Mahmood to announce immigration settlement reforms

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to set out the government’s final immigration-settlement reforms in the House of Commons on Monday, November 2, after a consultation that drew more than 200,000 responses. Reports before the announcement indicate care workers already in the UK could be spared the longest proposed waits, but the final rules have not yet been confirmed. The reforms concern the period legal migrants must live in Britain before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain, or ILR, which allows a person to settle permanently. Most migrants currently qualify after five years. The government has considered extending the standard period to 10 years, with longer waits for some lower-paid workers and possible shorter routes for people who meet contribution or income criteria. Reports have also described a possible exemption from the longest waits for social care workers already in the country. That possibility remains subject to Mahmood’s announcement. The transitional arrangements determining how any changes would apply to people already working toward settlement have not been finalised, and the government has said its final decisions will be published in good...