Major Overhaul of UK Settlement Rules Announced
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is set to announce a dramatic tightening of the UK's legal migration system today, fundamentally altering the path to permanent settlement for migrants. This follows her controversial announcement on Monday regarding the asylum system and comes amid criticism from the Commons speaker about the level of pre-briefing to the media.
Key Changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain
According to reports from The Times, the central reform will see the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain double from five years to ten years. Furthermore, applicants will be required to meet stringent new conditions. These are expected to include demonstrating proficiency in English to A-level standard, maintaining a clean criminal record, and not having claimed benefits during their stay in the UK.
For asylum seekers, the changes are even more profound. Under the new plans, they could face a potential wait of up to 20 years before being granted permanent settlement. This is because their status would be subject to regular reviews to assess if it is safe for them to return to their country of origin, a process that could extend for two decades.
Internal Labour Party Tensions Surface
While Monday's asylum plans sparked outrage from some Labour MPs, the internal opposition has so far remained limited. However, a significant intervention came this morning from Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester. Often cited as a popular potential successor to Keir Starmer, Burnham expressed serious concerns about the new approach.
Speaking on the Today programme, Burnham was careful to express support for the government's overall aim of root and branch reform of the system. Nevertheless, he stated that leaving people in a state of limbo for 20 years was a mistake. He argued that such a policy could hinder integration and place a significant administrative burden on the Home Office, potentially impacting its ability to deal with the existing asylum backlog.
"I do have a concern about leaving people without the ability to settle," Burnham said, "one of the concerns being that if there’s a need to constantly check up on the status of countries where people have come from, that might limit the ability of the Home Office to deal with the backlog. And it also may leave people in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate."
He urged the government to seek a cross-party consensus on the issue, emphasising the value of a considered national debate. This public critique from a senior Labour figure is unlikely to be welcomed by the Home Secretary as she prepares to detail the plans to the Commons.
Mahmood is scheduled to make her statement to MPs around 11:30 am, setting the stage for a heated political debate on the future of UK immigration policy.
