Indians living and working in the UK will have to wait longer for permanent residency, going by new rules announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Media reports say the majority of Indians who arrived in the UK from 2021 onwards will have to wait 10 years (instead of five) to get Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Doctors and nurses can still get it in five years but care givers, who make up the bulk of newly arrived Indians, will have to wait 15 years (adding five + 10).
Illegal migrants and over-stayers will have to wait 30 years, and refugees who arrived legally will have to wait 20 years.
There are significant exceptions, according to other reports. Those earning a salary of more than 125,000 pounds, or who are on Innovator Founder and Global Talent visas, will be able to fast-track their permanent residency status in three years and there will be discounts for those who volunteer in their communities.
Some things are non-negotiable: all migrants need to have a clean record, meaning no criminal past, must speak good English, have no debt to the state and need to have worked to earn settlement.
Ramesh Mehta who represents an organisation working for Indian origin doctors and nurses, said “This is a very unfortunate way to treat talented people coming from India and this is a retrograde step for the UK. There may be an exodus of Indian care workers now.”
Sandeep Shetty who came to the UK from Bengaluru in 2022, and works for an advanced tech company, said “Skilled workers in general face limited career mobility because the visa ties them to the sponsoring employer and switching roles can be difficult. It is only when they get ILR that they can change jobs.”
In his view, the UK should focus more on illegal migrants entering the country and staying on rather than skilled people who are in the country legally.
