ILR 10-Year Rule 2026: The Essential HR and Employer Guide to the UK’s Settlement

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The UK Government has confirmed that most sponsored workers will move to a ten-year route to ILR, with shorter routes for higher earners, eligible public service and specified talent routes. For employers holding a sponsor licence, the ILR 10-year rule could be the most significant change to workforce immigration planning in a generation.

The Home Office published its response to the consultation on 2 November 2026. The framework originates from the May 2025 Immigration White Paper. It is not yet in force: the first Immigration Rules changes are expected to take effect from January 2027, and the detail of how each measure applies to existing sponsored staff will depend on the implementing Rules. Your current sponsored employees remain on 5-year ILR timelines today, and proactive employers are already adapting their salary strategy, HR planning and compliance processes.

This guide explains what is currently in force, what is announced, and the six actions every UK employer should take right now.

• 5-year Skilled Worker route to ILR: Still live
• 10-year Long Residence route: Still live
• ILR fee: £3,226 per person (from 8 April 2026)
• Per-pay-period salary compliance: In force from 8 April 2026
• B2 English for new Skilled Worker visa applications: In force from 8 January 2026
• 180-day absence rule for sponsored employees: In force from 11 April 2024

Announced – Not Yet in Force (first rule changes expected from January 2027)

• Standard settlement period: 5 years to 10 years for most Skilled Workers, with shorter routes for specified applicants
• Long Residence route: closure confirmed under Earned Settlement
• Shorter routes: 5 years where earnings of at least £50,271 are met in three of the preceding five years; 3 years where earnings of at least £125,141 are met in three of the four years before applying (three-year provisions remain under policy review)
• English for settlement: B2, scheduled to take effect on 26 March 2027, subject to exemptions
• 15-year pathway for workers below RQF Level 6: withdrawn
• 20-year pathway: specified immigration breaches or public-funds circumstances

When a sponsored employee holds ILR, your Sponsor Licence obligations for that individual end completely. They can change jobs freely, take sabbaticals, or go self-employed – all without your involvement. ILR has traditionally been the point at which your compliance responsibility for that person ceases.

Under the current 5-year rule, that end point arrives relatively quickly. Under the announced ILR 10-year baseline, you would be responsible for sponsoring, monitoring, and maintaining compliance for that employee for potentially twice as long. Every salary change, job title update, absence notification, and address change must be reported on the Sponsor Management System (SMS) for a decade rather than five years. For employers with significant international workforces, this is a material increase in administrative burden, legal risk, and HR cost – and it requires advance planning now, not once the rules change.

Before looking at the announced reform, HR directors must be clear on what is already law:

From 8 April 2026, UK Sponsor Licence holders must ensure their sponsored Skilled Workers are paid the required salary in every individual pay period – not just on an annual basis. This is introduced through HC 1691 (March 2026 Statement of Changes) as paragraph SW 14.3B in Appendix Skilled Worker.

Three averaging windows apply depending on pay frequency:

• Monthly-paid employees: 3-month rolling window – at least 25% of the annual required salary per 3-month period
• Weekly/fortnightly-paid employees: 12-week rolling window – at least 12/52 of the annual required salary
• Variable hours employees: 17-week rolling window – at least 17/52 of the annual required salary (irregular pattern must be noted on CoS)

Immediate risk areas for employers: salary sacrifice arrangements, unpaid leave periods, bonus-heavy pay structures, and annualised hours contracts.

Any new employee you are bringing to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, or any employee switching into the Skilled Worker route from another category, must demonstrate B2 English proficiency. Build additional time into your onboarding schedule – IELTS for UKVI test slots in India and internationally have extended lead times in 2026.

Sponsored employees on the Long Residence route must not exceed 180 days outside the UK in any rolling 12-month period (measured from 11 April 2024). Before approving extended overseas assignments, secondments, or remote work arrangements for sponsored staff, brief them clearly on this limit and document your conversation.

The ILR application fee rose to £3,226 per person from 8 April 2026. For employees with families, the total cost could exceed £12,000. Employers who provide immigration support as part of their employee value proposition should update their budgets and benefit documentation accordingly.

Under the announced reform, ILR eligibility would be assessed across four pillars, several of which directly intersect with employer decisions:

Employees would need to maintain continuous lawful UK residence with:

• Maximum 180 days absence per rolling year (already in force from April 2024)
• No gaps in visa coverage

Extended overseas assignments and international secondments carry ILR risk for your sponsored employees. Make absence tracking and awareness part of your HR conversations with sponsored staff.

Employees would need:

• B2 English for settlement, scheduled to take effect on 26 March 2027, subject to exemptions (B2 has applied to new Skilled Worker visa applications since 8 January 2026)
• A pass in the Life in the UK Test

Funding B2 English preparation for key international employees is already valuable because of the Skilled Worker visa requirement. With B2 also scheduled for settlement, this support becomes a stronger retention benefit.

The Home Office has announced assessing:

• For the standard ten-year pathway: earnings of at least £12,571 in five of the previous seven years, subject to relevant exemptions
• For the five-year pathway: earnings of at least £50,271 in three of the preceding five years
• For the three-year pathway: earnings of at least £125,141 in three of the four years immediately before applying (this pathway remains subject to further policy review)

These settlement earnings thresholds operate separately from the salary requirements for Skilled Worker sponsorship. Because the tests look at several years of earnings, one salary review near a threshold will not by itself move an employee from a ten-year to a five-year pathway. Salary progression planning is now a retention lever with direct immigration value, and it works best when it starts early and is recorded. For the full analysis, see our government response to the Earned Settlement consultation.

Employees would need to demonstrate:

• A clean record under a stricter approach to adult criminal convictions, including relevant overseas convictions
• No outstanding Government debt in the specified categories, including relevant NHS, tax, National Insurance and Home Office litigation debts
• No specified immigration breaches as an adult (these can place an applicant on a 20-year pathway)
• No claims on public funds beyond entitlement

Under the announced longer qualifying periods, SMS reporting obligations carry longer-term consequences. A missed report that results in a compliance notation could affect your employee’s character assessment potentially years down the line.

These are the announced timelines. The first rule changes are expected from January 2027, and commencement dates for individual measures have not been confirmed. The current 5-year route still applies today.

The shorter earnings-based routes depend on sustained earnings, not a single year’s salary. An employee needs earnings of at least £50,271 in three of the preceding five years for the 5-year pathway, so employers who want to reduce long-term compliance exposure and support retention should plan salary progression early and keep reliable payroll records.

The 10-year Long Residence route has frequently been used by employees with complex immigration histories, such as those who combined student visa time with work visa time or moved between visa categories. Under the current rules, 10 years of continuous lawful UK residence can qualify an individual for ILR whichever visa route they were on.

The Government has confirmed that the separate ten-year Long Residence pathway will close under the new settlement framework. Time on Student, Graduate, Global Business Mobility and other specified temporary routes will not generally count towards the new qualifying period. The implementing Immigration Rules will decide how existing residence histories and transitional arrangements are treated.

For employers, this has immediate practical implications:

• Employees who were relying on the Long Residence route need a new ILR plan, ideally after a professional assessment while the route remains available
• Employees with mixed visa histories (student plus work, or Graduate route then Skilled Worker) may find their effective timeline extended significantly
• The route remains in force today, so employees close to 10 years of continuous residence should be assessed urgently for a current application

Where the announced ten-year standard pathway applies to an employee who does not qualify for a shorter earnings-based route, HR teams will manage Sponsor Management System (SMS) obligations, visa renewals, absence tracking and salary compliance for that individual for potentially a decade. This significantly increases the operational value of investing in dedicated immigration compliance support rather than handling it ad hoc.

Informed candidates and employees who understand the announced changes will increasingly favour employers who offer clear salary progression towards the £50,271 earnings level that supports the five-year pathway. Because the test looks at three of the preceding five years, a transparent salary roadmap that reaches this level within three to four years of employment is already becoming a differentiator in competitive international talent markets.

Under the announced ten-year standard pathway, employees who do not qualify for a shorter route would need at least two full Skilled Worker visa cycles before reaching ILR eligibility, compared with one under the current system. Budget now for multiple Certificate of Sponsorship applications, visa fees, Immigration Skills Charge liabilities and HR resource across an extended period, while remembering that the commencement dates are not yet confirmed.

For each sponsored employee, identify their current qualifying date under the 5-year rules. Flag anyone whose date falls in the first half of 2027 or earlier, as these employees may be able to apply before the new rules take effect. For everyone else, project their timeline under the announced ten-year standard pathway and any shorter route they could realistically qualify for, so your planning is ahead of the curve.

Flag every sponsored employee who has been in the UK for 7 or more years on any combination of visas. These individuals may be approaching 10-year Long Residence ILR eligibility under the current rules. Professional assessment is essential – this route may not be available once the announced reform launches.

The per-pay-period salary compliance rule is already in force from 8 April 2026. Run a payroll audit for all sponsored staff to ensure no pay period falls below the required salary rate. Check salary sacrifice arrangements, commission structures, unpaid leave periods, and variable hours contracts immediately.

Identify all sponsored employees earning between £40,000 and £55,000. For those close to the £50,271 earnings level that supports the five-year pathway, plan salary progression early. The test looks at earnings in three of the preceding five years, so the sooner an employee reaches and holds that level, the more qualifying years build up. Keep payroll, Certificate of Sponsorship and UKVI-reported salary records consistent, because historic earnings evidence may be needed later.

With sponsorship periods potentially extending under the announced reforms, ensure your Sponsor Management System reporting calendar is current, your Level 1 User is trained, and all employee records are accurate. Longer sponsorship periods make robust compliance infrastructure more important, not less.

Proactively communicate to your international employees what is announced, what is still current, and what you as their employer are doing to support them through this uncertainty. Employers who can say “we are planning ahead for you” are significantly more likely to retain their international talent through this transition period.

Conroy Baker Ltd is a specialist UK business immigration advisory practice, IAA-regulated (formerly OISC), Ref F202200094, Level 1. We support UK employers, from owner-managed SMEs to multinationals, in managing sponsored workforces through every stage of immigration reform, including the move from current to announced rules.

Our dedicated employer ILR and compliance services include:

• Sponsored Workforce ILR Mapping – identifying every employee’s current qualifying date and projected timeline under the announced settlement rules
• Long Residence Route Urgency Reviews – assessing employees approaching the 10-year mark while the route is still live
• Per-Pay-Period Payroll Compliance Audits – full review of all sponsored staff pay structures against the April 2026 in-force requirements
• Salary Threshold Planning – advising on the strategic and immigration value of salary reviews against the £50,271 and £125,141 earnings thresholds
• Sponsor Licence Health Checks – SMS compliance audits and mock Home Office inspection preparation
• Individual Employee ILR Support – personal guidance for each sponsored employee on their current and projected ILR pathway
• HR and Board Immigration Briefings – clear, accurate presentations on the full 2026 settlement reforms and their business implications

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