Nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants: the one-off 5-year route

Earliest settlement: February 2028 (5-year pathway)

On what you told us, your route leads to a 5-year pathway.

Pathway

5-year pathway

Earliest date

February 2028

Why this pathway

• A one-off transitional arrangement keeps a 5-year route for workers in healthcare and education roles below degree level on national pay scales (such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants) who were already in the UK before May 2025, provided they meet their visa requirements.

Before you apply

• Met No criminal record
• Met No outstanding government debt
• Met English at B2
• Met Life in the UK test passed
• Met Sustained contribution (at least £12,571 a year)Assessed over several years using your best years, so a short low-income period such as maternity leave need not count against you.
• Met No public funds in the last five years
• Met No immigration breach as an adult

Good to know

• Family members: a partner who arrives with you can generally settle at the same time. A partner who joins later completes the same qualifying period from their own arrival. Children under 18 settle with parents. Young adults aged 18 to 24 who remain dependants settle alongside their family, and those aged 25 or over must qualify independently.
• Only time on routes that count towards settlement builds your qualifying period. Time on temporary routes such as Student or Graduate does not.
• Estimates assume continuous lawful residence. Rules on absences from the UK are not covered here.
• The government response does not give an implementation date and says further guidance will follow. Applications are normally decided under the rules in force on the date of the decision, so treat dates as estimates.

Based on A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: Government Response to the Consultation (CP 1707), Home Office, November 2026. Rules as of 2 November 2026. General information only, not immigration advice.