UK Settlement Grants Rise to Highest Level Since 2010
Home Office data show a rush to secure permanent status before proposed rules would lengthen the settlement wait to 10 years.
- The United Kingdom saw a record 315,224 citizenship applications in the year through June 2026, while settlement grants rose 24 per cent to 199,628, the highest level since 2010.
- Migrants appear to be rushing to secure status ahead of reforms proposed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood that would double the settlement qualification period from five to 10 years.
- Indian nationals remained the largest group granted settlement with 35,384 grants, while Chinese grants quadrupled to 21,300; citizenship application refusals rose 44 per cent.
- Nuni Jorgensen, a researcher at the Migration Observatory, said uncertainty regarding government debates "can encourage migrants to secure their status by applying for citizenship."
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham faces pressure from within the Labour Party to reconsider the reforms, while Conservatives and Reform UK suggest stripping settlement rights from some residents.
13 Articles
13 Articles
UK settlement rules: Indians top ILR and citizenship grants as tighter norms loom
Indian nationals topped UK settlement and citizenship applications last year. Proposed rules will double the residency period required for permanent settlement. Indians and Pakistanis received the most British citizenship grants during this period. Visitor visa and graduate route extensions for Indians saw a decline.
UK Settlement Grants Hit Highest Level Since 2010 as Nearly 200,000 Migrants Race To Beat Britain's Tightening Residency Rules
The number of migrants granted permanent settlement in the UK has reached its highest level since 2010, Home Office figures show, as almost 200,000 people secured their status in the year to June ahead of planned tightening of residency rules. Settlement grants, formally known as indefinite leave to remain, rose to 199,628 in the year ending June 2026, up 24 per cent on the previous year. The rise comes ahead of proposed reforms that would doubl…
Indians top nationalities working, settling in, visiting and getting citizenship in UK, but also top number of ‘voluntary returns’
Other News News: LONDON: Indians top the numbers of foreign nationals resettling in the UK, being granted British citizenship, gaining work visas, applying for study v.
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