The Government announced the details of their Earned Settlement proposals in November 2025 and put the matter out for consultation with responses to be submitted by 12 February 2026.
It was then expected that the changes would be implemented in April 2026.
However, there was considerable amount of opposition to the plans, and we are still waiting for a response from the Home Office.
This article summarises the proposals focusing on sponsored workers and considers what changes will be made following the consultation, before suggesting what could be done to assist sponsored workers.
The Home Office proposal
The most significant change in the proposals was to increase the time a migrant would take to qualify for settled status, the baseline, from five years to 10 or 15 years if their role was below RQF Level 6 (equivalent to a bachelor’s degree).
While it is normal to have transitional provisions which protect individuals already in the UK from subsequent changes to the Rules, the Home Office proposed that the changes impact everyone.
The provisions had some winners and losers depending on how applicants performed when scored against the four key pillars of character, integration, contribution and residence. A clear winner based on the contribution they make is that those who earn more than £125,140 a year over a three-year period will be able to qualify for settlement after 3 years.
A further provision was that workers who also volunteer may be able to keep the qualification period at five years or at least qualify for settlement after seven. Applicants can also reduce the qualification period by a year if they reach CEFR level C1 in English.
Workers who earn over £50,270 a year would be able to keep the qualification period to five years. The same applies to those employed in specific public service applications.
The consultation
Many interested parties sent their responses to the Home Office. The only response from Parliament was a Home Office Committee report on 13 March 2026, making a series of recommendations and giving the Home Office two months to respond.
The contributions from various industries and workers groups focused on a diverse range of issues. The unifying theme was strong opposition to an absence of transitional arrangements to protect those already in the UK.
Given the lack of a formal response from the Home Office, it looks likely that they are engaging in a revision of the plans.
When they are announced, it is likely that will be done in a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules which will then come into force from 28 days later. It seems likely this will happen in the second half of the year.
What should employers do now?
Despite the uncertainty, there are still sensible actions that employers can undertake.
Transitional provisions may yet form part of the new rules, in which case workers already in the UK will stay subject to the current rules and qualify for settlement after five years. Therefore, it may make sense for employers to bring in sponsored workers now rather than later in the year so that they benefit from any transitional provisions.
If beneficial transitional arrangements are announced, there is only 28 days between the announcement of the new rules and them coming into force, leaving applications until the announcement clarifies the position may not provide enough time for employers to bring a new sponsored worker from overseas so that they can benefit.
It would be prudent to look at what needs your organisation might have to bring in workers from overseas and see whether those plans should be brought forward to enhance the chance that they can benefit from the existing rules and any transitional arrangements before the new rules take effect.
Employers will also want to have an eye to applicable salaries to determine if they are likely to be able to take advantage of the proposed new thresholds in the Home Office proposals.
We will be providing further updates as soon as we have more clarity from the Home Office.
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