(C) OpenDemocracy This story was originally published by OpenDemocracy and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . How Labour’s immigration plans shatter lives [1] [] Date: 2026-03 Migrant people in the UK have told openDemocracy of becoming depressed, receiving racial abuse, and struggling to reassure their children of their safety after home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed wide-ranging changes to immigration rules. Earlier this year, Mahmood announced plans to double the time it takes for migrant people to receive indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and redefined the right to settle in the UK as a privilege to be earned. Under the previous system, the vast majority of people could apply for ILR after five years of continuous residence in the UK (with a 10-year ‘safety net’ path for those who didn’t meet the five-year path’s English language criteria or £29,000 income requirement, for example). Now, a 10-year route to settlement will be the norm, while those who have claimed state benefits or are on low earnings will have to wait even longer to apply. Those who do not earn more than £12,570, such as stay-at-home parents and other family carers, will be blocked from applying altogether. Get our free Daily Email Get one whole story, direct to your inbox every weekday. Sign up now Meanwhile, the five-year route will be open only to those who have earned annual salaries of at least £50,270 for three years, and a new three-year route will be introduced for those earning more than £125,140. The median gross annual full-time earnings were £39,039 in April 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics. Mahmood’s plans will also allow applicants to reduce their total wait time by one year by proving they can speak a high level of English, or by three to five years by volunteering. The government says all of these changes to the settled status policy will apply even if a person came to the UK under the previous rules. While that policy is still under consultation, asylum-seeking people are already seeing their rights restricted under a different update to immigration rules made this month. As of 2 March, people who are granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK receive permission to stay for 30 months, rather than the previous five years. Their claims must be re-assessed more regularly; if, after 30 months, they are assessed as no longer being at risk in their country of origin, they will be expected to return. Labour MP Olivia Blake told openDemocracy that the government’s plans are “problematic” and urged Mahmood to reimagine the policy from an angle of “promoting integration”. We also spoke to a range of migrant people and migrant rights workers to find out how they are being impacted by the new rules, including four people who attended a lobby for migrant rights in Westminster, organised by the charity Praxis. Here are their stories. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/labour-immigration-leave-to-remain-shabana-mahmood-heart-broken-testimonials/ Published and (C) by OpenDemocracy Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/opendemocracy/