Migrants must work, avoid benefits, and volunteer under new plan

Highlights:

• Migrants seeking UK residency must work, avoid benefits, and volunteer
• Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to outline new plan at Labour conference
• Labour says proposal contrasts with Reform Party’s pledge to abolish permanent residence
• Keir Starmer calls Reform’s migration plan "racist"

MIGRANTS wanting to settle in the UK will need to have a job, not claim benefits, and take part in community work under new plans to be set out by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday.

At present, people with family in the UK who have lived there for five years, or those who have legally stayed in the country for 10 years on any type of visa, can qualify for "indefinite leave to remain" — permanent residence.

Those meeting these requirements gain the right to live, work and study in the UK, apply for benefits, and later apply for British citizenship.

Under the new proposals, Mahmood will say that migrants must also make social security contributions, not claim benefits, have no criminal record, and volunteer in their community in order to remain in the UK.

She will outline the plan at the ruling Labour Party’s annual conference, with a consultation on the changes expected later this year, according to a party press release.

The announcement follows a pledge from the opposition Reform Party, which is leading in current national polls, to abolish "indefinite leave to remain". Reform said it would instead require migrants to reapply for visas every five years.

That plan would affect hundreds of thousands of people who already hold leave to remain status.

"These measures draw a clear dividing line between the Labour government and Reform, whose recent announcement... would force workers, who have been contributing to this country for decades, to leave their homes and families," the Labour Party statement said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday described Reform’s proposal as "racist" and warned it would "tear the country apart".

In her first speech as Home Secretary to the Labour conference, Mahmood will also say that migrants should achieve a high standard of English and that she intends to be a "tough" minister.

Immigration remains a key political issue in the UK. Mahmood will tell party members that if Labour fails to address it, "working people will turn away from us... and seek solace in the false promises" of Reform leader Nigel Farage.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also scheduled to address the conference on Monday. She will "vow to invest in Britain's renewal" and announce plans to boost youth employment, according to a Labour press release.

(With inputs from agencies)