Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of applying retrospective changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain qualifying periods on individuals currently in the UK on UK Ancestry visas who made long-term decisions based on the existing five-year settlement pathway.

The earned settlement public consultation ran for 12 weeks and closed on 12 February 2026.  We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received.  This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both an economic impact assessment and equality impact assessment which we will publish as well as the Government’s response in due course.