Mahmood confirms 10-year standard wait for permanent settlement in UK immigration overhaul

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has confirmed the final shape of a major overhaul of UK immigration rules, setting out in the House of Commons how migrants will qualify for permanent settlement. The changes were first outlined in detail in November 2025, when Mahmood held the role in Sir Keir Starmer's government, and the final decision follows a public consultation on those proposals. Permanent settlement, formally known as indefinite leave to remain, allows a person to live, work and study in the UK without any time restriction. Under the current system, those who hold it can also apply for benefits if they meet the eligibility criteria. People who have spent 12 months in the UK after being granted settlement can apply for British citizenship, provided they satisfy the other requirements. The central change doubles the standard period migrants must live in the UK before qualifying for settlement, from five years to 10. Applicants on this 10-year pathway must also have earned at least £12,571 in five of the seven years immediately before being granted settlement. A shorter five-year qualifying period will apply to several groups. These include people who earned at least £50,271 in three of the five years before applying, care workers who were paid at least £25,000 a year while meeting their visa conditions and arrived in the UK before May 2025, and skilled public service workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers. Health and education workers below that skill level, for example nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants, will also qualify after five years if they arrived before May 2025, as will people from Hong Kong who hold British National (Overseas) status. A three-year route will be open to people earning more than £125,141 a year and to highly skilled migrants, such as those on Global Talent or Innovator Founder visas. At the other end of the scale, migrants who have claimed certain benefits or breached immigration rules will face a wait of at least 20 years before they can settle. All applicants will also need to show a record of sustained National Insurance contributions among the other conditions for settlement. Refugees, meaning people granted asylum in the UK because they cannot return to their own country for fear of persecution, will face a separate framework. Those who arrived through an official government scheme will qualify after five years. Other refugees will need to wait 10 years and must either work or study, rising to 20 years for those who do neither. Refugees who arrived by small boat or another illegal route will have to wait 20 years if they work or study, and 30 years if they do not. The new rules will apply to migrants who are already in the UK, but not to those who have already been granted settlement.