Keep the 5-Year ILR pathway for existing Skilled Worker visa holders
This petition gathered 188,125 signatures between 23 May 2025 and 23 November 2025, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 17 June 2025. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 8 September 2025.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Keep the 5-Year ILR pathway for existing Skilled Worker visa holders
Do not apply the proposed 10-year ILR rule to existing Skilled Worker visa holders. Keep the 5-year ILR route for those already in the UK on this visa. Apply any changes only to new applicants from the date of implementation.
Many skilled visa holders moved to the UK for better opportunities and in return have contributed to the UK economy, paid taxes, and supported critical sectors like health, care, and engineering. We think that changing ILR rules mid-journey is unfair and causes stress for families. Apply the 10-year rule only to future Skilled Worker entrants, not those already building a life here under the current system.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 17 June 2025; the petitions site lists the Home Office as responsible. Its summary:
As with several other measures in the Immigration White Paper, the proposals on earned settlement will be subject to a formal consultation process, and we welcome this contribution to that process.
The opening 369 words of the 463-word response:
The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, includes proposals for Earned Settlement.
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.
There were 162,000 grants of settlement in 2024, up 35% from 2023. 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.
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.
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.
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 therefore intend to reform our settlement rules by expanding the Points-Based System and increasing the standard qualifying period for settlement to ten years.
Individuals will have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period to settlement based on contributions to the UK economy and society.
We will continue to offer a shorter pathway to settlement for non-UK dependants of British citizens to five years, who 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.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies. Measured against each constituency's electorate at the 2024 general election, the most came from Poplar and Limehouse, with 28.4 signatures per 1,000 electors (2,390 in all).
186,984 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,141 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures | Electorate, July 2024 | Per 1,000 electors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar and Limehouse | 2,390 | 84,116 | 28.4 |
| Brent West | 1,724 | 80,027 | 21.5 |
| Harrow West | 1,654 | 79,902 | 20.7 |
| Reading Central | 1,442 | 73,600 | 19.6 |
| Stratford and Bow | 1,494 | 80,735 | 18.5 |
| West Ham and Beckton | 1,463 | 78,964 | 18.5 |
| East Ham | 1,346 | 79,219 | 17.0 |
| Bermondsey and Old Southwark | 1,171 | 69,482 | 16.9 |
| Islington South and Finsbury | 1,178 | 74,122 | 15.9 |
| Cambridge | 1,112 | 70,321 | 15.8 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| London | 54,120 |
| South East | 26,996 |
| North West | 16,919 |
| East of England | 16,614 |
| West Midlands | 15,500 |
| South West | 11,729 |
| East Midlands | 11,137 |
| Scotland | 10,886 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 9,500 |
| Wales | 4,410 |
| North East | 4,174 |
| Northern Ireland | 3,570 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 8 September 2025. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/727360.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
17d73554a04b0354… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.