Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Skilled Worker route for Indefinite Leave to Remain on people already legally resident in the UK; and whether she plans to introduce transitional protections for people in the UK under the existing five‑year settlement pathway.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The Immigration White Paper included a commitment to consult on these changes. The changes involve significant reforms to the settlement pathway, and it is right that we consult to assess their impact on affected groups.

The consultation includes questions intended to seek respondents’ views on the impacts of the proposed model and also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Details of the final earned settlement scheme will be finalised once the consultation has closed and the responses analysed.

The final model will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.