UK extends standard wait for permanent residence to 10 years
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
The UK government plans to extend the standard wait for permanent residence from five to 10 years, while retaining a five-year route for health and care workers. The reform, due to apply next year and also affect migrants already settled in the country, was revised after criticism, Vanguard reports.
The United Kingdom will extend the standard waiting period for most migrants to obtain permanent residence, officially known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’, from five to 10 years. The revised reform, announced on Monday 2 November, nevertheless retains a five-year route for hundreds of thousands of care workers, subject to eligibility requirements, according to Vanguard.
Migrants earning at least £50,271 a year and some skilled public-sector workers will be able to apply for permanent residence after five years. Those earning more than £125,000 will be eligible after three years. The new rules, due to come into force next year, will also apply retrospectively to migrants already living and working in the UK.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the system should favour migrants who contribute to society and tighten the conditions imposed on those who break the rules. Refugees who entered illegally, including in small boats, could face waits of several decades. The government estimates that the reform will reduce by 500,000 the number of migrants who arrived since 2021 and would otherwise have obtained permanent residence by 2030, while 1.4 million are still expected to be eligible, according to Vanguard.
The reform directly affects Nigerian health and social care workers, a sector in the UK that relies on foreign workers to fill staff shortages. It follows an alert by social workers about Nigerian children taken into care in the UK, published on 31 October.
