tThey came to the UK to build a better life for their families and to work and contribute to British society. And they came with the promise that, after five years of following the rules, they would have a chance to gain established status.
Now many skilled worker visa holders – some just months away from reaching that milestone – face having it taken away under the government’s plans to retroactively double the base period for qualifying for indefinite leave to remain at 10 years; The plans they say amount to changing the rules of the game while the ball is in play.
These people have faced great personal challenges and hardships just to get this far. Kushani Suraweera left behind a stable life in Sri Lanka to come to the UK and work as an aged care worker in October 2023, taking the first step on the five-year path to settled status in her new home country.
Her children came with her and started school, while her husband stayed behind to care for his relatives, aiming to follow his wife and children when he could. Tragically, he died suddenly after a stroke in September 2024 while in Sri Lanka.
“At the time, our UK visas were up for renewal,” Suraweera said. “Leaving the UK would have risked altering our immigration status and my children’s ability to stay with me.
“As a result, I was unable to travel to attend my husband’s funeral. This was an extremely painful experience for our family, especially my children, who were not able to say goodbye to their father according to our cultural traditions.”
Suraweera said she was left with a “lingering sense of guilt and unresolved grief”, adding: “My husband died alone in the house we had shared. As I moved to the UK to build our future on the path of skilled workers, help came too late.”
She said not being able to return to say goodbye had “left her with a feeling of incompleteness that is difficult to put into words”, adding: “Grieving normally needs presence, ritual and community. Immigration restrictions meant I experienced loss from a distance, while continuing to work and care for my children here.”
Suraweera said she and her husband had planned their family’s future around the promised five-year path and moved to the UK in good faith. But the proposed changes have “created significant uncertainty about our future.”
She said: “The possibility of a much longer period of temporary status creates ongoing instability for families like mine, particularly for children growing up and being educated in the UK.”
Deepa Natarajan and her husband, Vinoth Sekar, are about eight months away from being able to apply for settled status, but their immigration status prevents them from accessing some of the fertility treatments they need. If they are forced to wait several more years, Natarajan fears their chances of ever having a family will go away.
“For us, this is not just a policy change,” Natarajan said. “It directly affects one of the most personal aspects of our lives – our ability to raise a family. After years of living in and contributing to the UK, these uncertainties are already causing significant emotional and personal strain.”
Natarajan and Suraweera are members of the Skill Migrants Alliance, which has indicated it intends to take legal action if the government goes ahead. Labor has stressed that it is still consulting on the plans and that no final decisions have been made.
Following Labour’s defeat to a progressive rival in the Gorton and Denton by-elections, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been urged to curb some of the hardline changes on immigration. But he has vowed to press ahead, with sources dismissing claims that the plans would further alienate Muslim voters as “completely incorrect”.
Natarajan urged ministers to reconsider their situation. “Immigration rules should not put families in a position where they must choose between maintaining legal status and pursuing the opportunity to have children. Behind every policy decision are real families and real lives. We are one of those families and we ask to be treated with fairness and compassion.”
James Theje Gunatilake spoke of the anxiety the proposals have caused. He and his wife spent their savings to move their family from Sri Lanka. “We arrived in the UK without the support of our family and had to rebuild our lives from the beginning.”
Like others, they were told they would have the opportunity to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years. He and his wife have worked legally and become part of a community. And they have raised their children to integrate into British society, they said.
“We are not looking for special treatment. We simply want stability and a fair path forward after the sacrifices we have made to build a legal life in the UK.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This Government makes no apologies for reducing net migration by 70% and tightening rules to restore border control. “We have raised skilled workers’ wages and skills thresholds to degree level and closed loopholes that allowed the immigration system to be misused.
“We are focused on ensuring that people coming to the UK contribute fully and give more than they receive. This Government is putting in place a structured, evidence-based approach that covers skills, migration and the wider labor market.”
