UK announces tougher rules for permanent residency

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Migrants seeking permanent residency in the United Kingdom (UK) will soon face stricter requirements under a set of reforms to be unveiled by Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood on Monday, September 29, 2025.

The proposed overhaul will require applicants to prove they are self-sufficient and contributing to society.

Under the new rules, migrants must hold a job, avoid claiming public benefits, and actively participate in community service to qualify for permanent residency.

The move signals a shift toward ensuring that new residents are economically active and socially integrated.

The tougher criteria will replace the current, less demanding pathways to permanent residency — formally known as “indefinite leave to remain.”

At present, migrants can qualify if they have family ties in the UK and have lived there for five years, or after ten years of lawful residence on any visa, without specific conditions for work or community involvement.

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In a significant policy change, Mahmood will announce that applicants must also make social security contributions, maintain a clean criminal record, and engage in volunteer work as part of the process.

She is expected to outline the plans during her speech at the annual Labour Party conference, with the government set to open consultations on the proposal later this year, according to a party press release.

The announcement comes as the opposition Reform Party, currently ahead in national opinion polls, recently pledged to abolish indefinite leave to remain entirely and require all migrants — including those already granted the status — to reapply for visas every five years.

“These measures draw a clear dividing line between the Labour government and Reform, whose plan would force workers who have been contributing to this country for decades to uproot their lives,” the Labour Party said in a statement.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday condemned Reform’s proposal as “racist,” warning that it would “tear the country apart.”

In her first address as interior minister, Mahmood will also emphasise that migrants should be required to achieve a high level of English proficiency and promised to be a “tough” minister on integration.

The Star