Do not apply new ILR rules to those who arrived before 2021 on a 10 year route
Keep the existing ILR route for people who arrived before 2021 and are already building towards 10 years' lawful residence. Ensure their past lawful years continue to count and are not discounted under any new "earned settlement" rules.
Signatures
124
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 124/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 124/100,000
- 07 JAN 2026Petition opened for signaturesCreated by Jingran Niu
Background
Many people who arrived before 2021 have already spent years in the UK studying, working and raising families, relying on the 10-year long residence route to plan their futures in good faith. Changing the rules now could wipe out those years for settlement purposes and trap long-term residents in insecurity, repeated renewals and constant fear that they may never be able to settle in the only country they now call home.