The revised proposals abandon a previous plan to impose a 15-year wait for indefinite leave to remain on lower-paid workers, including qualifying care staff earning at least £25,000 who arrived before May 2025. Standard workers such as chefs, architects, and engineers will generally face a 10-year settlement requirement unless they qualify for accelerated tracks. Meanwhile, refugees arriving via small boats and relying on public funds will face a minimum 30-year wait for permanent settlement. These ongoing curbs have prompted warnings from critics like Labour MP Diane Abbott, who cautioned the measures risk a Windrush-style scandal.
Key points
Most standard professionals who fail to meet higher salary thresholds must now navigate a…: Most standard professionals who fail to meet higher salary thresholds must now navigate a 10-year route to permanent residency.
Migrants arriving on small boats who depend on public funds will confront an extended 30-…: Migrants arriving on small boats who depend on public funds will confront an extended 30-year wait for indefinite leave to remain.
The revised immigration rules continue to face sharp political scrutiny from both the Con…: The revised immigration rules continue to face sharp political scrutiny from both the Conservative opposition and internal Labour critics.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Shabana Mahmood has watered down some of last year’s immigration plans after a backlash from enraged backbench Labour MPs and some of her cabinet colleagues.
What was the government proposing to do before Monday? Under Keir Starmer, the home secretary had been tasked with driving down net migration, and had drawn up proposals to tighten up the criteria under which people can apply to remain indefinitely in the UK.
She had proposed forcing many low-paid workers including care workers to wait 15 years before being able to apply to live permanently in the UK, despite the fact that when they came to the UK they had expected to wait five years. The new norm for most workers will be a 10-year wait.
How did these proposals change on Monday? Mahmood scrapped plans for lower-paid workers to wait for 15 years. She went further, and said that if care workers earned at least £25,000 and had arrived in the UK before May 2025, they would be eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years.
The lethal assault on a humanitarian aid distribution hub follows the expiration of a short-lived local ceasefire brokered to evacuate civilians from an occupied city. Ukrainian leadership warned that the renewed violence severely undermines diplomatic momentum ahead of upcoming bilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi. Compounding the ground conflict, both nations simultaneously faced suspected cyberattacks targeting their public emergency alert infrastructure.
The unexpected cross-party backing occurred less than two days before voters head to the polls, fracturing party unity in Michigan's crucial Senate contest. Party leaders and progressive allies quickly condemned the decision, arguing it undermines working-class interests and disregards the opponent's controversial record. The move also intensifies scrutiny over the congresswoman's shifting stances regarding the Republican candidate's alignment with Donald Trump.
The runoff victory secures a five-year term for the incumbent, keeping the head of state closely aligned with the Moscow-friendly Progressive Bulgaria parliamentary majority. Observers have raised concerns that this institutional consolidation could erode the balance of power across the country's governing bodies. While committed to the nation's European path, the leadership favors normalizing ties with Russia and lifting wartime sanctions.