The UK government has announced that most migrants will have to wait 10 years before they can apply to settle permanently, double the five years that has been the usual route.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out the new "earned settlement" system on 2 November. "Settled status is one of the most valuable rights this country can offer," she said. "From today, it must be earned. Those who contribute most will settle fastest."
Under the rules published by the Home Office, the highest earners can settle after three years. People earning over £50,271, and some public service workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers, can settle after five. Care workers who met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year also keep a five-year route.
Everyone else faces a 10-year default. People who broke immigration rules will wait at least 20 years, and those who arrived by small boat or other clandestine means up to 30.
All applicants must also have a clean criminal record, English at A-level standard, no debt to the taxpayer and a record of National Insurance contributions. The Home Office says anyone who already has settled status will keep it, and that some people who arrived in the same period can apply for a new five-year visa and then settle.
The announcement matters to the large number of Nigerians who have moved to the UK in recent years to work and study. The Home Office did not give a date for when the rules take effect.