UK immigration crackdown – Migrants to wait 10 years for settled status

Immigrants to the United Kingdom will have to live in the country for 10 years before qualifying for settled status under new rules announced by the Home Office on Tuesday, 13 May 2025.

These revisions to the United Kingdom’s immigration policy are outlined in the government’s Immigration White Paper, which encompasses sweeping reforms aimed at significantly reducing immigration to the country.

Among the many changes to immigration rules announced in the white paper, the government plans to double the standard qualifying period for settlement to 10 years. Currently, immigrants to the United Kingdom qualifying for settled status, or the “right to remain”, after five years of living in the country.

The new rules planned by the government will increase this requirement to 10 years and also expand the points-based migration system to apply to settlement and citizenship rules. New English language requirements will also be implemented for main applicants and their dependants, and applicants’ improvements in their English ability will also be assessed over time.

Further details on how the point-based system will apply to settlement and citizenship qualification will be outlined to Parliament by the end of the year, the government said.

Other major reforms laid out in the Immigration White Paper include the raising of the Skilled Worker threshold to RQF 6 (Graduate level) and the abolition of the immigration salary list.

The government also plans to end the overseas recruitment of social care workers, closing all social care visas to new applications as a workforce strategy is developed and rolled out during a transition period.

UK risks becoming an “island of strangers” – PM

In a public statement announcing the government’s Immigration White Paper, Keir Starmer lambasted the previous Conservative government’s failure at controlling immigration, calling its policy a “one-nation experiment in open borders conducted on a country that voted for control”.

“The experiment is over. We will deliver what you have asked for – time and again – and we will take back control of our borders,” he said.

Starmer said the existing immigration system seems almost designed to permit abuse and discourage investment in young British workers, stressing the importance of fairness and following rules that promote national unity.

“In a diverse nation like ours, and I celebrate that, these rules become even more important. Without them, we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together,” Starmer said.

Following his speech, Starmer has faced opposition from several MPs within his party who believe the government has shifted too far to the right in both its rhetoric and policy reforms.

“Migrants are being scapegoated for problems they did not cause,” said Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East.

“To be truthful, these arbitrary measures will not fix those problems, but they will harm migrants, people who need social care, our economy and anyone who fears racial abuse, which the rhetoric surrounding this issue emboldens.”

“Why are we trying to ape Reform, when that will do nothing to improve our constituents’ lives and will just stoke more division?” she said.

The announcement of these major immigration policy changes comes after a dramatic shift towards Reform in the April 2025 local elections, with the party taking votes away from both Conservative and Labour as it grew its vote share substantially.