Do Not Punish Legal, Tax-Paying Migrants with a 10-Year ILR Rule

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

We want the Government to keep the ILR qualifying period at 5 years for migrants who arrived legally under routes that currently lead to settlement. Any change to a 10-year rule should apply only to new arrivals, not to people already living, working, and contributing in the UK.

Migrants who came legally planned their lives around the 5-year ILR rule. Changing it to 10 years now would unfairly disrupt families, undermine trust in the immigration system, and harm sectors like the NHS, care, construction, and tech that rely on stable skilled workers. Those who follow the rules, pay taxes, and contribute should not have the settlement goalposts moved after they have already built their lives here.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign this petition which calls for similar action: Keep the 5-year pathway for all legal immigrants to apply for ILR

Timeline

21 Nov 2025	Petition opened for signatures
30 Dec 2025	Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21

Status Rejected

Rejected 30 Dec 2025

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