Settlement & citizenship
English at B2, no debts, clean record: the new settlement checks
The reform rewrites the checks as well as the timings: English rises to B2, government debt becomes a bar, and any UK criminal record means refusal.
Already living in Britain: do the new settlement rules apply to me?
There is no general exemption for people already in the country. But targeted transitional arrangements apply to care workers, nursing auxiliaries, teaching assistants and the pre-April 2024 Skilled Worker cohort.
Settlement in Britain must now be earned: three years, five or ten
The Home Office set out a new settlement model on 2 November. The near-automatic five years is gone: the wait now depends on earnings, occupation and compliance, with ten years as the new default.
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK in 2026
The routes to UK settlement, how many years you need and what the Life in the UK Test involves, based on GOV.UK rules for 2026.
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Moving to the UK in 2026: visas, real costs and what has changed
A guide built from primary sources: which visa you need to work, what the move actually costs, where to enrol biometrics from Russia and Belarus, and whether settlement really now takes ten years.
HC 584: what changes in the UK Immigration Rules from 8 October — a breakdown by date and route
The Home Office has laid another package of amendments before Parliament. It carries four commencement dates, a dozen affected routes, and one significant piece of news about what is not in it. Here is what changes, who it touches, and which amendments come with transitional protection — and which do not.
Settlement in the UK: what ILR really is, and why the qualifying period may double
UK law has no "residence permit" or "permanent residence" — it has time-limited leave, indefinite leave to remain (settlement) and citizenship. ILR usually comes after 5 years of work, with English at B1, a £50 Life in the UK test and a £3,226 fee; citizenship a year later, at £1,839. Two continuous years abroad and ILR lapses. And the qualifying period is set to rise from 5 years to 10, promised for autumn 2026 and stated to be retrospective.