Migrant Voice says forcing more people onto a ten year route to settlement will be devastating for many migrants
Among the many significant changes proposed in the Government's White Paper on immigration is the doubling of the standard qualifying period for settlement in the UK from five to ten years. Under the proposed "Earned Settlement" model, migrants will need to demonstrate long-term contributions to the UK economy and society—mirroring principles from the Points-Based System—before being granted permanent status. The same model will be extended to citizenship applications.
Image credit: WikipediaThe Government argues that simply spending time in the UK and passing the Life in the UK test is no longer sufficient to qualify for such a "privileged" status. Instead, the planned reforms aim to reward integration and encourage economic participation.
However, the Government says it will continue to offer a shorter five-year pathway to settlement for non-UK dependants of British citizens, provided they comply with visa requirements. Existing protections will also remain in place for vulnerable groups, including victims of domestic abuse and bereaved parents. In addition, further changes are planned that will allow individuals to reduce the 10-year qualifying period based on their Points-Based contributions to the UK.
The Home Secretary told the House of Commons this afternoon that the Government will first launch a consultation on the new earned settlement and citizenship rules later this year. She later confirmed in response to a question that more details would be set out in due course and that the consultation would provide plenty of opportunity for people to comment on and consider the details.
Migrant Voice, a national organisation that supports migrants to speak out, strongly criticised the Government's approach in the White Paper, accusing it of dehumanising migrants. The group also criticised the Prime Minister's language in describing the post-Brexit immigration system as a "squalid chapter" in the UK's history. The organisation warned that the doubling of the settlement period would be devastating for many migrants and will create more division, more discrimination, and more harm for people making their lives in the UK.
Migrant Voice's Director said: "There is nothing 'squalid' about people making their lives here. Our lives are not an 'experiment'. Labour's Immigration White Paper seeks to dehumanise us, and lay the blame for issues beyond the scope of migration at our feet. It ignores the pain, cost and suffering which the existing immigration system puts people through, including those already on a ten year route to settlement. Forcing more people onto this route would be devastating for so many people."
Praxis warned that the proposed change would "create a growing underclass of people in society who are held back from realising their full potential and feeling like they belong," and also criticised the Prime Minister's language, accusing him of mimicking the far-right and pushing their agenda.
The section from the 82-page White Paper on the settlement and citizenship changes is excerpted and reproduced below:
HM Government
Restoring Control over the Immigration System
May 2025
CP 326
[…]
EARNED SETTLEMENT
259. Settlement in the UK is a prerequisite for becoming a British citizen and brings lifelong benefits. Settlement is also an important step in integrating and contributing to local communities and the wider country.
260. There were 162,000 grants of settlement in 2024, up 35% from 2023. [92] This rise reflects the increase in individuals coming to the UK between 2015 and 2019 on entry clearance visas who have since become eligible for settlement and citizenship. As things stand, more people are likely to become eligible for settlement and then citizenship over the next few years as a result of the extremely high level of net migration between 2019 and 2024.
261. The share of people who go on to claim settlement varies considerably by the type of visa people were initially granted to enter the UK, 18% of those coming on work visas between 2010 and 2018 secured settlement by 2023, compared to 75% on the Family route. [93]
262. It has been a long-standing principle that settlement in the UK is a privilege and not a right. Under the current system settlement is primarily qualified for on the basis of length of time spent in the UK alongside a knowledge of life test which is used to verify knowledge of British customs, history, traditions, laws and political system.
263. These criteria alone do not reflect our strongly held belief that people should contribute to the economy and society before gaining settled status in our country and they fail to promote integration, which limits the wider benefit from long term migration into the UK and increases pressure on public services. We will therefore reform the current rules around settlement through an expansion of the principle behind the Points-Based System, that individuals should earn their right to privileged immigration status in the UK through the long-term contribution they bring to our country.
264. This expansion of the Point-Based System will increase the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years.
265. We will continue to offer a shorter pathway to settlement for non-UK dependants of British citizens to five years, provided they have remained compliant with their requirements, and we will retain existing safeguards to protect the vulnerable, including settlement rights for victims of domestic violence and abuse.
266. Through the expansion of the Point-Based System, individuals will also have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period based on Points-Based contributions to the UK economy and society. We will consult on these changes later this year.
267. Whilst we develop and implement the new 'Earned Settlement' model we will make further changes to settlement rules in the near term. These include:
• The creation of a new bereaved parent route, allowing those in the UK on the route of a parent of a British or settled child, but who have tragically lost their child, to settle immediately.
• Ensuring children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle. This will also include a clear pathway for those children in care and care leavers.
EARNED CITIZENSHIP
268. It has been a longstanding principle that citizenship in the UK, like settlement, is a privilege and not a right. We are creating a system that benefits people who respect the rules and make their contribution to the UK and take action against those who do not.
269. In 2024, 269,621 people were granted British citizenship, 30% more than 2023. [94] We do not want to offer citizenship and the life-long benefits it brings to those who have circumvented our rules or those who have not demonstrated that they have contributed to the UK.
270. We will introduce reforms to citizenship to align to earned settlement reforms, building on the expansion of the Points-Based System to settlement and citizenship.
271. Similar to Earned Settlement, we will increase the standard qualifying period and expand the Points-Based System to allow those with greater contributions to qualify sooner. We will also conduct a refresh of the Life in the UK test and how it operates. Finally, we will consider measures to reduce the financial barriers to young adults, who have lived here through their childhood, from accessing British nationality.
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[92] Home Office Immigration system statistics data tables, Settlement detailed datasets, year ending December 2024, Table Se_D02, Home Office Immigration Statistics, GOV.UK, published 24 August 2023. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bf39c4750837d7604dbbca/settlement-datasets-dec-2024.xlsx
[93] Home Office Immigration system statistics data tables, Settlement detailed datasets, year ending December 2024, Table Se_D01, Home Office Immigration Statistics, GOV.UK, published 24 August 2023. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bf39c4750837d7604dbbca/settlement-datasets-dec-2024.xlsx
[94] Home Office Immigration system statistics data tables, Citizenship detailed datasets, year ending December 2024, Table Cit_D02, Home Office Immigration Statistics, GOV.UK, published 24 August 2023. Avalable at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67bf399f16dc9038974dbbbf/citizenship-datasets-dec-2024.xlsx