STOP THE PROPOSED 5-YEAR TO 10-YEAR ILR CHANGE FOR EXISTING SKILLED WORKERS

Protect existing workers. Protect fairness. Protect legitimate expectations.

We, the undersigned, are affected by, or concerned about, the proposed changes to the UK’s Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) settlement framework.

We respectfully call upon the UK Government to protect the existing 5-year settlement pathway for people who are already legally living and working in the United Kingdom under the current immigration framework.

This petition is a collective statement that we intend to use every lawful and democratic means available to make our concerns heard.

1. The House of Lords has already raised serious concerns about fairness

This campaign is not making these concerns in isolation.

The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee, following its inquiry into settlement, citizenship and integration, considered the Government’s proposed extension of the settlement period and the question of applying new rules to people already in the UK.

The Committee stated that:

“Any retrospective change would be manifestly unfair—and may be unlawful”

to migrants who had planned their lives around the existing system and made significant long-term decisions, including decisions about careers, housing and family life, on the expectation that they could qualify for ILR under the existing rules. (UK Parliament)

The Committee also stated that changes to ILR rules should not apply retrospectively to individuals who are already on a qualifying route, noting that many migrants had made significant decisions with the expectation of acquiring ILR after five years. (UK Parliament)

This is highly relevant to our campaign.

We therefore ask the Government to carefully consider the concerns raised by the House of Lords Committee and provide meaningful transitional protection to people who are already in the UK.

2. The House of Lords also identified an alternative to extending ILR

Importantly, the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee considered an alternative approach to the Government’s proposal.

Rather than extending the baseline ILR period from five years to ten years, the Committee recommended exploring the option of retaining a 5-year baseline qualifying period while separating ILR from access to public funds.

The Committee specifically suggested that migrants with ILR could potentially remain subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds condition for a defined period, such as until they had been resident in the UK for ten years and/or obtained British citizenship. (UK Parliament)

This is directly relevant to our proposal.

If the Government’s principal concern is that lower-paid workers may access public funds after obtaining settlement, there is an alternative to simply extending their settlement pathway to ten years.

The Government can address access to public funds directly without necessarily taking away the existing 5-year settlement pathway from people who are already in the UK.

We therefore ask the Government to properly consider this alternative.

3. Fairness should apply to existing workers

The Government has stated that its Earned Settlement policy is based on fairness and contribution.

However, fairness must also include consideration for people who have already made major life decisions under the existing immigration system.

The House of Lords Committee recognised this issue and raised concerns about applying new settlement requirements retrospectively. (UK Parliament)

We therefore ask:

Is it fair to change the settlement expectations of people after they have already spent years working, paying taxes, paying National Insurance and building their lives in the UK under the existing framework?

We believe existing workers deserve meaningful transitional protection.

4. People should not be judged by their payslip

A person’s salary does not determine their value to society.

Workers earning £25,000, £35,000, £40,000 or £49,999 can work hard, pay taxes, support their families, contribute to their communities and perform essential jobs.

There should not be two fundamentally different settlement systems based primarily on whether someone earns above or below £50,000.

We are not asking for special treatment.

We are asking for fairness.

5. Fairness between different occupations

We want to make clear that this campaign is not against care workers.

Care workers make an essential contribution to the United Kingdom and deserve recognition.

However, fairness must apply across the immigration system.

If a care worker earning approximately £25,000 can retain a 5-year settlement pathway under the Government’s proposed arrangements, we ask why another person who has lawfully entered the UK under the Skilled Worker route should potentially face a 10-year settlement route simply because their salary is below £50,000.

We are not against care workers. We support recognition of their contribution. But we also ask for fairness for other skilled workers.

6. If benefits are the concern, address benefits directly

We understand that the Government has concerns about access to the welfare state after settlement.

We are willing to discuss a reasonable and lawful alternative.

If necessary, access to specified benefits could be restricted for a defined period after ILR, subject to appropriate legal safeguards.

We would rather accept reasonable restrictions on access to benefits after ILR for up to five years than accept an additional five years before we can qualify for settlement.

This is a genuine offer to address the Government’s stated concern.

The House of Lords Committee has itself identified the possibility of separating settlement from access to public funds as an alternative policy approach. (UK Parliament)

7. We will stand together and use lawful democratic and legal routes

This petition represents more than an expression of disagreement.

By signing this petition, we are demonstrating that affected workers are prepared to stand together and pursue this matter through lawful and democratic means.

We intend to:

Contact our MPs.
Engage with relevant human-rights and migrant-rights organisations.
Engage with charities, NGOs and civil-society organisations.
Raise the issue publicly and peacefully.
Organise or participate in lawful peaceful demonstrations where appropriate.
Seek professional legal advice.
Establish the level of support for a potential legal challenge.
Where appropriate and where qualified legal advice supports doing so, pursue a Judicial Review or other available legal remedy.
A petition cannot itself determine whether a legal challenge will succeed. Any legal proceedings would be considered and conducted in accordance with the applicable law and court procedures.

But we want the Government to know that if these changes are imposed unfairly on existing workers, we will not simply remain silent. We will use every lawful democratic and legal avenue available to us.

8. Our collective commitment

By signing this petition, we stand together in support of the following principles:

Five years should remain five years for qualifying workers who are already in the UK under the existing settlement framework.

Existing workers should receive meaningful transitional protection.

People should not be judged solely by their salary.

There should not be a settlement system that effectively creates different classes of workers based primarily on income.

If access to benefits is the concern, the Government should consider addressing that issue directly rather than automatically extending the settlement period.

We will contact our MPs.

We will engage with relevant organisations.

We will support lawful and peaceful public campaigning.

And, where legally appropriate and supported by qualified legal advice, we will support efforts to challenge the application of these changes through the courts.

OUR MESSAGE TO THE GOVERNMENT

The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has already raised serious concerns about the fairness of retrospective changes and has identified alternatives to simply extending the settlement period. (UK Parliament)

We ask the Government to listen.

We ask the Government to protect people who are already here.

We ask the Government to recognise that people have built their lives around the existing framework.

And we ask the Government to find a fair solution that addresses concerns about public funds without unfairly extending the settlement pathway for existing workers.

We are not asking for special treatment.

We are asking for fairness.

We are united, we are peaceful, and we will use every lawful democratic and legal avenue available to us to make our case.