On the 20th November 2025, the Labour government published an open consultation on how the current settlement system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.
Settlement refers to a person’s right to live in the UK permanently without any immigration restrictions. It is also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Current rules permit people to apply for serttlement after 10 years of lawful residence in the UK, on some visas this is five years.
The government are now proposing that settlement will no longer be granted automatically after a fixed period, instead there will be a concenpt of earned settlement where good conduct, contribution and integration are taken into account when this amount of time an individual has to wait to qualify for settlement. This calculation takes into account how someone originally entered in the UK, time spent volunteering, the amount of money they earn, their ability to speak English or if they have ever received benefits.
The government are also proposing that those people already with Indefinite Leave to Remain subject to a no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition.
The Green Party opposes these changes in full.
The proposals will cause serious harm to many people, it punishes lower income households and more people, including children, will end up facing poverty and homelessness.
Our policy is clear:
MG504. All Visa Residents will be able to apply for settled status after five years.
We urge everyone to respond to this consultation now, the deadline is 12th February 2026 at 11:59pm
We have written some suggested responses here, note it is important that you write your responses in your own words.
Respond to the consultation here.
Other useful resources are:
https://www.praxis.org.uk/news/explainer-earned-settlement
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/resources/guidance-responding-fairer-pathway-settlement-consultation
https://www.praxis.org.uk/consultation
https://gmiau.org/gmiau-guide-to-the-earned-settlement-consultation/