UK reveals migrant settlement overhaul after months of debate

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood will on Monday set out reforms to how migrants can settle in Britain, in a bid to balance voter demands for lower immigration with business warnings that tough rules could deter workers who the country still needs.

The reforms are the government's latest attempt to toughen the rules after the number of arrivals surged following Britain's departure from the European Union, with post-Brexit immigration policies leading to an influx of healthcare workers and students from around the world.

Despite dropping in the opinion polls since the governing Labour Party elected Andy Burnham as prime minister, Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party has been a major factor in driving the push for stricter migration controls.

Under current rules, most migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years in Britain, enabling them to claim some welfare benefits. Mahmood proposed replacing that with an "earned settlement" system, making 10 years the standard route to permanent residency and requiring some lower-paid workers, including care workers, to wait up to 15 years.

Speaking before Mahmood's announcement later on Monday, junior business minister Chris McDonald said immigration levels had become unsustainable under the previous government that was led by the Conservatives.

"The plan around immigration is about controlling borders, but it's also about ensuring that we invest in the young people in our country, so that they can get these jobs, so we don't have to bring people in from overseas too," he told Sky News.

MIGRATION FALLING, QUESTIONS REMAIN

The government argues the changes are needed because around 350,000 lower-skilled workers and their dependants who arrived after Brexit are expected to become eligible for settlement in the coming years.

Net migration in Britain fell sharply last year, with official figures showing it almost halved to 171,000 from 331,000 a year earlier, extending a steep decline from a record 944,000 in 2023.

Burnham last week backed the principle that settlement should be "a right to be earned" but the prime minister has also routinely praised foreign care workers after his late father was given support in a care home.

Owners of UK care homes, unions and some Labour lawmakers have said the care system will struggle to operate if international workers are deterred from moving to Britain.

Media reports have suggested Mahmood could soften some elements of the original proposals, potentially exempting care workers already in Britain or offering them a quicker route to settlement.

A cross-party parliamentary committee last year warned that the government did not have a full understanding of how skilled worker visas were affecting different sectors of the economy.