Indefinite leave to remain changes are upsetting – I have to wait another seven years

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The Government has doubled the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years leaving many international students in limbo ...

Young people looking to obtain residency in the UK have attacked the Government’s “unfair” changes to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after the time those on low salaries must wait before being eligible for settled status was doubled.

Last Monday, Sarah Cohen, 25, was among the approximately 500,000 migrants who discovered the qualifying time before they are eligible for ILR has jumped from five to ten years, because they earn under £50,271.

Having been on a skilled worker visa since 2023, Sarah was only two years off settled status, which would give her the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as she likes. It would also allow her to access the welfare state, and to apply for citizenship but because her salary is below the threshold, under the new rules she’s now facing a seven year wait.

Cohen said the changes are “upsetting” because of inherent “contradictions”.

“On a skilled worker visa you have to prove that a British person could not do that job. A lot of people on the visa fill gaps that are on the job shortage list,” she told The i Paper.

Government changes announced last Monday mean the standard length of time needed to apply for ILR has now doubled from five to 10 years – and in some cases increased to 20 years. Higher earners or certain workers can have this reduced.

The standard qualifying period is reduced to five years, but only if you earn £50,271 or more for three of those five.

Sarah is one of the 2.2 million people who were on a path to permanent settlement in the UK. “Low paid migrants are doing critical jobs that this country needs, and yet we’re given no stability, no structure in which to plan a future,” she continued.

She first moved to the UK when she was 17, on a student visa. However, her four years on a student visa do not count towards ILR. As such, if she stays in her current job, she will have been in the UK for 16 years before she is eligible in 2033.

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