Shabana Mahmood Pushes Hardline UK Residency Shake-Up
Labour’s new Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is preparing to shake up Britain’s immigration rules with a plan that rewards hard work and community spirit.
In her first big speech to the Labour Party conference on Monday, Mahmood will set out a system where migrants must prove they support themselves and give back to society before earning the right to stay for good.
Under the new rules, indefinite leave to remain (ILR) will no longer depend on simply living in the UK for a set period.
Applicants will need to show they pay National Insurance, stay off benefits, keep a clean criminal record, volunteer locally, and speak strong English.
“It is understood that ILR must ‘be earned’,” a senior source revealed. “Some, based on their contribution or skills, could earn an earlier settlement. Others, who have made a lesser contribution, will only earn leave to remain later, or not at all.”
Ten Years to Prove Your Worth
Right now, most migrants can apply for ILR after five years. Mahmood wants to stretch that wait to ten years, unless applicants make exceptional contributions through work or charity.
A new points-based system will also decide who gets to stay sooner and who must wait longer.
Migrants who fail to meet the standards, those claiming benefits, making little effort, or breaking the law, could be refused and removed when their visas expire.
Good to see Home Secretary @ShabanaMahmood say that social – not just economic – contribution of migrants should be taken into account when granting visas/residence @WeAreBrightBlue has recently called for a minimum number of hours of volunteering to be a condition
See:… pic.twitter.com/BaN8PjBCp6
— Ryan Shorthouse (@RyanShorthouse) September 28, 2025
“I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country, long-term settlement, indefinite leave to remain, is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities,” Mahmood will tell delegates.
Labour Draws a Red Line on Migration
Mahmood’s plan is a sharp shift, putting Labour closer to tough Conservative-style migration policies.
It also challenges Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, which last week proposed stripping ILR from hundreds of thousands of non-EU citizens and forcing them to reapply under harsher conditions.
Sir Keir Starmer hit back, calling Farage’s policy “racist” and warning it would “tear our country apart” by targeting lawful workers in schools, hospitals, and businesses.
“I do think that it’s a racist policy. I do think it’s immoral, it needs to be called out for what it is,” the Prime Minister said.
Reform’s policy chief, Zia Yusuf, fired back: “Labour’s message to the country is clear: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state forever, or Labour will call you racist.”
Crackdown on Benefits
Mahmood’s reforms are part of a wider Labour effort to tighten welfare rules. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will also announce that young people who refuse a job after 18 months on benefits risk losing their state support altogether.
Despite the tougher stance, Mahmood insists her plan is not anti-immigrant. “We need legal migration; it is a good thing. We are a country that has always welcomed people who want to come and work here,” she will say.
“But in addition to living and working here, there is a bigger thing to do as well, which is to make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society.”
Who Gets a Free Pass?
Some groups will avoid the new 10-year rule, including refugees from Hong Kong and Ukraine who arrived under official schemes.
But the Home Office expects the changes to affect a huge number of applicants, with forecasts suggesting over 800,000 migrants could seek ILR by 2040.
Most of them, around eight in ten, earn less than the UK average salary of £37,430, raising doubts about how many will qualify under the tougher criteria.
Mahmood is expected to set clear tiers for offences: serious crimes could lead to outright rejection, while lesser offences may delay settlement for several years.
A New Immigration Era
Mahmood’s message is simple but firm: stay if you give back. Her plan signals a new era for UK immigration, where legal migration is welcomed but permanent residency must be earned through hard work, self-reliance, and community contribution.
