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Changes to the Immigration Rules - leave to remain and settlement
13 March 2006
The changes in summary are: -
For all employment-related categories of entry to the UK, and those who have entered under the Ancestry category, the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (settlement) is now 5 years.
The initial grant of leave to remain will now be 2 years (except for Work Permit holders and Retired Persons of Independent Means), followed by a subsequent period of up to 3 years. The rules previously allowed for an initial period of up to 12 months leave to be granted, followed by a subsequent period of up to 3 years,
The UK ancestry provision has been changed to allow leave to be granted in a 2 and 3 year pattern, rather than allowing one single period up to the settlement qualifying period.
Retired Persons of Independent Means will still be eligible for one single period of leave all the way up to the settlement qualifying period as before.
Work Permit holders will still be eligible for an initial grant of leave up to the currency of their work permit.
Highly Skilled Migrants will now be able to amalgamate continuous time spent in the UK as a work permit holder, Highly Skilled Migrant and / or an Innovator when applying for indefinite leave to remain as a Highly Skilled Migrant.
This Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules will be laid before Parliament on 13 March 2006. The Government announced these changes to the Immigration Rules in February 2005 in its paper "Controlling Our Borders: the Five Year Strategy for Asylum and Immigration". These will bring the requirements for settlement nearer to those for citizenship; and to bring the UK's practice for the qualifying period required in line with the rest of the European Union.
This Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules will be incorporated into a consolidated version of the Immigration Rules which can be found under the 'Laws & Policy' page of this website, where there are also copies of all the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules issued since May 2003.
Queries should be addressed to the Home Office's Immigration and Nationality Enquiry Bureau on telephone: 0870 606 7766 or by e-mail: indpublicenquiries@ukba.gsi.gov.uk