Mahmood expected to announce final settlement rules for legal migrants next week
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce her final decision on immigration rules for legal migrants next week, the BBC reported. The rules concern permanent settlement, also called indefinite leave to remain. That status gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK indefinitely, and to apply for benefits if eligible.
Mahmood, who leads the Home Office, the government department responsible for immigration, has proposed lengthening the wait for settlement from five years to 10 years. Some lower-paid migrants would face a 15-year wait. Under the proposal as first put forward, most other workers would have to live and work in the UK for 10 years before becoming eligible.
The 10-year wait could be reduced if migrants contribute to local communities or have higher incomes. Social care workers already in the UK are now likely to be exempt from the longer wait, according to the BBC.
The change has drawn criticism from within the government. Mahmood faced opposition from colleagues over proposing new settlement rules for migrant workers already in the UK. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner described the proposals as "un-British", arguing that they would change rules for people who came to the country in good faith.
Burnham was asked on 26 October whether he agreed with Mahmood's plan to extend the time needed to secure indefinite leave to remain to 15 years from five. He said he agreed with the principle of migration reform, according to Reuters.
The government's consultation on the settlement reforms drew 200,000 responses. The Home Office will not comment on the final decisions until they are presented to Parliament in the coming week.
For context, a government speech published in November 2025, titled "A fairer pathway to settlement", said settlement comes almost automatically after five years' residence in the country. The government's later consultation on "earned settlement" said it would no longer be granted automatically after a fixed period.
