensions for conduct or public funds. Criminality, immigration breaches or reliance on public funds could lengthen the period beyond ten years.
• An open question on existing residents. The consultation asked whether the new model should apply to people already in the UK on a route to settlement, or only to new arrivals. This is the point the Home Affairs Committee pressed hardest on, calling for clear transitional arrangements.

Notably, the consultation did not propose scrapping the continuous-residence test. Whatever qualifying period ends up applying, the expectation is that absences will still be measured against a rolling cap, so the record of your trips matters under both the current and any future rules.

Statement of Changes HC 584 (3 September 2026): what it does and does not do

Because HC 584 landed shortly before the autumn date the Home Secretary had mentioned, many people assumed it was the earned-settlement package. It is not. It is a targeted set of amendments, most in force from 8 October 2026, covering:

• the EU Settlement Scheme;
• the Skilled Worker route;
• dependent children of British National (Overseas) status holders;
• a variation to the Long Residence provisions;
• the Visitor and Student routes.

Nothing in HC 584 changes the qualifying period for settlement on the main work and family routes or rewrites Appendix Continuous Residence. If you see a claim that the new ILR rules "came in on 8 October", check it against the statements of changes collection on GOV.UK.

The rules that apply today (checked 19 September 2026)

• Five years of continuous residence on most routes — Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Scale-up, most Global Talent applicants, and the five-year partner and parent routes.
• Three years on the accelerated routes (Innovator Founder, and Global Talent under the exceptional-talent criteria), two years on a few closed legacy investor categories, and ten years for long residence.
• No more than 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period across the whole qualifying period, set out in Appendix Continuous Residence and explained on the 180-day absence rule page.
• Applications can be made up to 28 days before the qualifying period is complete — see when you can apply for ILR.
• The Life in the UK test, the English language requirement and the route-specific requirements (for example, continued sponsorship on Skilled Worker) still apply. The fee is covered in how much ILR costs.

What to do if you qualify soon (as of 19 September 2026)

Apply as soon as you are eligible

Immigration Rules changes normally apply to applications made on or after the date they take effect, so an application submitted under the current rules is decided under the current rules. If your qualifying period ends in the coming months, work out your earliest date and submit within the 28-day early window rather than waiting for a convenient moment. Do not apply more than 28 days early — that is refused, not held.

Keep an exact absence record

Under the current rules your absences decide whether your five years are actually complete; under any future model they will decide the same thing over a longer period. A day-by-day list of trips, with dates and evidence, is worth more than any amount of speculation about the new rules. The free UK ILR absence calculator tests every rolling 12-month window against the 180-day cap and shows your earliest application date, and Bounded records border crossings automatically so the list already exists when you need it. See what counts as an absence for ILR for the counting rules.

Check GOV.UK before relying on any date

Announced dates have moved once already (April 2026 to autumn 2026). Do not plan around a start date for the new model — or a deadline to beat it — that you have not seen in a published Statement of Changes. The consultation page is where the Government response will appear, and the statements-of-changes collection is where the rules themselves will be laid.

Quick answers (as of 19 September 2026)

• Has the qualifying period changed to ten years? No. It is proposed, not in force.
• Will the new rules apply to me if I am already in the UK? Unknown. The consultation asked this question and the answer has not been published.
• Did the 8 October 2026 changes affect ILR? Not the qualifying period or the absence rule. HC 584 makes targeted changes to other routes.
• Should I wait to see the new rules? If you are eligible now, waiting only exposes you to rules that are expected to be stricter, not more generous.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Consultation: A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (earned settlement)
• GOV.UK — Restoring control over the immigration system (white paper, May 2025)
• House of Commons Home Affairs Committee — report on earned settlement
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules: statements of changes