Earned Settlement Checker

Small boat arrival with refugee status, not in work or study: the 30-year pathway

The government has decided that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including by small boat, will ordinarily face an additional 10 years before becoming eligible for settlement, whichever route they seek to settle on.

For someone granted protection who stays on Core Protection and does not move into sustained work, education or training, the pathway is 20 years plus 10, so 30 years.

Worked example. The dates below are illustrative, calculated as of 2 November 2026. They assume every other requirement is met.

Earliest settlement: June 2054 (30-year Core Protection pathway)

On what you told us, your route leads to a 30-year Core Protection pathway.

Pathway
30-year Core Protection pathway
Earliest date
June 2054

Why this pathway

  • Refugees who claim asylum in the UK normally move onto Core Protection, which has a 20-year pathway to settlement.
  • Entering the UK illegally, including by small boat, adds a further 10 years to the pathway.
  • If you claimed asylum before 2 March 2026, you move to Core Protection and any time spent with refugee status counts towards settlement.

Before you apply

  • Met No criminal record
  • Met No outstanding government debt
  • Met English at B2
  • Met Life in the UK test passed
  • Met No public funds in the last five years
  • Met No immigration breach as an adult

Ways this could be shorter

  • Move into sustained work, education or training: 20 years (from November 2046). Protection Work and Study is a 20-year pathway including the extra 10 years, counted from the day you move onto it (best case shown if that were November 2026). How earlier time counts for existing refugees is still to be set out.

Still unclear

  • Refugees who claim asylum in the UK generally must not have claimed public funds in the five years before settling to use a pathway shorter than 20 years. Safeguards for the most vulnerable will be set out before implementation.
  • If you received asylum support that you must repay, you will also need to have repaid it in full or be keeping to an agreed repayment plan.

Good to know

  • 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.

Check your own situation

Frequently asked questions

Is there any exception?

The extra 10 years does not apply where Article 31 of the Refugee Convention protects the person, which applies to refugees who meet specified conditions, including having come directly to the UK. The government says further detail on how this will operate will be set out before implementation.

Can the 30 years be shortened?

Moving into sustained work, education or training takes someone to Protection Work and Study, a 10-year pathway, which with the 10 extra years is 20 years.

General information only. This is not immigration advice and is not affiliated with the Home Office or GOV.UK. Rules may change and guidance is still to come. For advice on your own case, speak to an OISC-regulated adviser or a solicitor.

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