UK Parliament home

Closed Reduce the ILR qualifying period from 5 years to 3 years for legal immigrants

Closed on

We urge the Government to reduce the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from 5 years to 3 years for legally residing immigrants who are working, paying taxes, and have no criminal record.

We believe that reducing the qualifying period for ILR from 5 years to 3 years for law-abiding, tax-paying immigrants would benefit both individuals and the UK. We believe this change would recognise their contributions, promote faster social integration, and provide stability for families.

We also believe it could address any labour shortages by encouraging skilled workers to stay in the UK, creating a more inclusive system that strengthens the economy and rewards good conduct.

47,087 signatures

Show on a map

100,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Related activity

    Reforms to the settlement system: Share your views with the Government

    The Government has recently launched a public consultation on reforming the current settlement system.

    Settlement refers to a person’s right to live in the UK permanently without any immigration restrictions. It is also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

    Respond to the consultation by 11.59pm on 12 February 2026.

    The consultation includes questions on the Government's proposed Earned Settlement framework.

    More information

    The consultation is being run by the Home Office. The Home Office is the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and police.

    Your UK Parliament newsletter

    Sign up to a regular newsletter on the work of Parliament and how to get involved.

  • Petition closed

  • Government responded to this petition

    People can settle in the UK after a period of temporary permission. These periods may vary in specific instances; we keep policies under review but see no case to reduce the current five-year period.

    Read the response in full

    Settlement in the UK is a privilege, not an automatic entitlement. It conveys significant benefits, including the right to live permanently in the UK, access to work, study, and public funds, and provides a pathway to British citizenship. Unless there are truly exceptional reasons, or a route provides for immediate settlement, the expectation is that applicants should serve a probationary period of temporary permission before being eligible to apply for it.

    The UK immigration system already provides for people to settle in different circumstances, with different qualifying periods required to reach settlement. Most routes to settlement require someone to have been in the UK for at least 5 years before they qualify for settlement. There are also longer pathways to settlement (typically 10 years) where people have, for example, failed to meet the core requirements of routes that lead to settlement. In these circumstances, we require people to serve a longer probationary period before being able to apply for settlement, to ensure that they have made a commitment to the UK and to help them to integrate into their local communities.

    We do regularly review all our policies and, where there is evidence to justify a change, we will do so. However, we do not believe there is any basis at present to reduce the qualifying periods for settlement in the UK.

    Home Office

  • Government will respond to this petition

    This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 23 July 2025.