Overview

• Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood outlined plans in Liverpool to restrict Indefinite Leave to Remain, adding requirements including legal entry, employment, National Insurance contributions, no benefits, a clean criminal record, advanced English and local volunteering.
• The government says permanent status would no longer be automatic on time served, shifting to a model where ILR must be earned based on contribution and conduct.
• Ministers plan to open a public consultation before year‑end, with officials also studying an extension of the qualifying residence period, reported as a move from five years toward ten in most cases.
• Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, proposes abolishing ILR, forcing five‑year visa renewals with higher salary and English thresholds, and excluding migrants from welfare, a plan Starmer has condemned as immoral and racist.
• Context figures cited in coverage include 163,000 ILR grants last year, up 35% year on year, and more than 33,000 small‑boat arrivals so far in 2025, with 895 people reaching the UK in a single weekend.