Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) has been in the news recently, with both Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and the Labour Party making announcements on the issue at their party conferences.
Many migrants in the UK are confused and concerned. So, what have they said, and what does it actually mean?
Reform UK announcement
Reform UK announced that it would abolish ILR and require all migrants (even those previously granted ILR) to apply for renewable five-year visas, which would only be available to those on high salaries who meet other strict criteria. The stated intention of this policy would be to force many who currently have ILR to leave the UK on the basis that they would not meet the new visa criteria. This proposal would not apply to anyone with settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme.
What does this mean?
It is important to stress that Reform UK are not in government and, at least at this time, do not have the power to change the law. This is simply a political statement of a policy Reform UK says that it would implement if they became the government. This could only happen after a general election, which is not likely to take place for several years. Although Reform UK are leading in many polls at the moment, it is impossible to predict the result of the next election.
Therefore, despite the widespread coverage of this announcement, it does not represent a change in the law.
Labour Party announcement
At the Labour Party conference, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced plans to require all migrants to complete a qualifying period of 10 years’ residence before being eligible for ILR. This follows on from the government’s ‘immigration white paper’, which indicated something similar, but also stated that some migrants will remain eligible for ILR after five years in certain circumstances. ILR applicants would need to demonstrate that they can speak English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record and have made a contribution to their community before they would be eligible. These proposals will be put to a consultation shortly before the government announces any changes.
What does this mean?
This announcement should be taken more seriously. The Labour Party are the government and can change immigration laws. However, there is a lot of ambiguity in this announcement.
Firstly, the announcement was very broad, and failed to note that there are many different visa routes with their own timescales and requirements for ILR. Many migrants are already on a 10-year route to indefinite leave to remain, or indeed on visas which do not lead to indefinite leave to remain at all. The government’s white paper earlier this year, indicated that this change would not impact those who are in the UK on visas as the partner of a British or settled person. We do not know if that has changed. Furthermore, that White Paper identified the Global Talent visa route as one the government intended to promote, which may imply that it would be exempt from any changes to the ILR rules. It is also unclear whether the change impacts those already in the UK on a five-year route to ILR. Previous government releases indicated that it would, but other reports suggest otherwise.
This latest announcement did not clarify whether there would still be an accelerated five-year route to ILR under any new rules and, if so, what the criteria for that would be.
Those who are applying for ILR already need to prove their English aptitude and can be refused on grounds of criminality. We do not know what, if any, changes are being made to those aspects of the rules.
Conclusion
In summary, there has been a lot of talk about ILR recently, but very little concrete detail. The proposals are being put to a consultation, and so nothing is likely to change in the immediate future.
This makes it difficult to predict what people’s pathways to ILR will look like in 12 months’ time. All we can recommend at this stage to anyone concerned about this is to pay attention to any future government announcements.
We would recommend taking specialist legal advice before making any significant changes to your personal circumstances in light of these announcements.
Until and unless any Immigration Rules change, migrants remain eligible for ILR under the existing rules. That date is often sooner than many people realise, as applicants may be able to rely upon time spent on different visas routes or time waiting for a decision on a visa application. Those with ILR may also be eligible to naturalise as British citizens, which is the most secure immigration status one can have. We regularly assist with applications for ILR and British citizenship, so please do not hesitate to get in contact if you need any assistance.
