The home secretary has turned what was a simple five-year route to settlement for many sponsored employees into a complex pathway with new rules and hurdles. Ross Kennedy of Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law sets out what has changed and the new challenges for employers and workers.
On 2 November, Shabana Mahmood confirmed the final shape of “earned settlement”, the government’s overhaul of how migrants qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). The headlines were the climbdown from a potential 15 years of repeat visa applications for carers and the doubling of the standard route from five years to ten.
Alongside her statement to Parliament, the government published its response to a consultation that had drawn over 200,000 responses (mostly negative).
This outlines major consequences for migrants and their employers, including changes to the economics of sponsoring workers and new ways in which salary affects when people settle. This means employers face managing a raft of new decisions in relation to their sponsored workforce.
Mahmood exempts care workers from new settlement rules
Why skills shortages are the price of cutting immigration
Three things from last year’s proposals have gone: the 15-year route for workers below degree level, volunteering as a way to shorten the wait, and any credit for higher-level English.
None of it is law yet. New Immigration Rules are expected in December, with the reforms taking effect in 2027. Until then, the...
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