CAS responded to the Home Office's 'Earned Settlement' consultation in February 2026.

Key Points:

• The Citizens Advice network in Scotland is one of the largest providers of immigration advice in Scotland, playing a key role in empowering everyone, including migrants and their families, to access and realise their rights and enabling our diverse communities to thrive.
• In 2025, our network supported more than 7,200 individuals across Scotland with around 21,700 pieces of immigration advice, up 30% compared to the previous year. In terms of client numbers, we saw a 25% increase compared to 2024.
• We believe that settlement is the foundation of security and stability for people wanting to build their lives in the UK and a precondition for well-integrated, strong communities.
• We do not agree that some occupations and those with high incomes are more worthy than others and that some should be fast-tracked while others put on a lengthy route to settlement. No-one should have to wait more than five years to be eligible for settlement.
• The proposals to extend settlement routes multiple times over for most migrants and to strip settled people of their right to social security will drive and further entrench insecurity and precarity. Introducing tougher mandatory conditions for settlement will mean that some will be permanently locked out of settlement and the security it brings. These changes will likely hinder, not enable integration, with detrimental impacts on all our communities.
• The proposal to apply these fundamental changes retroactively to people already in the UK appears unprecedented and incompatible with the rule of law and the principle of legal certainty.

• Under the proposals, people will need to make repeated visa applications for longer to become eligible for ILR and will have to meet harsher criteria for settlement, requiring advice at every stage. There is a chronic shortage of immigration advice in Scotland, including for complex cases amid a lack of legal aid solicitors providing immigration advice in Scotland. This means many will struggle to access advice and support at the required level.

   

  We therefore wholly reject the concept of “earned settlement” and urge the government to abandon the proposed changes to the settlement framework.