Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what engagement she has had with the Further Education sector in Scotland on the proposals in the Immigration White Paper to increase the standard qualifying period for permanent residence from five to ten years.

The reforms in the Immigration White Paper, including the proposed increase in the standard qualifying period for settlement, were agreed across Government at a Home and Economic Affairs Committee the previous Home Secretary attended prior to publication on 12 May 2025.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year. All will be welcome to participate. We will provide details of how the scheme will work after that consultation.