Britain is ending its near-automatic five-year path to permanent residency. Under new rules announced this month, 10 years becomes the default wait, and some people will wait 20 years or more.
Unveiled before Parliament on Monday, November 2, by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the earned settlement model ties Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) to what you earn, the job you do, and your compliance record.
The Home Office has not yet said when the changes take effect. Because the rules apply at the point of application rather than the date you first landed, an estimated 500,000 migrants already in Britain will now wait longer than five years to settle permanently.
Who stays on 5 years—and who moves to 10 or 20
If you are a Ghanaian working in the UK, your timeline now depends on which tier your visa and payslip fall into. Migrants earning more than £50,271 a year—alongside doctors, nurses, and teachers in public service—keep the five-year route.
The highest earners can apply for settlement in three years, while family members of British citizens and members of the armed forces keep their existing pathways. Anyone who already holds settled status keeps it permanently.
For care workers who arrived during the post-COVID-19 recruitment wave—a route taken by thousands of Ghanaians—those who met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year still qualify after five years, following the November 2025 consultation.
Care workers who fall short of that threshold—roughly a quarter of the cohort, including staff hit when 1,800 rogue sponsors lost their licences—will not be forced out. Instead, they can apply for a new five-year visa, taking their total wait to 10 years.
That 10-year timeline is now the default for most other migrants earning under £50,271 in non-exempt jobs, meaning double the years of visa renewal fees and Immigration Health Surcharge bills before permanent residence.
The 20-year route hits two groups: migrants who have breached immigration rules, such as overstaying or working outside visa terms, and refugees who did not arrive through Home Office-approved routes (though working or studying cuts that refugee wait to 10 years).
Anyone who enters the UK by small boat or clandestine means faces an extra 10-year penalty, stretching the wait to 30 years.
What changes for you before you apply
No matter which timeline you are on, every applicant for Indefinite Leave to Remain must now pass four non-negotiable baseline checks:
- A spotless criminal record, tightened from the old 12-month suspended sentence threshold
- English spoken to A-Level foreign-language standard
- Zero debt owed to the UK taxpayer, including NHS charges
- A sustained record of National Insurance contributions
If you are in Accra weighing a UK job offer or already counting down your years in London, check your sponsor's licence status on GOV.UK and factor a 10-year visa budget into your plans if your salary sits below £50,271.
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