‘Don’t move the goal posts for people who have built their lives in the UK’: Community leaders take action on government’s proposed changes to Earned Settlement
‘Don’t move the goal posts for people who have built their lives in the UK’: Community leaders take action on government’s proposed changes to Earned Settlement
We all want to feel at home and connected to our community. Hundreds and thousands of people have put down roots in the UK. Their heart and home are here.
However, in November 2025, the Government set out major changes to the process of migrants becoming settled in the UK. This includes:
- Raising the standard qualifying time for settlement from five to 10 years
- Extending the qualifying time for up to 30 years if people access public funds
- Applying changes to all people already on the pathway to settlement
- Potentially expanding the No Recourse to Public Funds condition to all non-citizens.
On Wednesday, 11 March 2026, over 500 people from migrants’ rights charities, including Praxis and Migration Exchange, unions, faith groups, and other organisations came together for a mass lobby outside Parliament, engaging more than 100 MPs from across the political spectrum. Community leaders were able to speak directly to their MPs about their concerns.
When people moved to the UK, the rules were clear. The Government’s proposed changes to Earned Settlement would retrospectively change these rules; the goalposts are moving mid-way through the match. These plans will lock households into years of insecurity, risking hardship for over one million people for whom the UK is home, including 300,000 children.
Citizens UK community leaders up and down the country have been campaigning on these proposals, asking the Government to:
- Rule out retrospective changes affecting people already here.
- Give Parliament extra time to scrutinise the impact.
- Ensure changes do not undermine commitments on child poverty, social cohesion, and stabilising the social care and NHS workforce.
- Work with the sector and communities affected by the changes to build a pathway to settlement that works for all.
Here's what community leaders had to say about the mass lobby:
I came with three people living through our immigration system, and each one left feeling encouraged to be part of a bigger crowd, and what's more, they were heard by our MP.
The solidarity that I witnessed on Wednesday showed me that there's power in collective action.
The atmosphere was very welcoming, and it made me feel both included and integrated among everyone attending.
One week later, on Wednesday 18 March, over 60 community leaders from across the country gathered in Parliament, wearing football shirts, to call for ‘extra time for fair play’. Through powerful testimonies and direct conversations with their MPs, community leaders showed the power of organised communities coming together.
What hurts the most is the retrospective nature of these changes. People followed the rules. They built their lives based on trust. And now the rules are changing halfway through their journey.
Flutra from Shpresa Programme, who supports the UK's Albanian community
Our family has already spent more than £13,000 on visa applications and related costs. Ensuring that the rules do not change retrospectively for people who have already built their lives here would provide reassurance not only to families like mine, but to thousands of vital workers who support sectors such as social care and the NHS.
Prince, a care worker from Berkshire
There is real momentum. But delays in implementing these plans are still in place. Keep going. Sign the petition, led by Organise in partnership with Citizens UK, calling for fairness.
"Stability, belonging and a clear pathway to citizenship are essential to building cohesive communities. Policies that make status more precarious and pathways more distant risk undermining that."
Citizens UK leaders joined British Future in a joint letter to the Guardian, urging the government to pause and rethink proposed changes to settlement and citizenship rules.
Our report, From Rooted to Recognised, published in November 2024, outlines the issues with the UK's settlement and citizenship system. Community leaders across Citizens UK are making the case for change both in their local constituencies and at Westminster.