United Kingdom: Work Visas

Welcome to our 2025 employment and immigration winter newsletter. This year has been anything but quiet and employment lawyers and HR professionals have been kept busy on several fronts, with key developments both in the UK and internationally.

In this episode of The Inside Track, partner Grace Shie and counsel James Perrott break down the United Kingdom's right to work regime by which employers verify the work authorization or immigration permission...

In May 2025, the UK Government published an Immigration White Paper setting out proposed changes to the immigration system, including an intention to increase the qualifying residence period for settlement (also known as indefinite leave to remain or ILR) from five to 10 years. The White Paper also introduced the concept of "earned settlement", whereby migrants could reduce the 10-year qualifying period by meeting additional criteria in relation to their contributions to and integration into UK society.