Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) route are subject to delays, including the processing times and backlogs of UK Visas and Immigration; and, with reference to her Department's document entitled Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published on 12 May 2025, whether proposed changes to settlement rules will apply to existing ECAA applicants.

The volume of applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the ECAA route has increased significantly over the last twelve months; with applications received currently 65% above forecasted intake.

Applications are routinely accompanied by exceptionally large volumes of supporting evidence which must be reviewed and considered to ensure lawful and robust outcomes are reached.

To address the delays currently being experienced additional resource has been assigned to this area and the Home Office expect to see increasing output and quicker turnarounds throughout the second half of 2026 as that takes effect.

A public consultation on proposed changes to settlement rules ran for 12 weeks, from 20 November 2025 until 12 February 2026, to gather views on proposed changes. The Home Office are now reviewing and analysing all responses received, which will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement. Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic impact assessments and equality impact assessments.