One banker in the City of London is faced with paying an extra £40,000 a year in university fees for his children. Nursing homes are worried about finding enough caretakers for residents. The insurance industry says overseas relocations have now ground to a halt.
Such is life in the UK after the government announced it would now take 10 years for immigrants to receive preferential status known as indefinite leave to remain, or ILR. That’s twice the time it used to take.
“Ten years is a very long time to spend without certainty,” said Louise Haycock, partner at the immigration services firm Fragomen, who has been fielding frequent requests from businesses on the matter. “The UK already has one of the most expensive immigration schemes.”
The government, which is still finalizing the cha…