Earned Settlement Will Apply Retrospectively in Autumn 2026 - Apply for ILR Now If You Qualify

18 Apr 2026

ILR settlement earned settlement skilled worker family policy action required

The government originally planned to begin rolling out earned settlement from April 2026. That deadline has passed without any new immigration rules being laid — the consultation response covering over 130,000 submissions is still being processed, and no Statement of Changes implementing the 10-year baseline has gone before Parliament. But the direction is now confirmed: the changes are coming in autumn 2026, and they will apply to people already living in the UK.

In an interview with The Times on 1 March 2026, the Home Secretary confirmed that the new rules would apply retrospectively — meaning they would affect people already in the UK who have not yet secured indefinite leave to remain. This is significant because it means the government does not intend to protect existing residents under the rules that applied when they arrived. If the new rules are in force when you submit your ILR application, those new rules will be used to assess it.

Under the proposed earned settlement model, most migrants would face a 10-year qualifying period rather than the current five years. The package also includes a minimum earnings requirement (expected to be around £12,570 per year for a sustained period), a stricter good character test, and a B2 English language standard from March 2027. None of this is yet law — the five-year ILR route remains fully in operation today. But the autumn timeline and retrospective application have both been confirmed by the Home Secretary directly, despite the Home Affairs Committee urging the government not to move the goalposts for people who planned their lives around the existing rules.

If you have already completed your qualifying period, the most important thing you can do is apply now. Under current rules, your ILR application will be assessed against the existing framework. Waiting until autumn or later creates a real risk that the new requirements — including the longer qualifying period and income threshold — apply to your case. If you still need to sit the Life in the UK test or get an English language certificate, make those a priority so you can submit before changes take effect.

If you are on a BNO visa, the qualifying period for your route remains at five years and will not increase to 10 years — that protection has been confirmed. The Home Secretary's retrospective changes primarily affect routes where the proposed baseline is being extended. However, BNO holders should be aware that the new mandatory requirements (including an earnings threshold) are expected to apply to all applicants, not just those affected by the timeline change — see our separate post on what this means for BNO holders and their dependants.

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