UK ten-year settlement plan remains a proposal, not the current ILR rule

What is proposed?

The UK Government wants to introduce an ‘earned settlement’ model that would increase the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to ten. Individual qualifying periods could then rise or fall according to criteria intended to measure a migrant’s contribution.

ILR allows a person to live and work permanently in the UK without the restrictions associated with immigration control. It is also a necessary step before naturalisation as a British citizen, according to the Home Affairs Committee’s report published on 13 March 2026.

What is in force?

The House of Commons Library’s briefing of 21 September 2026 explicitly says that the high-profile proposals changing the time needed to qualify for permanent residence had not yet come into force. It also explains that a white paper does not itself change immigration law or the Immigration Rules.

A subsequent legal-sector update, published on 13 October, reports that the ten-year rule was still not law as of 12 October and that existing settlement rules, including five-year routes, continued to apply.

These updates do not establish a commencement date for earned settlement. Nor do they establish how any eventual changes would treat everyone already living in the UK.

Why the timetable matters

In September, the Home Secretary told MPs that decisions on the policy would be made ‘very soon’. That is a statement about policy development, not confirmation that a new qualifying period has started.

The parliamentary committee has also warned against rushing implementation and highlighted the distress caused by uncertainty. Applicants should therefore avoid treating political announcements, consultation documents and enacted rules as interchangeable.

What this means for you

Indian students considering a longer-term future in the UK should not assume that either a five-year or ten-year settlement timetable automatically applies to their circumstances. Existing workers approaching eligibility should check their particular route rather than postpone an application solely because of headlines.

Confirm the current requirements and any transitional provisions on GOV.UK before making an application. For decisions involving an approaching expiry date or settlement eligibility, obtain advice based on the rules actually in force.