𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Foreign nationals made up the vast majority of people the Labour Government consulted ahead of its plans to reform indefinite leave to remain (ILR). Documents released by the Government to accompany the announcement made by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed that fewer than one in every five people asked for their views were British citizens.

It comes just hours after Ms Mahmood was accused of watering down proposed changes to the system, under which certain workers can get ILR after just five years. Earlier this year, the Home Office boss had suggested she wanted the period before qualifying for ILR to be 15 years. Accompanying research now reveals that 73% of those asked for their views on how the UK visa system should be changed were current visa holders.

A further 5% had ILR or EU settled status, with 3% on refugee or humanitarian protection. Another 1% were awaiting a decision or applying, and a further 1% were asylum seekers.

Just 18% were British citizens. This comes after Ms Mahmood was accused of having caved to the Labour Left by dramatically watering down her migrant settlement crackdown following a furious backlash.

The Home Secretary confirmed care workers will be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years – 10 years sooner than under Ms Mahmood’s original proposals – if they’ve earned £25,000 per year in the sector.

Those who miss out on Labour’s generous scheme will “be offered a second chance to contribute through a new five-year visa”.

About 300,000 people will benefit from the U-turn, it is understood. Some 1.9million foreign nationals are set to be granted indefinite leave to remain by 2030 – an increase of 300,000 compared with the estimate from November last year. Only 500,000 of them face a longer wait.

In a second major climbdown, the Home Office confirmed it is letting lower-skilled, lower-paid migrant workers apply for settlement rights after 10 years, rather than the 15 years Labour originally proposed.

And Ms Mahmood has seemingly abandoned plans to restrict benefits to British citizens. Refugees who arrived on a “safe and legal route” will be put on the same settlement path as migrants earning more than £50,000, under revised Home Office plans. Small-boat migrants face a 30-year wait, which falls to 20 years if they study or work.

Reform’s Zia Yusuf said: “Shabana Mahmood has completely betrayed the country by abandoning reforms to ILR, as has Andy Burnham, who promised the people of Makerfield that he backed reforms to ILR.

“Her weakness is all because Andy Burnham is too weak to stand up to the mad far-Left Labour MPs. It is a fiscal catastrophe in waiting, allowing Boris wave lifetime access to our welfare, adding hundreds of billions to our national debt. Once again, the British people are picking up the tab for years of Tory open borders.”