How to respond effectively to the Government’s Earned Settlement Public Consultation

What are the Government’s proposals?

In 2025, the Government published a number of changes to settlement and citizenship pathways, firstly in their Immigration White Paper and then in their statement and consultation. The proposed changes include: 

• Doubling the standard wait time for settlement or Indefinite Leave to Remain from 5 to 10 years. 

• Introducing an “earned settlement” model, where the wait time can be increased or decreased depending on people’s contribution to society and the economy. Some of these restrictions mean people have to wait up to 30 years for permanent settlement.  

These changes would affect millions of people who have already lived and worked here for years. This would destabilise communities, undermine already-fragile public services, and force people into years of avoidable insecurity.​ You can read more about the changes in detail in our briefing.  

The Government are currently holding a public consultation on these changes, where individuals and organisations can respond with their thoughts. Praxis has responded to the consultation as an organisation (linked below), and here we are providing guidance on how you, as a member of the public, can use this consultation as an opportunity to voice your thoughts and concerns.

What is a public consultation and what can I expect?

A public consultation is an opportunity to share your or your organisation’s views and help inform Government decision-making.

This consultation is an online survey and begins by asking whether you are responding in your personal capacity or as a representative of an organisation. There will then be a series of background questions regarding either the organisation you’re representing, or personal information about you if you’re responding in an individual capacity. There are then 40 questions asking your thoughts on the consultation itself. 29 of these are multiple choice questions and 11 are open text questions. 

Your response should take around 20-30 minutes to complete. You can only complete it once so we highly recommend reading our guides below before starting.