Qualifying period for UK settlement to double to 10 years under White Paper’s immigration reforms - Electronic Immigration Network

Migrant Voice says forcing more people onto a ten year route to settlement will be devastating for many migrants

Among the many significant changes proposed in the Government's White Paper on immigration is the doubling of the standard qualifying period for settlement in the UK from five to ten years. Under the proposed "Earned Settlement" model, migrants will need to demonstrate long-term contributions to the UK economy and society—mirroring principles from the Points-Based System—before being granted permanent status. The same model will be extended to citizenship applications.

Image credit: UK Government The Government argues that simply spending time in the UK and passing the Life in the UK test is no longer sufficient to qualify for such a "privileged" status. Instead, the planned reforms aim to reward integration and encourage economic participation.

However, the Government says it will continue to offer a shorter five-year pathway to settlement for non-UK dependants of British citizens, provided they comply with visa requirements. Existing protections will also remain in place for vulnerable groups, including victims of domestic abuse and bereaved parents. In addition, further changes are planned that will allow individuals to reduce the 10-year qualifying period based on their Points-Based contributions to the UK.

The Home Secretary told the House of Commons this afternoon that the Government will first launch a consultation on the new earned settlement and citizenship rules later this year. She later confirmed in response to a question that more details would be set out in due course and that the consultation would provide plenty of opportunity for people to comment on and consider the details.

Migrant Voice, a national organisation that supports migrants to speak out, strongly criticised the Government's approach in the White Paper, accusing it of dehumanising migrants. The group also criticised the Prime Minister's language in describing the post-Brexit immigration system as a "squalid chapter" in the UK's history. The organisation warned that the doubling of the settlement period would be devastating for many migrants and will create more division, more discrimination, and more harm for people making their lives in the UK.

Migrant Voice's Director said: "There is nothing 'squalid' about people making their lives here. Our lives are not an 'experiment'. Labour's Immigration White Paper seeks to dehumanise us, and lay the blame for issues beyond the scope of migration at our feet. It ignores the pain, cost and suffering which the existing immigration system puts people through, including those already on a ten year route to settlement. Forcing more people onto this route would be devastating for so many people."

Praxis warned that the proposed change would "create a growing underclass of people in society who are held back from realising their full potential and feeling like they belong," and also criticised the Prime Minister's language, accusing him of mimicking the far-right and pushing their agenda.

The section from the 82-page White Paper on the settlement and citizenship changes is excerpted and reproduced below: