New rules making migrants wait longer to qualify for permanent settlement in the UK will apply to people already in the country, under government plans.
On Monday the government announced immigrants would now typically have to live in the UK for 10 years before applying for the right to stay here indefinitely - double the current five-year period.
It was previously unclear whether this would apply to the approximately 1.5 million foreign workers who have moved to the UK since 2020.
The BBC understands a document published in the coming weeks will make clear the government is preparing to apply the 10-year qualifying period to those who are already in the UK as well as to new visa applicants.
'Betrayal'
Isa, who came to the UK three years ago with his wife, said the change felt like "fraud" and "a betrayal".
"We had other options as well – we came here with the promise of settlement status here," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"We need to stay two more years under current rules [to be eligible for permanent settlement].
"This was our plan for life here. And now everything has changed.
"I'm now thinking about moving to the US. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love living here. I was feeling welcome when I came here at first and it's the first moment that I feel like I'm completely unwelcome."
Both Isa and his wife work for a tech company, with his wife on a skilled worker visa, while he came to the UK as her dependent.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c249ndrrd7vo.amp