The UK's settlement path just got longer. The rules can shift again without Parliament's say.

If you're in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, here's what actually changed this month and what it means for your timeline.

From April 8, salary compliance is assessed per pay period rather than annually. Under the old rules, your annual salary had to meet the threshold. Under the new rules, each payslip has to. If you're on any structure that creates uneven monthly income, commission, variable pay, irregular hours, your sponsor needs to audit payroll before April 8. This isn't a grace period. UKVI can identify non-compliance faster now and the burden is on the employer.

The bigger picture is harder. The UK government's settlement reform consultation closed in February. The proposals could extend the path to indefinite leave to remain from five years to ten or more for some categories. The final rules haven't been published. But changes start in April.

What's already law: refugee protection now runs for 30 months at a time instead of five years, then gets reviewed again. The visa brake is now a permanent feature of immigration rules, with no parliamentary threshold required to activate it for any nationality.

The practical advice for right now: know your visa category, know your expiry date, verify your employer's payroll is compliant, and stop assuming the rules you arrived under are the rules you'll finish under. Because the track record for the past three years says they won't be.

The rules keep moving. That's not bureaucratic drift. That's the policy.