In a major legal victory, nearly 10,000 Indian and other non-European Union professionals will be able to claim compensation for hardship caused by the 2006 changes to immigration rules that were struck down by the HighCourt here.

The court on Monday evening ruled that the changes to the rules, extending the number of years required for indefinite stay in the UK from four to five years under which they originally entered Britain, were unfair. It is the second time in a year that the retrospective changes to the programme for the “brightest and best” migrants, including Indians doctors and other professionals, have been declared unfair by the court.

In a strongly-worded ruling, the court said the five-year rule imposed by the Home Office on people already in the country was unlawful.

The judgment directs the government to honour its original commitments made to participants of Highly Skilled Migrant Programme, which is no longer in operation. The ruling paves the way for the Indian and other non-EU professionals who entered the UK under the programme to claim relief for inconvenience.