Migrants legally residing in the United Kingdom may be required to wait up to two decades before becoming eligible for permanent settlement, according to new government proposals.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has outlined plans to lengthen the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five years to ten years. This change would affect approximately 1.6 million individuals who have arrived since 2021.

Under the proposed measures, migrants who have claimed state benefits for less than twelve months would need to wait fifteen years before applying for settled status. Those who have received benefits for more than a year could face a twenty-year wait. The Home Secretary emphasized that joining the UK as a permanent resident is “not a right but a privilege – and one that must be earned.”

The proposals also introduce changes for those admitted on post-Brexit health and social care visas, increasing their qualifying period for settlement to fifteen years. The same penalties regarding benefit claims would apply, potentially extending their pathway to settled status even further.