UK immigration: Earn Rs 1.45 cr? Settle in Britain permanently in 3 years

The UK plans faster settlement for high earners and some skilled workers, while most others face longer waits under a proposed overhaul of permanent residence rules

The United Kingdom is tightening its immigration rules on permanent settlement. However, people with higher salaries would be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain far sooner than the rest.

 

Visa-holders earning more than £125,000 (Rs 1.45 crore) a year could apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after three years, according to rules that UK home secretary Shabana Mahmood released for public consultation on Thursday. This is shorter than the current five-year requirement and well below the new 10-year baseline the government has also put forward.

 

The faster route would also apply to entrepreneurs on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas. Those earning between £50,000 and £125,000 would remain on the current five-year track.

 

“To settle in this country forever is not a right, but a privilege,” said Mahmood in the House of Commons. “And it must be earned.”

 

Why the UK wants tougher rules

 

The Home Office is overhauling its immigration system after several hundred thousand people came to the UK during the previous Conservative government’s expansion of worker visa routes in the years following Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The new rules would cover anyone already in the country who has not yet secured ILR. Home Office estimates suggest that between 1.3 million and 2.2 million people would have qualified for ILR by 2030 under existing arrangements.

 

A large share of these arrivals came through the Health and Care visa route, widened in 2022 to bring in workers with limited qualifications for the under-staffed social care sector. Under the proposed changes, they will face a 15-year baseline instead of the current 10-year period, as ministers believe the numbers admitted under this route were far higher than intended.

 

Core conditions for applying

 

Applicants must meet four conditions:

 

• Have a clean criminal record

• Have paid National Insurance contributions for the last three years

• Owe no debt to the state, such as to the Home Office or the National Health Service

• Be able to speak English as a foreign language to at least A-level standard

 

People who cannot meet these conditions will not be able to apply. The Home Office also plans to add penalties to the baseline timelines.

 

Penalties linked to benefits, asylum claims and illegal entry

 

Anyone who has received benefits for fewer than 12 months will get a five-year penalty. Those on welfare for longer will face a 10-year penalty. Mahmood is also proposing that most benefits and social housing be limited to UK citizens.

 

People who enter the UK through an illegal route, including on small boats, will face a 20-year penalty on top of the 10-year baseline. Officials expect this to apply only to a small number of people, such as those whose asylum claim has failed but remain for other reasons, including claims under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects family life.

 

English skills and public service roles may reduce the wait

 

Those who speak English at a level higher than A-level would see their 10-year period reduced to nine years. People working in public services at certain senior levels, including doctors, nurses and some teaching staff, would continue on a five-year route.

 

Who is exempt from the proposals

 

The new rules will not apply to people who arrived from Hong Kong under the British National (Overseas) route or to family members of British citizens. Those eligible for the Windrush Scheme or the EU Settlement Scheme will be assessed separately, the Home Office said.