Frequently Asked Questions

To sign the petition, download the official petition and signature sheet, print it, complete your full name, full postal address and signature, then scan or photograph the completed sheet and email it to fairsettlementiom@gmail.com by Friday 12 June.

Original signed sheets should then be posted to Fair Settlement Isle of Man, 11 Balleigh Park, Ramsey, IM8 3NL.

More than one person may sign on the same signature sheet, provided each person completes the required information.

IMPORTANT: The prayer must appear on every page on which signatures appear. Pages with only signatures can't be accepted. In the case of more than 10 signatures being submitted, please make copies of the original petition signature sheet. 

The petition calls on the Isle of Man Government and Tynwald to put clear transitional protections in place for people who moved to the Island under a published five-year route to settlement and who are already living and working here.

The petition does not ask the Isle of Man to block all future immigration reform or permanently operate a different settlement system from the UK.

Instead, it asks that any changes to settlement rules take account of people who have already made life-changing decisions based on the rules that existed when they moved to the Island.

These terms are often used interchangeably, but they are not necessarily identical.

Grandfathering is the strongest form of protection. It means that people already on an existing route continue under the rules that applied when they entered that route. For example, someone who moved to the Isle of Man under a five-year route to settlement would still be able to complete that five-year route.

Transitional protection is a broader term. It refers to measures put in place to protect people who are already affected by a policy change. Grandfathering is one form of transitional protection, but there may be others.

The precise form of any protection would ultimately be a matter for Government and Tynwald to determine.

No. The campaign recognises that the Isle of Man operates within the Common Travel Area and that alignment with the UK is often considered important in immigration and settlement matters.

The key question is not whether immigration rules can ever change. The key question is how those changes are implemented and whether appropriate protections are provided for a small, identifiable group of existing residents who moved to the Island under different published rules.

The concern is that people already part-way through a settlement route may have made major decisions based on the rules that existed at the time they moved to the Isle of Man.

These decisions may have included relocating families, selling homes, leaving jobs, investing savings, purchasing property, enrolling children in school, or building businesses and careers on the Island. For many, changing the rules partway through their route will mean they can no longer remain.

The petition argues that there is a difference between changing the rules for future arrivals and changing the rules for people who have already committed years of their lives to the Island under a different set of expectations.

No. The petition does not ask the Isle of Man to block future immigration reform. It asks that any changes are implemented in a way that provides fair and clearly defined transitional protections for people who are already living and working on the Island under existing settlement routes.

No. Anyone who supports clear and meaningful transitional protections for existing residents may sign the petition.

The issue affects more than the individuals on settlement routes. It also affects employers, public services, families and the wider community.

Many supporters may not be directly affected themselves but believe that people who moved to the Isle of Man under a published five-year route should be treated fairly if the rules change.

Employers across the Isle of Man continue to face recruitment and retention challenges. Many businesses and public services rely on workers who are currently progressing towards settlement.

Community and employer survey findings highlighted concerns around workforce stability if settlement pathways are significantly extended without transitional arrangements.

Retaining experienced workers already living and working on the Island is often easier and less costly than replacing them.

This is not simply an immigration issue. It is also a workforce, economic and community issue. The people affected include healthcare workers, carers, teachers, hospitality workers, finance professionals, technology specialists and skilled tradespeople who contribute to the Island every day.

Changes that affect workforce stability can have wider implications for employers, services and communities.

The petition is being submitted through Tynwald's formal public petition process. In order for the petition to be presented and debated at the final sitting of this administration in July 2026, it must be submitted by 16 June 2026. After the General Election, a new administration will be formed and priorities may change.

This is therefore an important opportunity for the issue to be formally considered by Tynwald.

This is a requirement of Tynwald's formal public petition process. Signatories are required to provide their name, address and signature so that signatures can be verified as genuine. This requirement applies to all public petitions submitted to Tynwald. Details of how personal information is handled are explained on the petition form itself in accordance with Tynwald's published guidance.

Tynwald rules require petitioners to provide their full address. Names are published online, but addresses and signatures are redacted from the online version. However, the unredacted petition is held by the Clerk of Tynwald and can be inspected by the public. 

The petition is not an immigration application, appeal or legal challenge. It is a democratic process that allows members of the public to ask Tynwald to consider a matter of public policy. Anyone who supports the principle of clear and meaningful transitional protections for existing residents is entitled to sign.

The Change.org petition has helped demonstrate public support and raise awareness of the issue. However, signatures on Change.org do not automatically count towards Tynwald's formal public petition process. People who wish to support the formal petition should complete the official petition form.

Government Ministers have acknowledged the concerns being raised by residents and employers and have referred publicly to possible transitional provisions and future engagement with the UK. However, no specific transitional arrangements have yet been announced, and there is currently no clarity on what protections might look like, who they would apply to, or whether they would provide meaningful protection for people already on settlement routes.

That is why the campaign continues.

Yes. There is no minimum age for petitioners under Tynwald's public petition process. However, where a signatory is under 18, it must be noted on the signature page as additional care may be taken in relation to the handling of their personal data. 

Yes. Unlike the community survey, which was focused on gathering data to understand the implications of the earned settlement rules on the Isle of Man, the petition can be signed by every individual in the same household. This is about every voice being heard. 

The UK Government has announced that it will move to a new “earned settlement” system which, for most people, will double the standard route to settlement from five years to 10 years. That decision has already been taken at UK level. The current consultation, which ends on 12 February, is mainly about how this new model will work in practice – for example, how long people must meet earnings thresholds, which groups might face even longer routes, and what, if any, transitional protections should apply to people who are already on a path to settlement but do not yet have ILR. The danger for the Isle of Man is that, if this is copied here without safeguards, people who moved on a clear five-year route could find that route suddenly stretched to 10–15 years or more. For many,  it may not be possible to stay.

The Command Paper explicitly raises the issue of transitional arrangements, noting that without them the changes would affect people already on a pathway who have not yet obtained ILR when the relevant rules come into force, and it asks whether transitional arrangements should apply to those already in the system. 

No. The UK’s “earned settlement” proposals apply to the UK immigration system, not automatically to the Isle of Man. The Island has its own immigration rules and its own route to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).

However, because of the Common Travel Area and the way the system has developed over time, the Isle of Man is often under pressure to follow UK immigration reforms quite closely, sometimes with a delay or small local differences. A leading Isle of Man immigration lawyer has already suggested publicly that, in their view, the Island is likely to be expected to move in the same direction as the UK on settlement – including the risk of retrospective application for people already here.

At the moment there is no clear public position from the Isle of Man Government on how it plans to respond. This uncertainty is exactly why Fair Settlement Isle of Man is asking for a clear, non-retrospective commitment for people who moved here on the published five-year route.

No. The CTA already allows local variation across the Crown Dependencies. The small, defined group of residents we are talking about poses no realistic risk to CTA integrity. The legal framework under Schedule 4 of the Immigration Act 1971 allows for non-identical implementation without weakening the CTA. 

Because the Island already faces shortages across healthcare, social care, education, trades, hospitality and engineering. Losing even a small number of workers will create immediate strain on services everyone relies on. 

No. Teachers, nurses, carers and other essential workers are included in the UK proposals. Some roles may qualify for limited reductions, but this does not replace the new ten-year baseline or remove the risk of retrospective impact on people already here.

Fair Settlement Isle of Man is for:

• people directly affected by potential changes

• Manx-born and long-settled residents who care about fairness and services

• employers who depend on staff stability

• anyone who believes that fair rules build a fair future for the Island. 

We want Tynwald to:

• secure a clear exemption from any retrospective extension of settlement timelines for people already on the five-year route

• put transitional protections into law or policy guidance

• work with the UK to ensure this approach is recognised as CTA-compatible. 

No. We are asking that any new rules are not applied retrospectively to people who are already here on the five-year pathway they were promised. 

No. Fair Settlement Isle of Man is not opposing all immigration control or any discussion about access to public funds.

The campaign is focused on one clear principle:

• people who came here on a published five-year route, and planned their lives around it, should not have that route doubled part-way through.

Our proposal to government is that it looks at alternative tools – such as staged access to certain benefits – that are more targeted and proportionate than doubling settlement timelines for people who have followed the rules in good faith.

Recruitment is already extremely challenging. Replacement is more costly and less reliable than retaining skilled workers who are established, integrated and experienced in local systems. 

You may be affected if:

• you moved to the Isle of Man from 2021 onwards on a time-limited visa (for example as a Worker Migrant or Skilled Worker), and

• you do not yet have Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), and

• your route to settlement is currently based on an expected five-year qualifying period.

If you already hold ILR or citizenship, the proposals do not change your status. If you are unsure which route you are on, you may wish to speak to an immigration adviser for specific guidance.

Yes, dependants are part of the picture.

If settlement timelines are extended for the main visa holder, this usually means:

• spouses and partners remain on dependant visas for longer

• children may spend many more years with temporary status

• young people approaching 18 may face particular risks if their parent has not yet qualified for ILR.

For many families, plans around schooling, university, employment and long-term residence are built around an expected five-year timeline. Extending that to 10–15 years can create serious uncertainty at key life stages.

Yes. Under the UK proposals, people in higher-paid, graduate-level jobs are more likely to benefit from shorter routes to settlement, while many lower-paid roles are pushed onto 15-year pathways with little or no realistic way to speed that up. That includes many care, hospitality, retail, cleaning, food production and manual roles – exactly the workers who keep day-to-day life on the Island running.

These families are often the least able to afford extra years of visa fees and the most likely to be forced to leave if timelines are doubled. Fair Settlement Isle of Man is clear that any non-retrospective protection must cover all current residents on the five-year route, not just those in high-salary or degree-level jobs.

You are not directly affected in terms of your own status if you already hold ILR or British/Irish citizenship.

However, you may still be affected indirectly because:

• friends, colleagues, employees or family members without ILR could face much longer routes

• key services you rely on (health, care, education, hospitality, trades) could lose staff

• the Island’s overall ability to attract and retain workers may be weakened.
  
  

Fair Settlement Isle of Man specifically invites Manx-born residents, ILR holders and citizens to support the call for a non-retrospective approach because the wider community also has a stake in stability and fairness.

The Command Paper lists UK ancestry as one of the work routes that currently leads to settlement after 5 years and describes it as a “legacy unsponsored work route”. It then proposes a new earned-settlement system where:

• the default qualifying period for settlement increases from 5 to 10 years for almost all routes, and

• a longer 15-year route is considered only for some Skilled Worker roles below RQF level 6, not for unsponsored routes like ancestry.

The paper does not create a specific exemption for UK ancestry and it does not ask a separate consultation question about keeping ancestry on a 5-year route. Instead, ancestry appears to be folded into the general “work” category that would move to the new 10-year baseline.

The Command Paper summarises “Family life (partner, parent)” as a route to settlement that currently ranges from 5–10 years, and it defines family routes as being for family members of people who are British, settled, EU pre-settled (EUSS), or have refugee/humanitarian protection status. It also states that settlement will be quicker for people with a “uniquely strong attachment”, explicitly including spouses and dependants of British citizens (and BN(O)s), and says this point is not subject to consultation.

Separately, the Command Paper asks whether dependant partners and children should be required to “earn settlement in their own right”, indicating that the settlement position of dependants is a live question within the proposals. 

Fair Settlement Isle of Man will:

• analyse anonymised survey responses to understand who is affected and how

• incorporate the findings and anonymised case studies into a formal submission to the Isle of Man Government and Tynwald

• use the evidence in briefings with MHKs, employers and other stakeholders

• keep supporters updated on key milestones through email, social media and community meetings.

Your individual answers will not be shared publicly with your name attached unless you have explicitly given permission for your story to be used in that way.

• Check out our Resources page for the UK Command Paper, which is currently under consultation. The deadline for objections is 12 February.

• Read the expert blog post by UK immigration attorney Vanessa Ganguin for a simplified explanation of the retrospective application of the new rules.