The UK Government Plans to Change the Rules on Indefinite Leave to Remain
At the September 2025 Labour Party conference, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood used her conference address to outline sweeping changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Those in the UK on visas and those hoping to settle in the UK need to understand the proposals so they can plan. Our UK Immigration Solicitors explain what you need to know.
Call OTS Solicitors for immigration legal advice on UK settlement and Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The UK government's key planned changes to qualifying for Indefinite Leave to Remain
The government intends to make the settlement and ILR application process longer and more arduous by:
- Increasing the residence requirement from the current standard of five years to ten years, and
- Requiring ILR applicants to meet more stringent eligibility criteria and contribution-based tests.
The government‘s plans to change the ILR application process need to be considered in conjunction with Nigel Farage’s announcement on Reform UK’s policy on Indefinite Leave to Remain.
On 22 September 2025, the Reform UK Party stated that if elected to govern, it would abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain status. Nigel Farage’s ILR proposals would affect existing holders. The UK government‘s proposals will not affect people in the UK who have ILR, but they will have a profound impact on visa holders, those seeking refugee status, and their families.
Currently, there is no certainty about when the changes will take effect. In the past, governments have introduced change gradually with transition provisions, so those who relied on the immigration rules in force at the time of their visa application were not significantly adversely impacted by moving goalposts and changing laws. However, there is speculation that the Labour government views immigration as such a contentious issue that it will introduce the changes quickly to prevent large numbers of people from qualifying for ILR under the currently classified 'easy' ILR eligibility criteria.
The Home Secretary’s reasons for ILR reform
In her speech to the Labour Party conference on 29 September 2025, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said:
‘’ This country has always welcomed migrants…but in recent years, under the last Conservative Government, the scale and the speed of change, as well as the nature of it, has frayed trust and eroded public confidence. Between 2021 and 2024, we saw over 2.6 million more people enter this country than leave it. And this included widespread abuse of Boris Johnson's health and social care visa, which saw 710,000 people arrive here. Far too many have been able to enter this country and disappear into the black economy – a rank betrayal of the Tories' old promise that they would take back control.
If we are to preserve our openness to migrants like my parents, then we need a system that is fair to those who are already here. That means cracking down on illegal working that undercuts British workers. It means ensuring hiring practices are fair, forcing companies to fund training for homegrown workers if they are hiring from abroad. Crucially, it also means setting rules that provide contribution to this country is a condition of living here. Because I know that the British people welcome those who come here and contribute, but contribution is a condition of that welcome.’’
Although the Home Secretary did not delve into the Office of National Statistics data, it will have been at the forefront of the government‘s mind.
The key ONS statistics are:
- In the year to June 2024, about 1,235,254 people were estimated to have immigrated to the UK.
- In the year to June 2024, the net migration figure was estimated at 738,718 people.
- A population increase of 755,254 amounts to the second-largest population increase since 1949.
Proposed changes to the Indefinite Leave to Remain residence requirement
The government intends to increase the time a person needs to live in the UK before they are eligible to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Most people qualify for ILR after five years under the current immigration rules, but the government intends to increase the period to ten years. There are three riders to the proposals:
- Accelerated settlement may be an option for some people. There are no details yet, but UK Immigration Solicitors anticipate that accelerated settlement will be restricted to highly skilled individuals or those identified as having exceptional talent, or those who have made an outstanding contribution, such as a businessperson who has set up a business in the UK and created jobs for UK workers.
- In May 2025, the government said the increased residence requirement would not apply to visa holders on Family Visas applying to settle in the UK.
- Elongated beyond ten years or no settlement for those who do not meet the strict new contributions-based eligibility criteria.
Currently, an applicant for ILR typically needs to meet a five-year residence requirement; however, they are permitted to have spent time outside the UK within those five years, provided that their absences fall within the permitted absence threshold. If the residence requirement is extended to ten years, UK Immigration Lawyers are speculating about how the Home Office will need to relax some of the absence thresholds.
Proposed changes to the Indefinite Leave to Remain eligibility criteria
If the government changes the ILR rules, new applicants will need to demonstrate contribution and commitment to qualify for UK settlement.
The proposed new ILR contribution tests are:
- Learning the English language to a high standard.
- Being at work.
- Making tax and national insurance contributions.
- Not claiming state benefits.
- Having no criminal record.
- Contributing to the community, such as volunteering.
Consultation on changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain
In May 2025, in an Immigration White Paper titled 'Restoring Control over the Immigration System,' the government announced plans to change ILR and indicated that it would consult on the proposed reforms. The consultation process is expected to last until late 2025.
The responses to the consultation are likely to come from visa holders, those with refugee status, charities, British citizens and UK employers. All will be personally or financially affected by the changes because:
- Visa holders will need to continue to apply to extend their visas and to pay the immigration health surcharge to enable them to remain in the UK while they meet the ten-year residence requirement.
- Skilled Worker Visa holders may require sponsorship for ten rather than five years, increasing the overheads of UK businesses with sponsor licences. Companies will need to pay for a Certificate of Sponsorship and the Immigration Skills Charge on visa renewals, as well as incur the additional administrative burden of meeting reporting and recording duties for each sponsored employee.
- Those on UK visas and refugees will have no right to state benefits or other sources of support until they are settled in the UK. This will increase the call for more assistance for refugees and those in the UK with humanitarian protection. It will also raise questions about what will happen if a visa holder is not able to work and cannot return to their home country.
- Many ILR holders decide to sponsor a spouse or unmarried partner on a Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa. If the ILR holder needs to have lived in the UK for ten years or more before being eligible to apply for ILR, this may potentially delay family reunification.
- Skilled workers on Skilled Worker Visas will be restricted to sponsored employment for ten years rather than five. Conversely, this may mean that sponsored workers are less likely to improve their prospects by seeking promotions or career changes due to the need to ensure their job qualifies for the Skilled Worker Visa.
Talk to OTS Solicitors about applying for ILR
If you are subject to UK immigration controls and were planning to apply to settle in the UK, it’s a worrying time as your living, family, financial and career plans were all probably based on securing UK settlement and ILR status within five years.
Our Law Society-accredited ILR Lawyers can help you with:
- Advice on the earliest date you will be eligible to apply for ILR under the current rules.
- Immigration rules legal advice on the calculation of the residence requirement and how to meet the eligibility criteria if you have spent extended time outside the UK for business or family reasons.
- Advice on Spouse Visas and Family Visas for those wanting to sponsor family members.
- Help with applying for accelerated settlement and ILR. For example, if you entered the UK on a Spouse Visa but have had to leave the relationship due to domestic violence.
Although the ILR changes are of significant concern, with OTS Solicitors on your side, you can be assured that our London Immigration Solicitors will assess all your settlement options and provide you with the detailed and specialist immigration legal advice you need at a time of uncertainty and confusion.
Call OTS Solicitors for immigration legal advice on UK settlement and Indefinite Leave to Remain.
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