Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to her oral statement of 2 November 2026 on Immigration: Earned Settlement, what estimate she has made of the relative deterrent effect on immigrants if they are informed in advance that they will be (a) able to stay though denied Indefinite Leave to Remain for thirty years and (b) unable to stay and speedily deported; and whether she has any plans for speedy deportation under such circumstances.

The Government has not made an estimate of the relative deterrent effect described. The purpose of the earned settlement reforms is to ensure that settlement is earned through contribution, integration and compliance, while discouraging the use of dangerous, unsafe and illegal routes to the UK.

Under the new model, the standard qualifying period for refugees who have not come through a safe and legal route will be 20 years, with a further 10 years added for those who entered the UK illegally. Those who work or study will be able to earn settlement earlier. A longer qualifying period for settlement does not, however, confer permission to remain in the UK for that period.

If a person has no lawful basis to remain, they will be expected to leave the country. Where they do not leave voluntarily, the Home Office will take enforcement action and pursue removal as quickly as the law allows.