Contribute or leave: UK to tighten migrant rules; what we know

The UK government plans to require migrants to be employed, avoid claiming benefits, and engage in community service, Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood will announce on Monday. Currently, individuals with British family members who have lived in the UK for five years, or those residing legally for a decade under any visa, can obtain “indefinite leave to remain,” granting permanent residence with rights to work, study, access benefits, and pursue citizenship. Mahmood’s revised rules will add requirements including social security contributions, no benefit claims, a clear criminal record, and mandatory community volunteering, AFP reported. The proposals will be presented at Labour’s annual conference, followed by a government consultation later in the year.In her first speech to the Labour conference as Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood will say that migrants must demonstrate they contribute to society to qualify for permanent settlement in the UK. Under the proposed reforms, indefinite leave to remain (ILR) would require paying national insurance, supporting oneself without claiming benefits, maintaining a clean criminal record, volunteering in the community, and achieving a high standard of English. Migrants would generally have to wait 10 years—up from the current five—before claiming ILR, unless they make an exceptional contribution to society, either financially or through voluntary or charitable work. A new points-based system could extend the waiting period for those who fall short in some categories. Migrants who make little or no contribution, rely on benefits, or break the law could face removal when their current visa is up for renewal, as reported by Telegraph UK.Currently, most migrants on time-limited work or family visas can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years, with eligibility based largely on time spent in the UK rather than contributions to the economy or society.It is reported that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will stress that ILR must “be earned.” A Telegraph source said: “Some, based on their contribution or skills, could earn earlier settlement. Others, who have made a lesser contribution, will only earn leave to remain later, or not at all”, to which Mahmood will add, “I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country – long-term settlement, indefinite leave to remain – is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities.”The proposals are seen as a direct response to Reform Party leader Nigel Farage’s plan announced last week, which would strip ILR status from hundreds of thousands of non-EU citizens and require them to reapply for visas under stricter criteria, including higher salary thresholds and improved English language standards. In her first Labour conference speech as interior minister, Mahmood will also stress strict English language requirements and warn that failing to address immigration could drive voters to Reform leader Nigel Farage’s “false promises.” Meanwhile, UK PM Keir Starmer condemned Nigel Farage’s policy, calling it “racist” and warning it would “tear our country apart” by targeting people lawfully working in hospitals, schools, or running businesses. “I do think that it’s a racist policy. I do think it’s immoral, it needs to be called out for what it is,” Starmer said. “It is one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here. I’m up for that. It is a completely different thing to say we are going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them. They are our neighbours,” he added.Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will also speak at the conference, focusing on national investment and youth employment initiatives, Labour said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves may focus her speech on young people who refuse a job after 18 months on benefits could lose their state handouts. Labour’s migration proposals are moving closer to the Conservatives’ approach, announced in February, under which migrants would qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after 10 years only if they are “net contributors” to the UK economy—earning more through work than they cost the state. Full details of the ILR requirements will be outlined in a consultation later this year. The rules are expected to be retrospective, potentially forcing hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived during the so-called “Boriswave” to wait longer than the five years they had anticipated before becoming eligible for ILR. Go to Source