Britain announces proposal to overhaul its migration policy

The UK government tabled its proposal in Parliament on Thursday to double the period international migrants, including Indians, would be expected to wait before applying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) under a new “earned settlement” model.

- Press Trust of India

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told the House of Commons that settling in the UK was “nota right buta privilege”, as she confirmed the current five-year automatic ILR route will be doubled for the majority of applicants.

Under the changes, low-paid workers will be subject to a 15-year wait for ILR and migrants accessing taxpayer-funded benefits would have to wait for as long as 20 years to be able to access settled status. At the other end of the spectrum, skilled professionals employed in frontline sectors such as the National Health Service (NHS) and higher-earning entrepreneurs will have access to a fast-tracked route to ILR, after five years or less. “To settle in this country forever is nota right, but a privilege, and it must be earned,” Mahmood told MPs.

Mahmood, who described her family who migrated to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s as “proud Kashmiris”, said the changes are designed for a “fairer pathway” to settlement ina country where the pace and scale of migration have “not just been unprecedented but also destabilising”.