The Immigration and Asylum Bill Does Not Change Your Settlement Route
13 May 2026
If you are on a BNO, Skilled Worker, or Family visa, the Immigration and Asylum Bill announced in today's King's Speech does not change your route to settlement.
The bill was formally introduced on 13 May 2026 as part of the King's Speech. It focuses on three areas: reforming the asylum system around a new "contribution and integration" model; creating an independent appeals body to replace the First-tier Tribunal for asylum cases; and tightening the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights to narrow the grounds on which some people can resist removal. These are changes to the asylum and enforcement system. They do not apply to work visa routes, the BNO route, UK Ancestry, or family-based settlement paths.
The government's separate plans to introduce "earned settlement" will not come through this bill. If and when those changes are finalised, they will be introduced through a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, not through primary legislation. No such statement has been published. The government was also due to respond to Parliament's formal inquiry into earned settlement by 13 May 2026, and no response has been published by that deadline either.
Your current settlement rules remain in force. The five-year qualifying period, 180-day absence limit, and any salary or English language requirements that apply to your route all still apply under the current rules. Nothing announced today changes that. If you are tracking your absences or preparing your ILR application, continue doing so based on the rules that apply to your visa now.
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