Written evidence submitted by The Law Society (RTS5775)

1.       The Law Society is the independent professional body for solicitors in England and Wales. We are run by our members, and our role is to be the voice of solicitors, to drive excellence in the profession and to safeguard access to justice and the rule of law.

2.       As this call was issued before the Home Secretary announced the detail of the routes to settlement reforms on 20 November 2025 and published the Government’s consultation, our response focuses on the broad questions about the potential impacts of the planned changes. We are currently consulting our members on the Home Secretary’s proposals and will provide a fuller response to the public consultation.

What is the likely impact of longer routes to settlement on businesses and employers, including international recruitment of higher-skilled workers?

3.       The likely impact of extending routes to settlement and requiring specific conditions be met by migrants and their dependants is to make the UK a less attractive destination for those seeking to migrate for work, whose skills may be competitively sought around the world, and make it more difficult for UK businesses and employers to attract talent.

4.       The proposed changes could damage the UK’s reputation as a destination of choice for skilled professionals around the world. Businesses and employers risk losing specific talent, which could be particularly felt in certain regions outside of London, by smaller businesses and in particular sectors, where salaries are lower.

5.       Extending the route to settlement from five years to ten years or beyond will make the UK largely an outlier. As evidenced by the table below – compiled by Vialto Partners by surveying lawyers across its global offices – countries typically grant permanent residency after five years.

6.       A route to settlement exceeding five years could thereby make the UK a less attractive destination for skilled workers who, unless coming on a short-term basis, would anticipate a quicker path to settlement. This gives other jurisdictions like Saudi Arabia a competitive advantage when attracting global talent looking to make a long term, settled commitment to a new country.

7.       A member of the Law Society currently on a route to settlement has highlighted the real-life implications. Extending the route could tie skilled workers to their employer and position for ten years or more, increasing dependencies, heightening exploitation risks, heightening rigidity in the UK labour market and curtailing growth.

8.       In addition, raising the minimum requirements for dependents to qualify for settlement will affect the decision-making of migrant households as they consider whether to move to the UK. A skilled worker with a family will inevitably consider the impacts of a move on their partner and/or children’s livelihoods, security and futures.

9.       Even where businesses and employers can attract the necessary talent, the costs of taking a skilled worker through a potential ten-year route to settlement may be off-putting and, for some smaller businesses, prohibitive. The cost of sponsoring an employee for an additional five years at the current rates, in addition to tax considerations, would typically be a minimum of over £12,000. This contribution is made up of:

• a Certificate of Sponsorship fee of £525
• Immigration Skills Charges totalling £6,600
• application fees (which are paid by many employers) of £1519 per application, and
• Immigration Health Surcharges totalling £5175 per adult applicant.

10.   Our members also raise the non-financial costs to businesses and employers as concerns. These include the additional period of sponsorship responsibility and the increased enforcement measures being taken by the Home Office, as well as potentially having to produce and comply with sector jobs plans in future to continue sponsoring people.

11.   At present, for RQF 3-5 roles to remain on the temporary shortage list and available for sponsorship, the relevant sector must develop jobs plans to maximise the use of and train the domestic workforce; the Immigration White Paper says this may also be required in future to sponsor RQF 6 roles.

12.   Longer routes to settlement, “earned settlement” and stricter requirements could be indirectly discriminatory, for example if fewer female skilled workers are sponsored as a result of these reforms or no allowance is made for maternity leave and part-time working necessitated by caring responsibilities.

What is the likely impact of longer routes and stricter requirements for settlement on migrant households already in the UK? This could include: (1) the financial and economic impact, including access to benefits; and (2) the personal and social impact.

13.   If longer routes and stricter requirements for settlement are applied to migrant households already in the UK, fundamental principles of fairness and expectation will be undermined. To apply the reforms to those who arrived from at least 2021, as the Government proposes, would treat them as though the policies were applicable then.

14.   As an important principle of the rule of law, laws are not to be applied retrospectively unless there is a strong justification. Where fundamental rights are at issue, the presumption against retrospectivity should be taken even more seriously. Clear, fair and stable rules and processes give people peace of mind and provide a level playing field.

15.   Migrant households will have structured their journeys, their lives (professionally, financially and socially) and their future plans based on the rules in placed when they applied for their visas and migrated to the UK.

16.   Longer routes will in many circumstances also have a detrimental impact on the aspirations of children who wish to continue their studies in the UK and access higher education at the same time as their peers. This has an impact on the development of talent in the UK and could mean that promising future lawyers do not qualify in England and Wales.

17.   It will also impact the timing for which migrant households may qualify for British citizenship, which will be an important consideration for the movement of global talent.

18.   Our members are clear that there is a strong risk that if any changes are applied to migrant households already in the UK, these people will feel unfairly penalised and will likely seek to legally challenge the Home Office.

19.   Having budgeted their costs based on the rules applicable at the time of their arrival, a significant impact of subjecting migrants already present in the UK to a longer route to settlement will be the added costs. While some employers will pay application fees, in other instances the worker bears these costs.

20.   For these workers, doubling the ILR qualifying period from five to ten years will entail two added lots of immigration fees and Immigration Health Surcharges, which for a family could mean tens of thousands of pounds of added costs.

21.   Since the Immigration White Paper was announced in May 2025, the lack of transparency as to whether the reforms will apply to those already here has caused and continues to cause alarm, confusion and considerable anxiety amongst migrants in the UK on a route to settlement. This is particularly true for those nearing key milestones such as ILR or naturalisation.

22.   Our members have been unable to advise clients on the potential implications and the steps they should take. Members recount receiving daily enquiries from clients seeking some clarification and understanding in order to continue planning for their

futures. These clients feel unwelcome and unappreciated. If the changes are applied to those already in the UK, there is a risk some of these migrant households will leave the UK for countries offering more certainty and a more standard length to settlement.

23.   To illustrate the concerns, in October a member of the Law Society reached out to the Law Society’s President to put on record their concerns as an English-law qualified solicitor in the UK on a work visa. As a lawyer qualified in a foreign jurisdiction who completed the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), they noted how the SQE, coupled with recognition of certain foreign qualifications and work experience, had enabled international lawyers to qualify as solicitors of England and Wales.

24.   This member stressed that any application of the reforms to those already here would breach the legitimate expectations of those migrants who had invested considerable effort and personal funds to relocate to the UK based on a set of existing immigration rules. The perception would arise that the goalpost could be moved repeatedly in the coming years by the UK Government, undermining trust and faith in the rule of law.

25.   While it is our position that such policy changes should not be applied retrospectively, if they are to be retrospective there should be transitional provisions for those already here on a pathway to settlement, including those who have been granted refugee leave.

Dec 2025