By ICN

The Earned Settlement Consultation: Why volunteering shouldn’t be used as currency for belonging

The Home Office has launched a consultation on its proposed Earned Settlement Model, part of a much wider set of reforms to immigration and asylum. These proposals are significant, far‑reaching, and, if implemented, will reshape the path to settlement for thousands of people.

One of the options being explored is whether volunteering should count towards “earning” settlement by reducing the number of years someone must wait before applying. At first glance, this may seem like a positive incentive. But when placed in the much harder and longer settlement routes being proposed, the implications for asylum seekers, refugees, and the wider voluntary and community sector become much more complicated.

A drastically longer journey to settlement

Under the new model, settlement would shift from a fairly stable five‑year route to a much longer one:

• 10 years for most people,
• 15 years for many workers in lower‑paid roles, such as care workers, and
• 20 years for refugees receiving “core protection.”

Volunteering is being floated as one of the few ways to shorten this extended journey, perhaps by three to five years. For communities already facing huge barriers, this positions volunteering not as a free act of contribution, but as one of the only available mechanisms for clawing back some of the years that have been added.

Volunteering: a vital lifeline, not an immigration requirement

Volunteering plays a powerful and positive role in the lives of asylum seekers and refugees. It offers purpose, connection, friendship, skill‑building, and a sense of control in a system where people often feel powerless. The contribution people make, whether in food banks, community centres, peer‑support projects, or local charities, is invaluable. But there is a huge difference between choosing to volunteer and being driven into volunteering because the alternative is a 15‑ or 20‑year wait for stability.

Rob Preston from Civil Society said: “The idea of mandating volunteering as a condition for those seeking indefinite leave to remain fundamentally undermines the idea of volunteering.”

If volunteering becomes a de facto requirement for settlement, it risks:

• Exploiting people who have little real choice,
• Creating pressure on already stretched VCSE organisations,
• Turning a relationship of mutual benefit into one of obligation, and
• Undermining the true spirit of volunteering — rooted in free participation and shared purpose.

Pressure on the voluntary sector

If accelerated settlement through volunteering becomes the most accessible option for many people, especially those unable to meet proposed earnings thresholds, large numbers may feel compelled to volunteer.

That could be positive only if the sector is resourced, supported, and protected. Right now, it isn’t. Many frontline organisations like ICN, working with asylum seekers, are already overstretched and rely heavily on volunteers themselves. A sudden increase in demand could create:

• Administrative and safeguarding challenges,
• Pressure to create volunteering roles that don’t currently exist,
• Unrealistic expectations about what charities can absorb, and
• Confusion over the boundaries between volunteering, work, and immigration control.

Charities should not become instruments of immigration policy.

A narrowing definition of “contribution”

The Earned Settlement model defines “contribution” in narrow, measurable terms: high earnings, public service roles, degrees, or strictly documented community service. But contribution takes many forms. People support their neighbours, care for their families, help build community spaces, enrich faith groups, and speak up against unfairness. All of which strengthen society. The risk is that the new model reduces human value to transactional metrics.

ICN can help

I know how important volunteering can be for wellbeing, confidence, and community building, and that remains true regardless of immigration policy. ICN can support any asylum seekers looking for safe, meaningful volunteering opportunities, ensuring organisations are supportive and that roles are chosen freely, not taken under pressure or obligation.

Why your voice matters

These proposals are not final. The Home Office is actively seeking views, and it is essential that people with lived experience and those who work with them respond. The consultation closes on 12th February 2026.

I encourage everyone to read the proposals and share their views. Whether you work directly with asylum seekers or simply believe in a fair, humane system, your response matters.

Respond to the consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/earned-settlement