The recent UK immigration white paper proposes extending the period for foreign workers to apply for permanent settlement from five to ten years. This change may impact 1.5 million foreign workers who arrived since 2020, raising concerns among Labour MPs about uncertainty in their immigration status. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper indicated that consultations will occur regarding the application of these new rules to recent arrivals. The proposal also reflects a stricter immigration stance, with Labour leadership under Keir Starmer facing criticism over the rhetoric around migration.
If ministers do decide to apply the changes to arrivals from 2020, this would make government policy in the area more robust even than that sought by the Conservatives, who have suggested dating it to 2021.
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, will consult stakeholders on whether the Home Office will apply the changes to all migrants who have arrived in the UK in the past five years, according to government sources.
A number of Labour MPs and others have expressed concern at some of the measures in the white paper and the language used by Keir Starmer to introduce it.
She said: One even told me that they were so worried that they were considering leaving the UK, because their settled status here is in jeopardy.
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