Increasing the 10-year residency requirement for ILR and citizenship: On September 8, 2025, two e-petitions opposing a planned expansion of the qualifying time for permanent residency for migrants in the UK will be discussed in Westminster Hall.
The online contests On September 8, 2025, Westminster Hall will debate whether to maintain the 5-year ILR pathway for current skilled worker visa holders and the 5-year ILR terms for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visas. The MP from Ben Goldsborough will start the debate.
The petition to maintain the 5-year ILR pathway for current skilled worker visa holders contends that current skilled worker visa holders in the UK should be exempt from the proposed increase in the qualifying time, which should only apply to future arrivals. The primary UK work visa is for skilled workers. For NHS employees, it includes the Health and Care Worker subcategory.
At the time of writing, the petition had 157,000 signatures and was open until November 23, 2025.
“As with several other measures in the Immigration White Paper, the proposals on earned settlement will be subject to a formal consultation process, and we welcome this contribution to that process,” the government said in its June 17, 2025, response to the petition.
Following criticism of the proposals, MPs will discuss new regulations governing the duration of stay in the UK required for individuals on visas before they can be granted established status. Two formal petitions opposing Home Office plans to make it harder for immigrants to obtain permanent residency in Britain were signed by over 250,000 people.
The Immigration White Paper, which was released in May, suggests extending the five-year residency requirement for skilled worker visa holders to ten years before they are eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
The status allows migrants to work freely and receive benefits, and it affords them essentially the same rights as British citizens.
Nearly 157,000 people signed a petition that was posted on the government’s website to maintain the five-year ILR pathway for current skilled worker visa holders.
A second petition, signed by more than 107,000 people, urged the Home Office to shield Hong Kong visa holders from the changes.
Hong Kong Watch co-founder Benedict Rogers cautioned that if ILR is altered, Hong Kong residents with British National Overseas status may have serious difficulties.
“The UK cannot abandon its commitments to Hong Kong residents at this time,” he stated. Those who have made so many sacrifices to start a new life here would be taken advantage of if the ILR waiting period were extended to ten years.
“Many would be priced out of higher education as a result of it, as they would not be protected by British consulates when travelling overseas, be unable to withdraw their retirement funds from Hong Kong, and not be eligible for home fee status at UK universities.”
The administration stated that once both petitions have reached the 100,000-signature mark, MPs will discuss them in Westminster on September 8.
In May, comprehensive reforms were outlined with the goal of lowering immigration to the UK.
The difference between the number of people entering and departing Britain, or net migration, jumped from about 224,000 in the middle of 2019 to a record 906,000 in June 2023.
Following the introduction of new immigration regulations during the previous Conservative government, it was lowered to 728,000 in 2024.
When Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned that unless more steps were taken to curb immigration, Britain would “become an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together,” he provoked outrage.
The government intends to strengthen enforcement and deport those who violate the law or remain in the UK after their visa has expired, in addition to making it more difficult for migrants to be awarded permanent status.
The opportunity for international students to settle will be narrowed by reducing the current two-year post-study graduate visa to 18 months.
With a transition that permits current visa holders to remain until 2028, direct hiring of care workers from overseas will cease.
The list of occupations that qualify for the permit was reduced last month, and salary criteria for skilled worker visas are also anticipated to rise.
“It has long been a principle that settlement in the UK is a privilege and not a right,” a government spokesperson stated in response to the skilled worker visa petition.
The length of time spent in the UK and a knowledge exam that confirms familiarity with British culture, history, traditions, laws, and political system are the main criteria used to determine eligibility for settlement under the current system.
These criteria by themselves do not support integration, which reduces the overall benefits of long-term migration into the UK and puts more strain on public services. They also do not reflect our firmly held belief that individuals should contribute to the economy and society before obtaining settled status in our nation.
Therefore, by extending the Points-Based System and raising the typical qualifying term for settlement to 10 years, we want to update our settlement regulations.
Petition- Keep the 5-Year ILR pathway for existing Skilled Worker visa holders