Keep the existing ILR route for people who arrived before 2021 and are already building towards 10 years' lawful residence. Ensure their past lawful years continue to count and are not discounted under any new "earned settlement" rules.

Many people who arrived before 2021 have already spent years in the UK studying, working and raising families, relying on the 10-year long residence route to plan their futures in good faith. Changing the rules now could wipe out those years for settlement purposes and trap long-term residents in insecurity, repeated renewals and constant fear that they may never be able to settle in the only country they now call home.