what are the new rules on ILR after 10 years. I am on skilled worker on care job and my starting salary was around £22,000, which category I will fall into?
ILR after 10 years
Hi Radha — the Home Office announced its final Earned Settlement framework on 2 November 2026. The standard qualifying period for ILR will increase from 5 to 10 years, although some people will qualify sooner. Importantly, the earlier proposal for a standard 15-year pathway for care workers has been dropped. Detailed Immigration Rules and operational guidance are still due before implementation, so these changes should not yet be treated as fully in force.
For care workers, the announced position is:
If you entered or switched into the care-worker route before the Immigration White Paper published on 12 May 2025, you can retain the 5-year pathway if you meet the applicable £25,000 annual salary, sponsorship and genuine employment requirements, together with the other settlement conditions.
If you entered or switched into the care route after that cut-off, you will normally fall under the standard 10-year pathway.
Pre-existing care workers who do not meet the requirements after five years will be offered an opportunity to apply for a further 5-year Health and Care visa, restricted to genuine sector work, before applying for settlement again.
Your starting salary of approximately £22,000 does not, by itself, determine your category. The important questions are when you entered or switched into the care route and whether you meet the applicable salary and employment requirements when applying for ILR:
If your salary has since increased to at least £25,000, and you joined the care route before the cut-off, you may still qualify under the protected 5-year pathway.
If your applicable salary remains £22,000, you would not meet the stated £25,000 requirement for that particular 5-year care-worker pathway.
If you joined after the cut-off, your starting salary does not change the standard 10-year position.
Under the ordinary 10-year pathway, the proposed minimum earnings requirement is £12,571 in five of the previous seven years, alongside requirements concerning English, the Life in the UK Test, character, government debt and immigration compliance. Therefore, £22,000 is above that minimum earnings figure, but meeting the salary figure alone is not enough