Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has published the Government's proposals to overhaul Britain's legal migration system, introducing a default ten-year settlement timescale and stricter eligibility criteria.
The blueprint partially waters down earlier plans after a backlash led by Cabinet colleague Angela Rayner. The Home Office has now set out the key elements of the proposed changes.
Key criteria for settlement
The default timescale for being allowed to settle in the UK will be ten years. Applicants will need English to A-level as a foreign language, have no criminal record - up from the current threshold of no offence leading to punishment of more than a 12-month suspended sentence - and have no public debt.
Income and public service routes
Highest earners with incomes above £125,141 and the highly skilled, such as those on the Global Talent and Innovator Founder routes, will be able to settle after three years. Higher rate taxpayers earning over £50,271, and skilled public sector workers including doctors, nurses and teachers, will be able to settle after five years.
The new standard route for other people, who must have earned £12,571 in five of the previous seven years, will be ten years.
Penalties for visa offences and small boat arrivals
Anyone who commits a visa offence or claims certain benefits will have to wait 20 years for settlement. People who arrive by small boats or other clandestine routes will have to wait an extra ten years for settlement, so this could mean 30 years overall.
Care workers and refugees
Care workers who came to Britain during the Covid pandemic and met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 in the last 12 months before applying for settlement will be able to do so after five years. Care workers who did not meet these criteria will be able to apply for a five-year visa as part of a second chance to get settlement.
Care workers who have lost their job due to their employer having their licence revoked, following widespread abuse of these visas, will from February 1 next year have up to 120 days to get work and a further 60 days to resolve their visa and employment status. If they have not found work by 181 days, visas will start to be cancelled and people required to leave the UK.
Refugees who arrive on safe and legal routes will have to wait five years to settle. Individuals who did not arrive by small boat and have entered work or study will have to wait ten years, while those who did not arrive by small boat and have not entered work or study will have to wait 20 years. People who have arrived by small boat and have entered work or study will have to wait 20 years, while those who have arrived by small boat and have not entered work or study will have to wait 30 years.
Dependents and impact
Partners who arrive with a principal applicant will continue to be able to settle at the same time, provided they meet relevant requirements. Children under 18 will continue to be able to settle with their parents.
The changes are expected to delay settlement for 500,000 people, saving billions in benefits.
