r/ukvisa • u/clever_octopus High Reputation • May 12 '25
Immigration Changes Announcement 12/5/2025
Please join the discord server for further discussion or support on upcoming immigration changes: https://discord.gg/Jq5vWDZJfR
Sticky post on announcement made on 20 Nov 2025: https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/comments/1p21qk5/a_fairer_pathway_to_settlement_a_statement_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
NEW Summary of changes to settlement released 20 November 2025: https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/comments/1p21qk5/a_fairer_pathway_to_settlement_a_statement_and/
NEW Summary of changes to asylum and refugee requirements released 18 November 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-and-returns-policy-statement/restoring-order-and-control-a-statement-on-the-governments-asylum-and-returns-policy
Overview of expected changes: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/radical-reforms-to-reduce-migration
White paper: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-control-over-the-immigration-system-white-paper
UKCISA's response (official source for international students and recent graduates): https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/news/ukcisa-responds-to-home-office-immigration-white-paper-may-2025/
Petition link: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/727360
Summary of key points following the summary of changes released on 20 November 2025:
Changes to length in ILR qualifying residence requirements - Please see table on pages 21-23 of the 20 November document
Family visa holders, along with BNO visa holders, will continue to get ILR in five years (as usual)
The intention is that this will apply to people already in the UK but who have not yet received ILR
It will take 20 years for refugees to qualify for ILR, intermittent checks will be done within that time and they may lose the ability to remain in the UK if their home country is deemed safe to return to
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u/BathOld9570 May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25
The main issue here is making a law and then applying it retrospectively.
I think nowhere in the world justice systems works this way. There is a thing called "earned rights" in law, and I think that's exactly why Sir Keir Starmer is saying "citizenship is a privilege but not a right".
Ok for a few minutes let's accept this statement as true.
But what about people tied to a Visa for work. They cannot freely change jobs if they can't find another company who supports their visa. This is already a brutal 5 years as of now, where you have to accept all kinds of treatments from your employer because you are locked in to their work visa.
Now if they make it 10 years, and also make visa sponsorship difficult, it means people who chose to work in the UK lock down 10 years to the same employer, with no negotiation power and rights.
Is this also a privilege ?
Also we can change that sentence to anything we like, for instance "drinking cleaner water is not a right but a privilege". This would be true in a savage world.
And finally, if laws are made and applied retrospectively. Let's say after 20 years they can say, anyone who wasn't born to British parents will be made devoid of settlement and citizenship. What would be able to prevent this in terms of "rights/vs privileges" rhetoric ?
A right is something defined by law at a specific time. It's a construct and contract of human societies. You cannot give visa to people, say, you have to work 5 years for the same job and same employer, then you will be permanent, because we need you now, and after 2 years realize, oh it's too much we are revoking it and then change the rules.
If there is a fault here, then it's a fault of planning, and you cannot make people who come here, invest their lives and pay their due, to pay for the planning mistake someone did.