ILR Clock Reset under New Rules - Switching from main SWV holder to dependant SWV and vice-versa for current dependant

[crazybear]

Hi,

I know Earned Settlement proposal is only a "proposal" and nothing is final now, but I am looking for your interpretations regarding Switching from Main SWV Holder to Dependant SWV (and vice-versa for my current dependant).

With the new Earned settlement proposal, some of my friends think that the new rules also suggest that previous time on other settlement based routes can count (as long as all the visas you held in the period are eligible for settlement/ILR). At the bottom, you can also see the section of the proposal on which this opinion is based.

Based on the proposal published with the white paper (ie. under the new rules), what are interpretations about the ILR clock resetting or not resetting in the following situation?
- I am currently the main Skilled Worker visa holder and my spouse is my dependant.
- If we were to switch roles, meaning my spouse becomes the main visa holder sponsored by their employer and I become their dependant, ILR clock would normally gets reset under current rules.
- But, under the new rules, do you think this won't be the case anymore? Meaning that ILR clock won't reset in such main holder-dependant switches.

I’m just someone who likes to always have a backup plan, and I’ve always found it annoying that in the current system, the case I mentioned above would reset the ILR clock.

So I was trying to understand whether there might actually be a possibility for ILR clock not resetting under the new rules.

Thanks!

"The tables above set out how the baseline qualifying period may be adjusted upwards or downwards. In order to meet the qualifying period requirement, the applicant will, as now, need to have spent the required period of time in the UK in a route, or routes, that leads to settlement. The Immigration Rules will specify which routes lead to settlement and which do not, and it is not intended that the position as to which routes fall into each category will change (Figure 1 above sets out those routes which currently lead to settlement)."

[secret.simon]

It is a known unknown. We do not know what the new rules will be. They will likely (not certainly) be published 28 days before they come into force, and that latter date is expected to be in April 2026. So hopefully we will know more about the changes by mid-March.

Note that these are the announced proposals of the government, but
(a) they are not yet law,
(b) there is no specific legal text that we can refer to yet and
(c) there is a lot of opposition to these proposals within the governing Labour Party.

There is a reasonable chance that nobody on these forums (or frankly even in government) can answer your questions with any level of certainty on these proposals.

We on these forums know as little as others about what will eventually happen on these proposals. All I would say is that it would be foolish to expect certainty in such uncertain times.