Engineering sector urged to contribute to Home Affairs Committee submission on skills shortages

18th November 2025, Oxfordshire: The engineering sector is being urged to contribute to a Home Affairs Committee inquiry submission on the potential impact of planned new UK settlement law to existing and future skilled shortages.

Immigration law firm, Migrate UK is calling on those working throughout the engineering sector – civil, mechanical, electrical and electronic engineers - to contribute to a specially created survey as part of its collective client submission to the Home Affairs Committee’s newly opened inquiry. The committee is tasked with evaluating the impact of the Government’s planned major changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) eligibility, along with associated evidence.

The Government is planning to change the ILR eligibility period from five years to ten, perhaps even for those who are already on a five-year path to being settled. The new Parliamentary inquiry will scrutinise the Government’s proposals to extend its standard qualifying ILR period along with the planned introduction of a new ‘earned settlement’ route based on contributions to the UK economy and society.

With an expected one million shortage in engineering roles anticipated by 2030, a quarter of current job adverts linked to engineering jobs and a forecasted annual shortage 59,000 new engineers in the green sector alone, Oliver O’Sullivan, Director of Immigration, Migrate UK comments: “We already know from our engineering clients including those working in the automotive, energy and bio tech sectors, that the industry is suffering from vast skills shortages, especially with 20% older workers expected to retire in the next five years.”

“We want our collective submission to provide powerful, real-world evidence to the Committee on how the Government’s planned ILR changes will impact those working in the engineering sector and will encourage even more overseas engineers to leave the UK. We’re calling on those throughout the sector as well as the various engineering trade associations, to share their experiences and evidence to us via our brief nine-question survey and also submit their own testimonials.”

While the Home Affairs Committee inquiry will not form part of the Government’s consultation on the planned changes to ILR, the independent committee represents MPs of all parties and is responsible for examining the work of the Home Office and any associated bodies.

For more information on how to contribute to the Migrate UK survey visit. The deadline for contributions to Migrate UK’s collective submission is Tuesday 2 December 2025.

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Editors notes

About Migrate UK http://www.migrate-uk.com/ Migrate UK’s Talking Immigration podcast - https://migrate-uk.com/podcast/

Migrate UK is a specialist legal firm dedicated solely to delivering bespoke immigration solutions for organisations and individuals.

It is regulated by The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), an independent public body set up under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 which is responsible for ensuring that all immigration advisers fulfil the requirements of good practice. The company was founded in 2004 by Jonathan Beech, Managing Director, who has an outstanding track record of 20 years working and consulting in UK immigration, including working for the Home Office, Ernst & Young and KPMG.

The firm has its headquarters in Abingdon, Oxford and set up a second office in China in August 2015. The company includes a team of three legal professionals all with extensive knowledge of UK immigration legislation, procedures and solutions. Clients range from multinational energy corporations and IT consulting giants to SMEs, highly skilled migrants, entrepreneurs and investors, to students and family members looking to settle in the UK. Since 2011, Migrate UK has also run a Homestay programme, headed by highly qualified Modern Foreign Languages teacher, Angélique Parmentier. Homestay is an educational programme for young adults and children wanting to share cultural experiences, learn more about Britain and improve their languages skills.