A fairer pathway to settlement
The Home Secretary's statement setting out significant reforms to the UK’s legal migration model.
Madam Deputy Speaker, with your permission I will make a statement on a fairer pathway to settlement for migrants.
The story of migration in this country is woven through my own.
My father came here in the early 70s, my mother a little less than a decade later.
Both came to seek a better life, and they found one here.
In time, while always proud Kashmiris, they became British citizens themselves, Brummies too.
And they brought up 4 children just as proud to be a part of this country, and that great city, as them.
This is not just my story.
This is the story of many of my constituents in Birmingham Ladywood.
And it is the story of many millions more across this country.
I, and so many others like me, are patriots.
Mine is a love of a country that is forever changing while something essential about us always endures.
It is a patriotism that finds room for those who trace their roots back many generations.
And those who, like me, do not. But I worry that this broad patriotism is, for some, narrowing.
And that a vision of a Greater Britain is giving way to that of a Littler England, as anger turns to hate.
Some will choose to scorn this analysis. They would rather we simply wished it away.
But those who look like me do not have that luxury. Our lives – and the lives of our families – are more dangerous in a country that turns inwards.
So, we have no choice but to ask: what is the cause of our division? And how might this country be united?
As I said earlier this week, the pace and scale of migration in this country has been destabilising.
I spoke on Monday of the 400,000 who have claimed asylum since 2021. But that figure pales in comparison to the net migration figure in the same period. In that time, 2.6 million more people moved to Britain than left.
To place that in perspective, around one in every 30 people in this country arrived in those 4 years.
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This was most notable in the case of the health and care visa, where minimum salary requirements were dropped.
An attempt to fill between 6,000 and 40,000 jobs led to the arrival of 616,000 individuals between 2022 and 2024.
Over half were not even filling jobs in the sector at all, but were rather dependants of those who were.
And abuse, as any Member of Parliament can tell you, was rife.
I would think my support for migration need not be stated.
But after some of the questions I faced on Monday, I think I had better do so.
Migrant communities have, for generations, been woven into the tapestry of British life.
While I will never believe in assimilating communities, we have achieved cohesion, because different communities have integrated – retaining their distinction within a single, pluralistic whole.
This makes demands of those already here, to remain open to new arrivals. But, more than that, it demands something of those arriving.
To settle in this country forever is not a right, but a privilege. And it must be earned.
Today, that is not the case. Settlement – or indefinite leave to remain – comes almost automatically, after 5 years’ residence in this country.
At that point, a migrant gains access to many of the rights of a British citizen, including to benefits.
As a result of the unprecedented levels of migration in recent years, 1.6 million are now forecast to settle between 2026 and 2030, with a peak of 450,000 in 2028, around 4 times higher than the recent average.
That will now change.
As this government announced in its immigration white paper, the starting point for settlement will move from 5 years to 10.
To ensure this is earned, new criteria will be added – which will act as a disqualifying bar for those who do not meet them.
Firstly, the applicant must have a clean criminal record.
Secondly, they must speak English to A-Level standard.
Thirdly, they must have made sustained National Insurance contributions.
And finally, they must have no debt in this country.
While these criteria set the bar that everyone must meet, there are a series of other tests that have today been published for consultation.
And these either add, or subtract, from the 10-year qualifying period.
To recognise the particular value to society they play, the government proposes the following:
Those who speak English to a degree-level standard could qualify for a 9-year path to settlement.
Those paying the higher rate of tax could qualify at 5 years, while those on the top rate could qualify after 3.
The same as those on Global Talent visas.
Those who work in a public service – including doctors, teachers, nurses – would qualify after 5 years.
While those who volunteer, subject to this consultation, could qualify at between 5 and 7 years.
Not subject to consultation, the partners of British citizens will continue to qualify at 5 years, as today.
This is also true of British Nationals Overseas from Hong Kong, who will qualify at 5 years, in honour of our unique responsibilities to them.
All grants under the Windrush and EU Settlement schemes also remain unchanged.
While some will be able to qualify for settlement earlier than 10 years, others will be forced to wait longer.
Once again, these are subject to consultation, but the government proposes that:
Those who have received benefits for less than 12 months would not qualify for settlement until 15 years after arrival. For those who have claimed benefits for more than 12 months, that would rise to 20 years.
To encourage the use of legal routes into this country, those who arrive illegally could see settlement take up to 30 years.
As has already been set out, refugees on core protection will qualify for settlement after 20 years.
Although those who move to a “work and study” visa could earn settlement earlier, and those arriving by a safe and legal route would earn settlement at 10 years.
This consultation is open on some cohorts of special interest. This includes settlement rights for children, members of the armed forces and victims of certain crimes.
As well as considering the responsibilities that are expected of those who seek a permanent life in this country, the consultation also raises the question of the rights that will be provided.
Specifically, it proposes that benefits might not be available to those who have settled status, reserving them, instead, for those who have earned British citizenship.
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Specifically the cohort of lower-qualified workers who entered the country, along with their dependents, through the health and care visa. Some of whom are never expected to be net economic contributors.
It is right that we apply more stringent controls for this group. For that reason, we propose they should wait 15 years before they can earn settlement.
Crucially, for these and every other group mentioned here, we propose these changes apply to everyone in the country today, who has not yet received indefinite leave to remain. Though we are seeking views on whether there should be some transitional arrangements available.
May I make one thing absolutely clear though. We will not change the rules for those with settled status today.
These are people who have been in our country for years, even decades. They have families here, wives, husbands, children. They have worked in our hospitals, taught in our schools and have been contributing to our society for years.
Fairness is the most fundamental of British values. We made a promise when we gave them settlement. And we do not break our promises.
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We won’t change the rules for those with settled status.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as this consultation shows, we also listen to the British public. And I encourage all those interested to make their voices heard.
Today, I have set out what we propose and, perhaps more importantly, why.
I love this country, which opened its arms to my parents, around 50 years ago.
But I am concerned by the division I see now, fuelled by a pace and scale of change that is placing immense pressure on local communities.
For those who believe that migration is part of modern Britain’s story, and should always continue to be, we must prove that it can still work.
That those who come here contribute, play their part and enrich our national life.
While each will always retain something of who they were and where they came from, they become a part of the greatest multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy in the world.
And with that, Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend this statement to the House.
Updates to this page
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Updated to add link to consultation on earned settlement.
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First published.