Skilled Migrant Alliance Demands Five-Year Settlement as Home Office Consults on ILR Rule Changes
Home Affairs Correspondent
A newly formed "Skill Migrants Alliance" has stepped up its campaign against proposed changes to the United Kingdom’s settlement rules, warning that tens of thousands of skilled workers, including more than 40,000 Sri Lankans, face years of prolonged uncertainty over their immigration status despite having arrived legally to contribute to the UK economy.
At the heart of the dispute is the Home Office’s post-2021 immigration framework, introduced after Brexit, which altered the pathway to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), commonly understood as permanent residency. Under the new points-based system, many skilled migrants who arrived after 2021 are no longer eligible for settlement after five years. Instead, they may be required to wait 10 or even 15 years, depending on visa categories, salary thresholds, and points accumulation.
For thousands of professionals working in health and social care, IT, engineering, academia, hospitality, and other critical sectors, the policy has transformed what was once a predictable five-year route to settlement into a prolonged period of insecurity.
“We Came to Build Our Lives, Not Live in Limbo”
Members of the Skilled Migrant Alliance argue that the policy undermines the very logic of attracting skilled labour. Many migrants relocated with families, bought homes, paid taxes, and integrated into British society on the understanding that settlement after five years was a realistic expectation.
“People came here in good faith, responding to the UK’s call for skilled workers,” a spokesperson for the Alliance said. “Now they are being told, retrospectively in effect, that they must wait up to 15 years to secure permanent status. That is not just unfair, it is destabilising.”
Sri Lankan professionals are among the most affected groups. Community estimates suggest that over 40,000 Sri Lankans who entered the UK after 2021 under skilled worker routes now face extended settlement timelines. Across all nationalities, campaigners estimate nearly 300,000 migrants could be impacted.
Home Office Consultation Under Scrutiny
The Home Office is currently conducting a public consultation on settlement and ILR reforms. The Skilled Migrant Alliance has mobilised its members to actively participate, emphasising that responding to the consultation will not negatively affect visa renewals or immigration records.
“This is the UK, a democratic country where public consultation is a legitimate and protected process,” the Alliance said in guidance circulated to members. “Filling out the Home Office consultation form has no adverse impact on individual visa applications.”
To strengthen its submission, the Alliance has sought expert legal advice. Kingsley Napley acting as organisation's legal advisers and Sonali Naik KC of Garden Court Chambers has been instructed to provide legal opinion and assist in drafting a detailed response to the consultation. Her involvement signals that the Alliance is preparing not only a policy argument, but also a legal challenge should the Home Office proceed with what campaigners describe as a “draconian” settlement regime.
Legal Avenues and Human Rights Dimensions
Lawyers advising the Alliance argue that excessively prolonged settlement routes may raise issues under human rights and administrative law, particularly where migrants have built long-term private and family lives in the UK.
If domestic remedies fail, campaigners have not ruled out escalating the matter to international legal forums, including the European Court of Human Rights. While such steps are complex and time-consuming, the Alliance views them as a last resort should the UK government close off meaningful pathways to settlement.
“The question is simple,” one legal adviser noted. “Can a state reasonably expect skilled workers and their families to live in uncertainty for 10 or 15 years, despite lawful residence, tax contributions, and integration?”
Political Lobbying and Diplomatic Pressure
Alongside legal action, the Alliance has launched a coordinated political lobbying effort. Members are writing to their local Members of Parliament, briefing them on the economic and social consequences of extended settlement timelines. Several MPs, particularly in constituencies with high numbers of skilled migrants working in the NHS and care sector, are understood to have raised informal concerns with ministers.
The campaign has also taken on a diplomatic dimension. The Sri Lankan government has been urged to raise the issue with the British High Commission in Colombo, highlighting the impact on Sri Lankan nationals who form a significant part of the UK’s skilled workforce.
Campaigners argue that the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a responsibility to advocate for its citizens abroad, particularly where immigration policy changes risk long-term family instability and economic hardship.
“This is not about special treatment,” said a senior figure involved in the campaign. “It is about fairness, predictability, and respect for people who answered the UK’s call when skills shortages were acute.”
Families Caught in Prolonged Uncertainty
Beyond legal arguments and policy papers, the human impact of the proposed changes looms large. Many skilled migrants now face repeated visa renewals, rising application fees, and restrictions on long-term planning. Children grow up unsure of their future status. Families hesitate to invest, relocate, or even fully settle psychologically.
Uncertainty, campaigners stress, is not a neutral condition. It affects mental health, family stability, and productivity at work. For professionals expected to deliver essential public services, prolonged insecurity can erode morale and retention, ultimately harming the UK economy itself.
A Call for a Five-Year Settlement Route
The Skilled Migrant Alliance’s core demand is straightforward: restore a clear, five-year route to ILR for skilled migrants who meet employment, tax, and conduct requirements. Campaigners argue that this approach aligns with the UK’s economic interests, international reputation, and long-standing immigration principles.
As the Home Office consultation continues, the Alliance insists that this moment is critical. Decisions taken now will shape the lives of hundreds of thousands of migrants and their families for decades.
“The UK wanted skilled workers,” the Alliance said. “Skilled workers came. The least the government can do is offer them certainty, dignity, and a fair path to settlement.”
Whether the Home Office listens remains to be seen. But for the 40,000 Sri Lankans affected, and many more besides, the outcome of this consultation may determine whether the UK remains a place to build a future or merely a country of endless waiting.