Great Britain is going to significantly tighten immigration legislation

According to the new rules, most legal immigrants will have to live in the country for at least ten years before they can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). Irregular migrants and certain categories of refugees will have to wait 20 or even 30 years.

Currently, in most cases, foreigners can apply for ILR after five years of legal residence in Great Britain. This status grants the right to live, work, and study indefinitely in the country, receive various social benefits, and apply for social housing.

The new rules are planned to be introduced in the foreseeable future, but the exact сроки have not yet been determined. The basic waiting period will be ten years, but it can be shortened or extended depending on how useful the immigrant is to the country and how well they have integrated into British society.

Thus, people with an annual income of more than 50 thousand pounds sterling will be able to apply for permanent status after five years of living in the country, as before. Those earning more than 125 thousand pounds a year will get this opportunity after just three years.

On the other hand, the waiting period may be extended to 20 years for those who receive certain types of social assistance or have violated visa rules. The same period is provided for irregular migrants who arrived in Great Britain by boat across the sea but later found work or went to study.

Those who entered the country illegally and are neither working nor studying will have to wait as long as 30 years before being able to apply for ILR.

In addition, applicants for permanent status must not have criminal records or debts to the British state. They must have paid taxes for at least the last three years, passed an English language exam, and also passed the 'Life in the UK' test on British law, history, and culture.

Shabana Mahmood stated in Parliament that the reform would allow the state to save billions of pounds on social payments to immigrants.

British political commentators note that reducing migration is important for the ruling Labour Party not only because of possible budget savings. One of the main reasons is the strengthening of right-wing populists from the Reform UK party, for whom the issue of immigration is one of the key ones.

As BBC political commentator Chris Mason reminds, last year Mahmood stated the need to change migration policy. According to her, from 2021 to 2024, the population of Great Britain increased by 2.6 million people due to migration, predominantly legal. The minister noted that approximately one in thirty residents of the country arrived during this period. Therefore, in her opinion, action must be taken quickly: soon a significant part of new migrants will gain the right to apply for permanent residence.

Mahmood also stated that low-wage migrants who bring non-working family members and children with them could become a significant financial burden for Great Britain. According to her, stricter requirements for this category should be introduced even before people acquire the right to permanent status. Under current rules, they can usually claim social benefits and housing five years after arrival.

Since the main part of such migrants began arriving from 2022, the changes, according to Mahmood, are particularly relevant from 2027.

The proposed measures sparked criticism even among representatives of the Labour Party. In particular, the then Housing Minister Angela Rayner stated that it would be "un-British" to change the conditions for people who came to the country when different rules were in force.

According to official data, migration to Great Britain peaked in 2023, when almost a million people arrived in the country. This was a result of Boris Johnson's conservative government's policy after the country's exit from the European Union. Brexit ended the possibility of free movement to Great Britain for EU citizens, but at the same time, visa rules for residents of other states were simplified.

Now, according to estimates from the Home Office and the Office for National Statistics of Great Britain, net migration to the country is rapidly decreasing. In 2025, it halved compared to 2024 and amounted to 117 thousand people.

The population of Great Britain currently stands at about 70 million people. Since 2004, when the European Union significantly expanded due to Eastern European countries, the number of residents in the country has increased by almost 11 million, mainly due to immigration.

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