Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood plans to change settlement rules, doubling the wait to apply for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years for overseas nationals. Mahmood's plans include making refugee status temporary and introducing longer waits for permanent residency. The changes would apply retrospectively to migrants already in the UK, affecting 2.2 million people who have arrived since 2021. According to Daily Mail - Home, Shabana Mahmood described criticism of the retrospective application as 'absolute rubbish', while Labour MP Angela Rayner called the retrospective changes 'un-British' and a 'breach of trust' at a press conference.
Net migration to the UK dropped by two-thirds to 204,000 in the 12 months to June 2025, the lowest annual figure since 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, net migration added 2.6 million people to the UK population between 2021 and 2024, Home Office figures show. Small boat arrivals rose 13% year-on-year to 45,774 in 2025, but are lower than the 2022 peak, multiple reports indicate. The UK's asylum system is under severe strain due to increased global migration and was not designed for asylum seekers traveling through multiple safe countries before crossing the English Channel by boat, the UK government said. The UK's current asylum regime is more permissive than the European mainstream and acts as a pull factor for illegal migration and people-smuggling, the UK government added.
Without changes, there would be a £10bn drain on public finances over five years due to low-skilled migration.
People granted asylum in the UK will have to review their refugee status every 30 months instead of every five years, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said. At each review, anyone from a country declared safe at that time will be expected to return home, according to Mahmood. Any route to settlement on the core protection route will require ten to 20 years of residence, research from four sources indicates. High earners or those on global talent routes could reduce the settlement qualification period from ten years to potentially three, Mahmood stated. People who access benefits could have their settlement qualification period increased, she added, while people on post-Brexit health and social care visas may have to wait 15 years for settlement, according to research.
The changes could lead to as many as 45,000 nurses leaving the UK, health groups warned. The Royal College of Nursing urged ministers to scrap the proposals and introduce more lax rules, including immediate indefinite leave to remain for nursing staff, a spokesperson confirmed.
It's absolute rubbish.
Three children's charities—Coram, Barnardo’s, and the Children’s Society—warn that up to 90,000 vulnerable children could be kept in poverty by the indefinite leave to remain changes. Unaccompanied children will continue to receive five years’ leave to remain for the time being, research from four sources notes.
Traumatised torture survivors warn that forcing refugees to face reviews every 30 months will have a devastating impact, violating humanitarian law, according to members of One Strong Voice. Asylum Matters, a pro-migrant organization, said in a press release that the policy marks a concerning shift for sanctuary in the UK.
Almost 4 million migrants were allowed in against the will of the British people, with half not working.
Labour backbenchers plan to force a Commons vote over the migration changes, with over 100 MPs writing to Keir Starmer to rethink the plans, multiple reports indicate. Around 40 Labour MPs have raised concerns about the retrospective impact of the settlement proposals, research from four sources shows.
Downing Street has refused to commit to Mahmood's immigration reforms, saying they are 'considering responses' to a consultation, the prime minister's official spokesperson said. Ministers are working behind the scenes with backbenchers to secure more exemptions to Mahmood's immigration changes, such as for public sector workers or those already in the UK, according to multiple reports from 12 sources.
Small boat arrivals are 'breeding fear' and fuelling the rise of the far-right.
Changes to UK visa and settlement rules are expected to take effect from April 2026, research from four sources indicates. The reforms will apply to new asylum claims, with transitional provisions for existing claims, according to research. The proposed changes would not apply to people who have already obtained settlement, research notes, though different sources disagree on whether the reforms affect migrants already in the UK, creating confusion about the scope and impact on current residents.
Channel crossings in 2025 have reached 30,100, a 37% increase from the same point in 2024 and 2023, according to Home Office figures and PA news agency analysis. This is the earliest point in a calendar year that the 30,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018, research from four sources shows. The home secretary plans to move asylum seekers from hotels into military barracks, according to research. Shabana Mahmood stated in an official statement that small boat arrivals are 'breeding fear' and fuelling the rise of the far-right.
The retrospective changes are 'un-British' and a 'breach of trust'.
Polling shows Mahmood's proposals are popular with the public, with 50% support according to More In Common polling. According to Daily Express - Politics, Reform's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf described previous migration policies by saying 'almost 4 million migrants were allowed in against the will of the British people, with half not working.'
Mahmood's migration reforms are expected to deliver just £600 million in savings, about 6% of the £10 billion she claimed, according to government data from the Migration Advisory Committee. Mahmood argued in an official statement that 'without changes, there would be a £10 billion drain on public finances over five years due to low-skilled migration.'
The announcement is 'callous' and 'out of step with the realities of fleeing war or persecution'.
The Home Office forecasts around 1.6 million people could settle between 2026 and 2030, research from four sources indicates. The government plans to reform the asylum system to have a stronger deterrent effect and speed up removals of those with no legal right to be here, the UK government said.
Hillsborough Law campaigners accuse Mahmood of being personally behind delays to the legislation, citing her opposition to an amendment about security services, according to the campaigners. Gunes Kalkan, head of campaigns at Safe Passage International, said in a press release that the announcement is 'callous' and 'out of step with the realities of fleeing war or persecution.'
Key implementation details remain unclear, including the exact number of exemptions being negotiated for public sector workers or those already in the UK. It is also unknown whether the government will commit to Mahmood's reforms or modify them based on the consultation responses. The specific criteria for declaring a country 'safe' during the 30-month refugee status reviews have not been disclosed, and the legal basis for increasing the settlement qualification period for people who access benefits is uncertain. How the reforms will impact the UK's ability to recruit and retain healthcare workers given the potential nurse exodus is another unresolved question.