‘Treat us fairly’: skilled workers face having their dream of settling in UK snatched away

As government mulls doubling requirement to 10 years, the uncertainty is putting many who came to Britain to work under strain

They 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.