What the UK’s Proposed ‘Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ Will Mean for Employers

As we face significant changes to immigration policy, laid out in the government’s ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, employers have an important role to play in keeping the UK an attractive option for the world’s top professionals. Not just for the sake of short-term business goals, but for the long-term well-being of the UK’s talent pools.

Immigration policy changes — and why employers should care

The proposed changes, which remain under consultation until the 12th of February, 2026, aim to improve integration and contribution. “For those who believe that migration is part of modern Britain’s story, and must continue to be, we must prove that migration still works for this country. That means that those who come here must contribute, play their part, and enrich our national life,” says Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement.

While the changes are not yet law, employers must be aware of them. Here’s a snapshot:

• What’s changing for migrants: Settlement would move from an automatic 5-year route to a longer baseline (around 10 years), with the time to settlement adjusted based on factors like earnings, compliance with immigration rules, and integration.

• Benefits of the changes for the UK: The system is designed to reward long-term economic contribution and integration, encourage compliance with immigration rules, and ensure settlement is granted to those making a sustained contribution to the UK.

• New challenges for migrants: Migrants may face longer and less predictable timelines to settlement, higher pressure to maintain continuous employment and income levels, and greater consequences for rule breaches or gaps in status.

• Legal actions required from employers: Sponsors would continue existing obligations only (right-to-work checks, sponsorship compliance, reporting duties), with no additional legal requirements introduced by the consultation itself.

While there are no specific new requirements from employers, that doesn’t mean the new policy should fly under the radar. The changes would push businesses into a longer-term relationship with sponsored workers, and the extra pressure on migrants to tangibly prove integration creates new challenges in employee retention.

If the policy becomes law, it’ll be in an employer’s best interest to go beyond compliance and sponsorship, to facilitate career growth, belonging, community ties, and legal clarity. Especially if your workforce is significantly bolstered by international talent.

The UK’s need for global talent

While routes to long-term settlement in the UK may tighten, the need for global talent isn’t set to alleviate any time soon. Immigration is critical for economic resilience and service delivery. And it goes beyond startups and tech giants looking to recruit more innovative minds. The NHS, for example, is experiencing an infamously chronic staff shortage with record vacancies and major retention issues. The result is a notable impact on patient outcomes: longer wait times, overstretched emergency services, and poorer quality of care. Similar problems are found in the adult social care sector, which faces ongoing recruitment and retention challenges.

Immigration is by no means a unicorn solution to these myriad challenges. Education, skills training, salaries, and working conditions also play key roles. But staying open and appealing to global talent offers a path to economic resilience that many employers can’t afford to ignore.

Earned settlement only works if employers enable earning

It’s a complex, multi-layered topic, and nothing is written in stone yet. With the consultation deadline looming, there are some things for employers to consider. If the new system will reward contribution, then employers are the primary platform where contribution is measured: stable employment, progression, taxes, skills, and community participation.

Analysis from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) identifies employers as key agents in integration. “Most immigrants in employment in the OECD did not migrate with pre-arranged employment…their fate in the labour market largely depends on the willingness and ability of employers to hire, train and integrate them in their firm.”

In practice, this means that employers will benefit from investing in their migrant workforce and offering more holistic support. Ignoring the policy changes risks employee disengagement, non-compliance, and the loss of skilled workers to countries offering clearer, more supportive pathways to settlement.

What “holistic support” looks like

Even with significant changes to settlement criteria, the legal requirements for employers are set to largely stay the same. This can make it difficult for leaders and HR teams to know exactly how to respond or how to increase their efforts in facilitating the integration of their migrant workforce.

To my mind, there are three pillars of holistic support:

1. Legal clarity and continuity

While it’s true that workers should take responsibility for their own paperwork, employers can ease stress and avoid oversights by providing proactive legal clarity. That means clear internal timelines, named points of contact, and budget transparency. By treating Visa compliance as a shared responsibility, rather than putting all of the strain on the employee, organisations create a better working environment for their international workforce whilst also ensuring compliance.

This is essential for avoiding ‘silent risk.’ The risk that problems only surface when it’s almost too late, such as a missed reporting obligation or the assumption that settlement eligibility is on track when it isn’t. When issues are discovered too late, the consequences can be everything from delays to loss of status.

By owning the legal timeline, employers can prevent easily avoidable issues from becoming life-altering. At Deel, we make keeping up with compliance simple, with streamlined mobility support that takes care of the heavy lifting. This allows you to support your employees without increasing admin time.

2. Career mobility and skills progression

Under the new policy, skilled workers will be able to shorten the path to settlement by earning more, making career development for migrant workers more important than ever. Earning £50,270 for the past 3 years will lead to a 5-year deduction in time to settle, and earning £125,140 or more for 3 years will lead to a 7-year deduction. That’s significantly impactful.

However, this puts migrants at a disadvantage as their career paths too often become static in favour of colleagues who aren’t perceived as an ‘immigration risk.’ Without career progression or a well-paying job upon entry, these discounts will remain out of reach for the majority.

Employers can best support their migrant workers by clearly setting out progression paths and facilitating internal mobility. This is good practice for any organisation, so what will make the difference is equal opportunity for migrants and citizens alike. Performance, capability, and skills should dictate progression, not settlement status.

3. Integration and community

Integration support can be tricky to get right. Not enough, and employees are left to figure it out on their own. Too much, and it risks becoming prescriptive. Offering resources and running programs without making them obligatory respects employee’s autonomy while giving them the support they need. This might look like:

• Employer-funded language training
• Communication coaching focused on workplace norms and common etiquette
• Writing and documentation support
• Buddy or peer programmes connecting new arrivals with colleagues
• Family-inclusive events to help partners and children build social connections alongside the worker

In-person community building is also possible for remote-first teams. For example, through our partnership with WeWork, Deel’s entire remote-first workforce have the opportunity to work alongside their colleagues, and more easily socialise outside of working hours. We also facilitate online social events, to make connection accessible for everyone.

How Deel helps UK businesses navigate immigration

At Deel, we know a thing or two about running a global business, and we’ve poured that expertise into the technology we’re building. With Deel Mobility, you get an all-in-one global people platform which helps you:

• Hire and relocate faster across 70+ countries, including the UK
• Navigate immigration with expert guidance and a fast-tracked visa process
• Easily keep up with compliance and legal timelines

All of this, in the same platform where you manage all of your people, significantly cutting down on admin time and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks.

Book your 30-minute Deel demo, and see what modern immigration support really looks like.