Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to consult voluntary sector organisations on the costs of immigration policy.

The earned settlement model, proposed in a Fairer Pathway to Settlement, announced that the standard qualifying period for settlement will rise from 5 to 10 years. However, we have proposed that contributions to life and work in the UK should reduce a person’s time to settlement. This includes work done in the community, such as volunteering.

The earned settlement model, including how volunteering should impact a person’s time to settlement, is currently subject to a public consultation, which closes on 12 February 2026. We encourage voluntary sector organisations to participate and provide their perspective on the proposals.

Wider measures contained within the “Restoring Order and Control” policy statement will be the subject of targeted engagement with relevant organisations at appropriate points during policy development.