politics
UK Home Secretary Proposes Ten-Year Residency Rule for Post-2021 Migrants amid 1.6 Million Arrivals
Shabana Mahmood announced plans to double the qualifying period for permanent settled status. The measure targets 1.6 million migrants who arrived since 2021. More than 100 Labour MPs have signed a letter opposing the change.
Jul 15, 4:19 AM·1m read1 source
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to double the qualifying period for permanent settled status from five years to ten years. The proposed changes would apply to migrants who arrived in the UK since 2021 and follow Denmark's model, GB News reported. More than 100 Labour MPs, including former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, signed a letter opposing the plans.
Rayner described the proposals as un-British. Incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham criticised similar plans last year, stating they would leave migrants in a sense of limbo and unable to integrate. Reform UK estimates that granting indefinite leave to remain to the 1.6 million migrants would cost each British household £1,100.
The group puts the total lifetime cost to the taxpayer at £30 billion. Holding indefinite leave to remain removes time limits on staying, living, working or studying in the UK and allows access to public funds. A total of 1.6 million foreign workers entered Britain between 2021 and 2024 under visa reforms introduced by Boris Johnson, referred to as the Boriswave.
Johnson told GB News that immigration reached its lowest level in 40 years during the first year of his premiership.
