Shabana Mahmood unveils benefits ban for certain migrants - and its not just criminals

Migrants' right to settle permanently in the UK will depend on them not claiming benefits, Shabana Mahmood will declare on Monday.

The Home Secretary will use her first speech to the Labour conference to unveil radical plans forcing migrants to prove they contribute to society before being allowed to stay permanently.

Under the proposed reforms, indefinite leave to remain will depend on paying national insurance, supporting oneself without claiming benefits, a clean criminal record, volunteering in the community and speaking English to a high standard. The news emerges as Angela Rayner given standing ovation and hailed 'working-class hero' at Labour conference.

Migrants will have to wait 10 years rather than the current five before being able to claim ILR unless they are making a particularly significant contribution to society, whether financially or through voluntary and charity work.

Points system threatens longer delays

Under a new points system, migrants who fall short in some of the categories could be forced to wait longer than 10 years.

Those who make little or no contribution, would need to rely on benefits, or break the law, face removal from the UK when their existing visa comes up for renewal.

Leave to remain must be earned

Currently, most migrants who come to Britain on time-limited work or family visas can make an application for ILR after five years. Eligibility is primarily based on the length of time spent in the UK rather than economic and social benefits to the country.

It is understood that Mahmood will set out that ILR must "be earned".

A source revealed the stark reality facing migrants under the new system, saying: "Some, based on their contribution or skills, could earn earlier settlement. Others, who have made a lesser contribution, will only earn leave to remain later, or not at all."

Home Secretary demands community contribution

Mahmood will deliver a tough message on Monday about what migrants must do to secure their future in Britain.

"I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country - long-term settlement, indefinite leave to remain - is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities," she will say.

Labour fires back at Reform plans

The proposals are a direct riposte to Reform's plans announced last week by Nigel Farage to strip ILR status from hundreds of thousands of non-EU citizens who already have it and to force them to reapply for visas under stricter criteria, including a higher salary requirement and a better standard of English.

Sir Keir Starmer launched a blistering attack on Sunday, branding Farage's policy as "racist" and warning it would "tear our country apart" as it would lead to the deportation of people lawfully working in hospitals or schools or running businesses.

PM brands Reform policy immoral

The Prime Minister delivered a damning verdict on his political rival's immigration stance.

"I do think that it's a racist policy. I do think it's immoral, it needs to be called out for what it is," he said.

"It is one thing to say we're going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here. I'm up for that. It is a completely different thing to say we are going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them. They are our neighbours."

Reform hits back at Labour

Zia Yusuf, Reform's policy chief, fired back with a scathing response to Labour's position.

"Labour's message to the country is clear: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state forever, or Labour will call you racist," he declared.

Benefit clampdown targets young jobless

Mahmood's plans form part of a broader effort to ensure state handouts are focused on those willing to contribute to society.

In a separate speech, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, will say that young people who turn down a job after 18 months on benefits face being stripped of their state handouts.

Labour adopts Tory-style migration stance

Labour's migration proposals are closer to those of the Tories, who announced in February that migrants would be entitled to ILR after 10 years only if they were "net contributors" to the UK economy by earning more through their work than they cost to the state.

Details of the requirements for ILR will be spelt out in a consultation later this year. They are expected to be "retrospective" in forcing hundreds of thousands of migrants who entered the UK during the so-called "Boriswave" to face waits longer than the five years they had expected for ILR.

Ukrainians and Hong Kongers exempted

Groups such as the Hong Kongers and Ukrainians who fled to the UK on official schemes will be exempt from the new 10-year rule.

Mahmood is understood to be concerned about the potential impact of the "Boriswave", with forecasts suggesting 810,000 foreign nationals will seek ILR by 2040.

Majority of applicants earn below average

Nearly eight in 10 or 627,000 of the 801,000 currently expected to get ILR are earning below or significantly below the UK average salary of £37,430.

Mahmood is thought likely to set the bar low on which criminal offences will merit rejection for ILR. It is unlikely to include motoring offences. There will be a tier leading to outright disqualification and a lower category of offence carrying a "penalty" of years delaying their eligibility for ILR.

Home Secretary defends legal migration

Despite the tough new measures, Mahmood will defend the principle of legal migration to Britain.

"We need legal migration, it is a good thing. We are a country that has always welcomed people who want to come and work here," Mahmood will say.

"But in addition to living and working here, there is a bigger thing to do as well, which is to make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society."