New proposals on settled status in UK leave Indians dismayed

TOI Correspondent from London: New lengths of times that foreign nationals have to wait before they can get settled status, or permanent residency, on which the home secretary is holding public consultation, have been widely criticised by the Indian diaspora.Shabana Mahmood has announced that the majority of foreign nationals in the UK, who arrived 2021 onwards, will have to wait 10 years to get ILR (indefinite leave to remain) instead of the current five years. Doctors and nurses can still get ILR in five years, but care workers, of which the majority are Indian, who arrived between 2022 and 2024, will have to wait 15 years. Illegal migrants and visa overstayers will have to wait up to 30 years and refugees who arrived legally will have a 20-year wait.Those earning an annual salary of at least £125,140, or who are on Innovator Founder and Global Talent visas, will be able to get ILR fast-tracked in three years and there will be discounts for anyone who volunteers in their communities. Benefit claimants will see their length of time increased. All migrants will need to have a clean criminal record, speak good English, have no debt to the state, and need to have worked to earn settlement.Ramesh Mehta, president of BAPIO, which represents 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 is trained in agentic AI, is on a skilled worker visa after being recruited directly from Bengaluru. He arrived in 2022 and works for an advanced tech company. He may now have to wait 10 years to get an ILR.“When I came here, there was a clear path for ILR in five years which made the UK an attractive option. My wife and I thought we would apply in 1.5 years. If we have to uproot, it disrupts our children’s education. Skilled workers in general face limited career mobility because the visa ties them to a sponsoring employer, and switching roles can be difficult. It is only once they get ILR they can change jobs. Nothing is being done to improve the NHS and or schools. The skilled worker visa should not be the priority of policy makers. They should focus on illegal migration.”Pratik Dattani, founder of Bridge India, said: “These changes dramatically change incentives for coming to and staying in Britain.”Amit Tiwari, president of the Indian National Students Association (INSA) UK, said: “Current students in the UK are already anxious about how these changes will impact their future, while many prospective students are reconsidering their plans and seeking guidance from us."