Earned settlement: where it stands for founders in October 2026

Earned settlement has been the biggest open question in UK immigration policy since the consultation opened in November 2025. For Innovator Founders, the question is narrower: will the 3-year route to settlement survive? As of 22 October 2026, the honest answer is that nothing has changed in law, the proposals as reported would keep a 3-year route for Innovator Founders, and the details — including how people already on the route would be treated — are not yet decided.

This article separates what is proposed from what is law, and sets out what founders can sensibly do while the question stays open.

Proposal versus law

The key point: the reported 3-year Innovator Founder position is a feature of a proposal. It is encouraging, but it is not the same as a rule. For earlier analysis of the proposals, see Will settlement take 10 years? and Innovator Founders and the 3-year route to settlement. Read both as commentary on proposals, not as confirmation of final rules.

What current law requires

While the policy debate continues, settlement applications are decided under the current caseworker guidance (version 11.0, 4 August 2026). The main requirements:

• Apply on the Settlement Innovator form, from inside the UK.
• Your last permission must be Innovator Founder.
• Continuous residence of 3 years, with no more than 180 days' absence in any 12-month period.
• Knowledge of Life in the UK, unless you are 65 or over. The Life in the UK test fee is £50.
• An endorsement letter no more than 3 months old.
• The settlement fee is £3,226 per person from 8 April 2026.

The endorsement letter must confirm significant achievements against the business plan in your previous endorsement; that the business is registered with Companies House with you as a director or member; that it is active and trading; that it is sustainable for at least the next 12 months based on assets and expected income against current and planned expenses; that you have an active key role in day-to-day management; and that at least 2 of the following 7 criteria are met:

1. At least £50,000 invested and actively spent furthering the business.
2. Customer numbers at least doubled within the most recent three years and currently higher than the mean for comparable UK businesses.
3. Significant R&D activity and an application for UK intellectual property protection.
4. Minimum annual gross revenue of £1 million in the last full year of accounts.
5. Minimum annual gross revenue of £500,000 in the last full year, with at least £100,000 from exporting overseas.
6. The equivalent of at least 10 full-time jobs for settled workers.
7. The equivalent of at least 5 full-time jobs for settled workers, each with a mean salary of at least £25,000 a year gross.

For a full checklist, see Innovator Founder settlement checklist for 2026.

Why the 3-year position matters, and its limits

If the reported proposal were adopted as described, the headline qualifying period for Innovator Founders would stay at 3 years while most other routes moved to a longer baseline. That would make Innovator Founder relatively more attractive as a settlement route.

But for most founders the 3-year period is not the hard part. The hard part is reaching 2 of the 7 growth criteria and keeping the business active, trading and sustainable. Nothing in the consultation, as reported, makes those easier. Founders who focus on the qualifying period and neglect the growth criteria risk being eligible on time but not on substance.

What is genuinely unknown

Be clear about the gaps:

• Whether the government will adopt the proposals, and in what form.
• When a response or rule change might be published.
• How people already on the route would be treated — transitional arrangements are reported as undecided.
• Whether any other requirements for Innovator Founder settlement would change alongside the qualifying period.

There is also a separate, unfinished process: the Migration Advisory Committee's Talent Review of the Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes, which has not published a final report. See The MAC Talent Review and Innovator Founder.

What founders should do now

Do:

• Plan your settlement around the current rules and your own dates — when your last Innovator Founder permission started and your absences.
• Keep an absence log now, against the 180-days-in-any-12-months limit.
• Choose your 2 of 7 growth criteria early and track evidence for them from year one.
• Keep your business plan and actuals aligned, since the settlement letter must confirm significant achievements against the plan in your previous endorsement.
• Check for a government response on the consultation page at least monthly. Our guide to tracking rule changes sets out a routine.

Don't:

• Delay an application in the hope of better rules; the timing and content of any change are unknown.
• Switch away from Innovator Founder before settlement on the assumption that the 3-year route is guaranteed elsewhere, or that it is lost here.
• Rely on any transitional protection that has not been published.

If you are still at the start of the route, the most useful thing you can do is build a business plan that can reach the settlement criteria. Run a free assessment to see where you stand.

Sources and further reading

• GOV.UK — Earned settlement consultation
• GOV.UK — Indefinite leave to remain (Innovator Founder)
• GOV.UK — Innovator Founder caseworker guidance
• GOV.UK — Immigration Rules: statements of changes
• GOV.UK — Life in the UK test
• GOV.UK — Home Office fees table

Key takeaways

• Earned settlement is a proposal; the consultation closed on 12 February 2026 and no government response had been published as of late September 2026.
• Practitioner commentary reports the proposals would keep a 3-year route for Innovator Founder and Global Talent holders.
• No 2026 Statement of Changes implemented earned settlement, and transitional arrangements are undecided.
• Current law still applies: 3 years, last permission Innovator Founder, 180-day absence limit, 2 of 7 growth criteria, Knowledge of Life in the UK, £3,226 fee.
• The growth criteria, not the qualifying period, are where most founders' settlement plans succeed or fail.

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