In a sweeping announcement at the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool on September 30, 2025, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled a bold overhaul of the United Kingdom’s immigration policy—one that promises to reshape the path to permanent residency for hundreds of thousands of migrants. The changes, which double the waiting period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and impose new eligibility tests, have sparked a heated national debate about fairness, integration, and the very meaning of belonging in Britain.
Indefinite Leave to Remain, or ILR, is a coveted status for non-citizens, granting them the right to live and work in the UK without time limits. For many, it’s the final hurdle before naturalisation as a British citizen. Until now, most migrants could apply for ILR after five years of lawful residence, provided they passed requirements such as stable employment, an English language test, and the “Life in the UK” exam. But under the new Labour proposals, that qualifying period will stretch to a decade—a move Mahmood says is about restoring public confidence and ensuring that only those who truly contribute to society can stay for good.
“I will be proposing a series of new tests such as being in work, making National Insurance contributions, not taking a penny in benefits, learning English to a high standard, having no criminal record, and finally, that you have truly given back to your community, such as by volunteering your time to a local cause,” Mahmood declared to party delegates, as reported by The Conversation and PoliticsHome. “Without meeting those conditions, I do not believe your ability to stay in this country should be automatic.”
The government plans to consult soon on these changes, which, crucially, are not expected to be applied retroactively. Still, the impact will be far-reaching, especially for new arrivals and those planning to settle in the years ahead. According to PoliticsHome, between 2021 and 2024, a net 2.6 million people entered the UK—a figure Mahmood cited as evidence of a system under strain. “Far too many have been able to enter this country and disappear into the black economy. A rank betrayal of the Tories’ old promise that they would take back control,” she said, vowing to crack down on illegal working that “undercuts British workers.”
Mahmood’s approach is designed to outflank the populist rhetoric of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which has called for abolishing ILR altogether and requiring migrants to reapply for visas every five years. While Labour distances itself from what it describes as Reform’s “racist scapegoating,” it is nonetheless adopting a far more restrictive stance—one that critics say risks dividing society into “the fully entitled and the permanently probationary.”
Under the new rules, migrants will face a battery of requirements: continuous employment, regular National Insurance contributions, a high standard of English, a clean criminal record, and a demonstrated commitment to community service. The bar for “giving back” is set higher than ever, with volunteering now a formal expectation. For many, this means juggling work, family, and community obligations for a full decade before gaining a sense of security in their adopted home.
Advocates for migrants warn that the changes will prolong insecurity for families, leaving parents and children in limbo—unable to plan for the future, buy homes, or invest in education. According to The Conversation, doubling the qualifying period “prolongs insecurity, leaving parents and children unable to plan their futures with confidence, from buying a home to pursuing education. It risks entrenching precariousness across generations.”
There are practical concerns, too. What exactly counts as a “high standard” of English, and who gets to decide? Does working double shifts in a hospital carry as much weight as volunteering at a local charity? Those with disabilities, caring responsibilities, or insecure jobs may find it especially hard to meet every requirement, potentially waiting even longer—or being excluded from settlement altogether.
The UK’s immigration system is already notorious for its complexity and high error rates. In asylum cases between 2019 and 2022, 54% of appeals were upheld by the tribunal, according to The Conversation, highlighting the system’s propensity for mistakes. “Adding vague and subjective tests of ‘contribution’ will only multiply these problems,” the publication warned, suggesting the reforms could lead to more confusion, costly appeals, and injustice.
For migrants, the stakes are high. Non-UK nationals make up 16% of the health and social care workforce and more than a quarter of NHS doctors, as reported by The Conversation. During the pandemic, migrants were disproportionately represented in frontline “essential jobs” that kept the country running. The proposed changes, critics argue, ignore these contributions and risk creating a tiered model of membership: citizens at the top, long-term migrants below, required to continually prove their worth.
Mahmood, for her part, insists the reforms are about fairness and restoring trust. “The truth is, across this country, people feel like things are spinning out of control,” she told the conference. “When they hear of widespread illegal working, undercutting British workers' wages, they feel the system is rigged.” She acknowledged, however, the risk of stoking division, warning against a slide from patriotism into ethnonationalism: “Patriotism, a force for good, is turning into something smaller, something more like ethnonationalism that struggles to accept that someone who looks like me and has a faith like mine can truly be English or British.”
Her remarks came amid rising tensions over migration, with more than 100 organisations—including the PCS union—sending an open letter to the home secretary urging an end to the “scapegoating” of migrants. “Targeting refugees will do nothing to tackle these structural issues or improve people’s lives. It only serves as a dangerous smokescreen to scapegoat the most vulnerable and distract from the very real dangers to our society,” the letter stated, as cited by PoliticsHome.
The policy shift is expected to have a particular impact on Indian nationals, who currently represent the largest group of skilled workers and students arriving in the UK, according to The Conversation. Many use the visa routes most affected by the new requirements, meaning they’ll now face a much longer and more uncertain road to settlement.
Labour’s reforms, then, are a high-wire act—an attempt to reassure anxious voters without veering into outright exclusion. But as critics and supporters alike acknowledge, the new rules will test not only migrants’ commitment to Britain, but also Britain’s commitment to the ideals of fairness, inclusion, and shared belonging. The coming months will reveal whether these changes foster cohesion—or deepen the very divisions they seek to address.
