The UK government has proposed allowing top earners and select entrepreneurs to settle permanently in the country after as little as three years, as part of a wide-ranging overhaul of immigration rules announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Thursday.
Under the plans, now out for public consultation, visa-holders earning more than EUR 125,000 a year would be eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after three years, compared with the current five-year requirement.
The UK government has also proposed increasing the standard settlement period for most legal migrants to 10 years, meaning the fast-track route would be a significant exemption.
Entrepreneurs on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas would also qualify for the accelerated three-year route. Workers earning between EUR 50,000 and EUR 125,000 would continue to have the five-year wait.
Applicants for ILR would now need to meet stricter criteria, including demonstrating A-level standard English, paying National Insurance contributions, owing no debt to the state, and holding a clean criminal record. Mahmood told MPs that “to settle in this country forever is not a right, but a privilege — and it must be earned.”
The proposals form part of a broader tightening of settlement rules. The Home Office plans to require illegal migrants and visa overstayers to wait 30 years before becoming eligible for ILR, while migrants who have claimed welfare benefits would face a 20-year wait.
Doctors and nurses would remain exempt from the longer timelines, retaining the current five-year path to settlement. Officials are also considering reductions for migrants who can show strong integration, such as high-level English skills or volunteering.