Rejected petition Keep existing skilled worker visa holders’ 5 year route to settlement

We ask that Home Office confirms in writing to retain the existing five-year route to settlement for all Skilled Worker visa holders, and commit to no further extensions of the qualifying period.

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Extending the settlement route obliterates economic stability—businesses, academia, and NHS depend on a guaranteed five-year path to retain talent. In 2006, shifting from 4 to 5 years to ILR for HSMP holders caused critical controversy and was deemed illegal by the High Court. Skilled workers bought homes, invested, paid taxes, and built communities under the five-year promise; changing this now breaks trust, burdens employers and families, inflates costs, and tarnishes the UK’s global standing.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:

Keep the 5-Year ILR pathway for existing Skilled Worker visa holders
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/727360

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 14 May 2025
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