In a written ministerial statement–made public in the House of Commons recently–the UK’s incumbent immigration minister has reportedly proclaimed that he favors decreasing the pace of the path to settlement for the persons-in-exile. Mark Harper, the minister, has also declared improvements to the manner the nation handles settlement petitions for refugees who have committed crimes, and a fresh authority to limit leave for the pushy or serious criminals.

Though the particulars of the said amendments have not still been made public, it’s allegedly understandable that the nation’s coalition administration is seeking to decrease the figure of refuge seekers who are in a position to file a petition for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the country.

ILR enables you to reside for an indefinite period

The ILR is an immigration condition which is usually meant for the people from outside the European Union (EU); it’s a forerunner to citizenship. Since an individual with the ILR may typically reside in the nation–for an indefinite period–one does not require applying for citizenship, in case he possesses the ILR. However, several persons do the same with the reason being the ILR may be revoked, in case one departs from the country for a lengthy time-frame, and/or indulges in a serious crime.

It’s mandatory that the individuals from outside the EU–not wedded to the British nationals–possess the ILR for one year or 12 months, prior to filing a petition for citizenship even while the individuals from outside the EU–who are wedded to British citizens–ought to gain ILR, prior to submitting a petition for citizenship.

Meanwhile, some critics have claimed that the given policy appears to be duly targeted to have a say to the administration’s planned decrease of the nation’s net yearly immigration number to less than 100,000.