The home secretary has said that long-term settlement in the UK is a “privilege, not a right”, as she announced plans to overhaul the legal migration system.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday, Shabana Mahmood set out details to end automatic indefinite leave to remain status after five years.
It comes just days after the home secretary announced reforms to the asylum system.
The plan for “earned” settlement and a doubling of the wait time before being eligible for long-term status was first announced under the government’s immigration white paper in May, and is aimed at reducing the number of people coming to the UK.
The move comes as it is estimated that 1.6 million people will settle in the UK between 2026 and 2030, Mahmood said, with a peak of 450,000 in 2028.
Under the changes, migrants will be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK after 10 years, instead of five years currently.
Conditions for settlement include having a clean criminal record, speaking English to A-level standard, having no debt to the state and having made sustained national insurance contributions.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to overhaul the legal migration system
But the government launched a consultation on Thursday, running until February, on a range of conditions that would make migrants have a shorter or longer wait time for settled status.
Proposals, which will be subject to a 12-week consultation, mean migrants who are on benefits could face a 20-year wait for settlement, while skilled workers and higher earners may be fast-tracked.
Currently, migrants who arrive on skilled worker visas and through family and humanitarian routes can apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.
But those who contribute economically to the UK may soon be able to settle after three years, with doctors and nurses in the NHS able to settle after five.
Migrants could also only be eligible for benefits and social housing once they become British citizens, rather than once they are settled.
Those arriving in the country illegally could have to wait up to 30 years for long-term residency in the UK.
Announcing the plan, Mahmood said: “To settle in this country forever is not a right but a privilege, and it must be earned.
“Today, that is not the case.”
Those who already have settled status will not be affected by the changes.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he supported much of Mahmood’s statement, but accused the government of “copying and pasting” Conservative policies.
He said: “The idea of a ten-year route to (indefinite leave to remain) is something that we proposed in amendments to the Government’s Bill, I think, around about nine months ago.
“The Labour Party inexplicably voted against those measures and now they’ve adopted them.
“I am delighted to see the Home Secretary has got out the copy-and-paste function on her laptop and started copying and pasting Conservative policies.”
He also warned that transitional arrangements could create loopholes and reiterated calls for a cap on migration numbers.
Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of Refugee Council, said: “These proposals risk trapping people who have fled war and persecution in three decades of instability and stress at the very moment they need certainty to rebuild their lives.
“We see every day in our frontline services how stability, and being able to live safely with family, helps people recover from trauma and begin to rebuild. It’s what enables refugees to settle, learn English, find work and contribute fully to their new communities.
“But long waits for settlement and repeated reviews will only add very expensive bureaucracy and keep people in limbo.
“If the government truly wants a system built on contribution and integration, it must give refugees the stability they need and want to become proud Britons.”
The changes are expected to be rolled out from next April.
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