Shabana Mahmood, the UK's Home Secretary, is facing accusations of delaying significant immigration reforms that she announced nearly a year ago. Critics contend that her failure to act has allowed approximately 1,100 individuals daily to be granted the right to remain in Britain, with access to benefits and housing.
Last November, Mahmood outlined measures to tighten immigration laws, including doubling the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to ten years. The proposed reforms also stipulated longer waiting periods for those who commit crimes, pay less tax, or claim benefits, with illegal migrants facing a 30-year wait for settled status. These changes were intended to apply retrospectively to migrants who arrived in the UK since 2021.
The promised crackdown has been absent from the Home Office's updated immigration rules published last week, indicating no tangible progress in the ten months since the announcement. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp accused Mahmood of "chickening out" due to pressure from the Labour Left wing, which he claims advocates for open borders.
Mahmood had previously stated that these reforms were essential to mitigate the significant costs to the Treasury associated with migrants becoming eligible for ILR, noting that individuals with refugee status can incur substantial lifetime expenses for taxpayers. The Home Secretary's consultation paper highlighted that migrants on lower wages with non-working dependants could present considerable fiscal costs.
However, the proposed shake-up encountered internal opposition within the Labour party. In February, 35 Labour MPs signed an open letter opposing the plans, and in June, Angela Rayner, then a backbencher, described the scheme as "un-British" and "wrong."
Despite the initial announcement that the reforms would be implemented through secondary legislation and potentially included in the autumn update of Home Office immigration rules, they were not present in the latest publication. The Home Office stated that a consultation on elements of the reforms has closed and a response will be issued in due course.
The number of successful ILR applications has seen a notable increase, with 199,628 granted in the year to June, a 24% rise from the previous 12 months. This equates to an average of 547 applications granted per day, or one every two minutes. The first quarter of 2026 saw a 38% increase in granted applications compared to the previous quarter, reaching over 1,100 per working day.
This surge is attributed to the high levels of immigration following the pandemic, with net migration hitting a record 944,000 in 2023. Most migrants currently qualify for ILR after five years of legal residency in the UK, which grants access to welfare benefits and a pathway to citizenship.
Under Mahmood's proposals, migrants demonstrating significant contributions to society would receive shorter waiting times. For instance, foreign workers in senior public sector roles, such as doctors and nurses, would have a five-year qualification period. Highly skilled and high-earning individuals, such as those paying the 45% or 40% income tax rates, would also see reduced waiting times.
Home Office estimates predict that ILR applications could peak between 359,000 and 620,000 in 2028. The Migration Advisory Committee has noted that while low-paid care workers may have a net lifetime cost to the taxpayer, skilled workers contribute significantly more in taxes than they consume in public services.