As government mulls doubling requirement to 10 years, the uncertainty is putting many who came to Britain to work under strain
T
hey came to the UK to build better lives for their families and to work and contribute to British society. And they came with the promise that, after five years of playing by the rules, they would have the chance to get settled status.
Now, many on the skilled worker visa – some of them only months from reaching that milestone – face having it snatched away from them under government plans to retroactively double the baseline period qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain to 10 years; plans they say amount to changing the rules of the game while the ball is in play.
Such people have faced great challenges and personal hardships just to get this far. Kushani Suraweera left behind a stable life in Sri Lanka to come to the UK and work as a senior care worker in October 2023 – taking the first step on the five-year pathway to settled status in her new home country.
