Overview
- Reports from Sunday said ministers were helping Labour backbenchers seek exemptions to Shabana Mahmood’s migration package, with a focus on blocking any retrospective application.
- The consultation proposes doubling the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years, with possible five‑year routes for higher earners and some public‑sector roles, while many medium‑skilled workers could face much longer waits.
- About 100 Labour MPs signed a letter warning the settlement plan would move the goalposts for long‑standing residents, and rebels are preparing a rarely used procedure to force a symbolic vote.
- Downing Street and the Home Office say the policy is still under consultation, and officials are reviewing about 200,000 responses as they consider whether to apply changes to people in the UK who have not yet secured settled status.
- Separate asylum rules already took effect in late March for new claims, shifting refugee status to 30‑month periods, while a Commons committee has warned the settlement overhaul could push care workers into poverty or out of the sector.