Shabana Mahmood scraps plans for migrant care workers already in the UK to wait 15 years for permanent settlement - watch her speaking in the Commons live above
As long as they earn at least £25,000 and arrived in the UK before May 2025, these workers will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years
Mahmood also drops the requirement for any low income workers to wait for 15 years before getting ILR, reducing it to 10
She previously proposed extending the wait from the current five years to 10, in response to a period of high net migration, but has faced opposition from within her own party for proposing to apply the changes to migrant workers already in the UK
The Conservatives have said that any watering down of the proposal would be a "slap in the face to British taxpayers"
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR), also known as settlement, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like and apply for benefits if they are eligible
Harry Farley
Political correspondent
The changes to settled status will not require a vote in the House of Commons, government sources have told the BBC.
The Home Office believes the changes announced by Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, can be made through a statement of changes to the immigration rules and will not need new legislation.
Labour MP Meg Hillier asks Mahmood about English language requirements under the new scheme.
She says there are many people settled in the UK already, and many who arrive as spouses, without good English.
Hillier therefore calls it a "very gendered issue" as women can become trapped because they don't have access to English learning.
She asks Mahmood if she is making sure better English teaching will be made available to avoid the issue of women becoming trapped.
The home secretary replies that that the government has raised the English level expected of incoming migrants and stresses a "good standard of English" is critical to the ability of people to integrate into the country.
It's now the turn of Liberal Democrat spokesperson Max Wilkinson to speak in the Commons.
He says Labour's immigration reforms are "unravelling" by "prioritising tough rhetoric" over a system that works.
Immigration reform must not only prevent small boat crossings, Wilkinson says, but also serve the UK's economy and public services.
He then asks Mahmood if she will publish the "full economic benefits" of the changes she is proposing.
Wilkinson finishes by asking the home secretary why "so many of her backbenchers disagree with her" on immigration and why she "disagrees so strongly" with the prime minister on the UK having a closer relationship to the EU.
Mahmood responds by saying she won't engage with political rhetoric and that her reforms are fair.
She says the settlement recognises the exceptional nature of care workers and that the Lib Dems should applaud that a proper consultation was carried out
Image source, Getty ImagesAs Mahmood made her statement in the Commons, we received a press release outlining her planned immigration reforms.
In the release, Prime Minister Andy Burnham says "it is only fair that those who are making the most valuable contribution to our communities are given the opportunity to settle earlier.
"Those in other roles should expect to wait longer while people who abuse the system or arrive illegally will be refused or will also have to wait longer."
He added: "People want to see an immigration system based on control, contribution, and which rewards those who play by the rules.
"These proposals are based on that principle and recognise the contribution made by overseas workers to our country.
"Following Brexit, the previous government lost control of immigration, with an unprecedented spike in numbers. This Home Secretary is gripping this problem, and she has my full support in doing so."
Image source, House of CommonsBack on her feet in the Commons, Mahmood calls Philp's response an "affront".
Given the muted response on the benches behind him, she says, the Tories clearly still remember what happened to immigration under their watch.
She demands an apology for their "abject track record" and says the current Labour government has cut net migration by 82% and found a "fair solution" to immigration reform.
The home secretary says that under her new measures, the cohort of legal migrants most likely to impose a cost will now wait longer for settlement. This will "save billions in the benefits bill", she adds, citing the Department for Work and Pensions.
She repeats this is a "fair solution" to "clean up the mess" left behind by the Tories.
The home secretary concludes by accusing Philp of only having political rhetoric, and that she has nothing more to say to him.
Now it is the turn of backbench MPs to ask questions in the Commons, stay with us.
We've just heard Mahmood's announcement that government is scrapping plans for migrant care workers already in the UK to wait 15 years for settlement.
Under her proposals, here's a closer look at the timeline for legal migrants to permanently settle in the UK:
Philp then accuses the home secretary of losing the support of her party, after facing challenges to her immigration reform proposals from Housing Secretary Angela Rayner and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.
Afterwards, Philp says the Conservatives would go much further, and would therefore vote for Mahmood's previous plans.
Instead of relying on "mass low-skilled immigration", he calls for the government to look to use the million young people not in education or employment (Neets) by toughening the welfare system.
"If she capitulates to the open borders Left, her credibility as home secretary will not recover," he adds.
Image source, House of CommonsGiving his response, shadow home secretary Chris Philp says it took Mahmood a year to "build her reputation as tough on immigration", but she has just dismantled this reputation in "12 short minutes".
He also criticises Mahmood for changing her position on immigration, particularly when it comes to the social care sector.
Chris Mason
Political editor
The reaction to the government’s initial proposals was huge.
In the documents published alongside the Home Secretary’s statement, we are told that the "consultation received 204,667 responses online and 904 responses over email".
"Of these, 202,241 responses were submitted by individuals, of which nearly three quarters (73%) were current visa holders and a further 18% were British Citizens."
Given the scale of the response to the initial plans, what did those who responded to the consultation say?
The government says:
"Most respondents disagreed with the proposed changes to the settlement framework (84% of individuals and 79% of organisations). Disagreement was higher among individuals with refugee status or humanitarian protection (89%) and current visa holders (86%) than among British Citizens (77%)."
Some of the most common themes "were the perceived unfairness of the proposed changes, particularly for those already on a path to settlement," it adds.
Image source, House of CommonsMahmood wraps up by saying earned settlement represents a "new paradigm" in the country's migration system which is "long overdue".
"The right to live in this country must now be earned, it will no longer be automatic," she says.
She calls it a "fair settlement for all" and ends her speech.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood moves on to address settlement rights for refugees.
"I know the people of this country wish to continue welcoming genuine refugees," she says, but adds that "there is nothing fair" about permitting unsafe and illegal entry into the UK.
As a result, Mahmood says refugees who come to the UK via safe and legal routes will be placed on a five-year path to settlement - as fast a path as higher earners entering the UK today.
At the same time, the government hopes to discourage illegal crossings by making the disqualifying period for settlement 20 years, including for those who are in work or study.
A further ten years will be added for people who enter the country by small boat and do not enter work or study.
"These reforms are the right thing to do both morally and financially," Mahmood tells the Commons, and says a full impact assessment will be completed as the reforms are implemented.
Mahmood says there are "tens of thousands" of legitimate vacancies in the care sector, so those who seek a new job in the industry and have the relevant skills "should be able to find one".
"Everyone will have a fair shot to make their contribution," she says.
"But we will preserve the critical element of this reform that settlement must be linked to contribution."
The same rules will apply to public sector workers in roles such as education and healthcare, the home secretary adds.
This arrangement apply only to those who came to the UK before May 2025.
Image source, House of CommonsMahmood says that during the government's consultations on proposed immigration changes, many people brought up social care workers.
She says 250,000 people and their dependants arrived or switched into the social care route between 2022 and 2025.
The home secretary adds that this came at a time when the sector was under considerable pressure following the Covid-19 pandemic, but says the route was "abused" and that the last Conservative Government "lost control" of the country's borders.
She says the government's solution works in two ways, first by providing a five-year path to settlement for care workers who lived up to the promise they made to the country, joined the social care route before May 2025 and earn £25,000 a year working in social care.
She says the second group of people, who have not fulfilled the conditions of their visa, will be offered a "second chance" by applying for another five-year visa.
"Everyone will have a fair shot to make a contribution and no one will be punished for the sins of their employer," she says.
The home secretary continues to provide more detail around her proposed immigration rule changes.
She explains that people who are not captured by the new exceptions will now be on a 10-year path to settlement status, including those earning less than £50,000.
Mahmood says this means settlement will still be available, but these applicants "will simply have to show a sustained contribution" to the country and will be able to renew existing temporary visas until that point.
If a person commits an immigration breach, they will see the wait for settlement pushed back to 20 years, she adds.
The home secretary says that a number of groups will see their settlement path remain as it is today - including Hong Kong British nationals overseas, armed forces members, people with a British connection and those with legacy routes, for instance Windrush.
Faster routes will be available for those who make "exceptional" contributions, the home secretary continues.
She says taxpayers in the highest band who earn more than £125,000 will end up paying £1.5m in tax over their lifetime.
This money is used to fund critical services "that many, including the poorest in the country, rely on", Mahmood says.
As a result of this contribution, people in this group can apply for settlement after three years, she adds.
Mahmood says rights granted under settlement, including access to the NHS and education, should "not be automatic, it should be earned".
She adds the current system, under which people can apply for settlement after five years, does not represent true fairness.
The home secretary sets out what the government considers to be disqualifying criteria for settlement:
She says a five-year path to settlement will remain open to all higher earners on a salary of more than £50,000 a year and those who have made contributions in healthcare and education.
Image source, House of CommonsIn the Commons, Shabana Mahmood begins her statement by saying she promised at the recent Labour Party conference that the country would adopt a migration policy that is "guided above all by fairness".
The home secretary says her parents came to the UK more than 50 years ago from rural Kashmir, adding it is her responsibility that the country's migration system lives on an ideal of fairness.
She says the UK "welcomes those who seek a new and better life within it", but there is an expectation they will play their part, contribute to their community and became a part of the country's national life.
"Solidarity is the precondition for social justice," she adds.
The home secretary has scrapped a plan for migrant social care workers already in the country to wait 15 years before getting indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
As long as those workers earn at least £25,000 and arrived in the UK before May 2025 they will be eligible for ILR after five years.
Shabana Mahmood has also dropped the requirement for any low income workers to wait for 15 years before getting ILR. She has reduced the requirement to all other low income workers to 10 years.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is now up in the House of Commons, where she is due to set out changes to settlement rules for legal migrants.
We'll bring you all her key news lines here - you can also follow along by tapping watch live at the top of the page.
Chris Mason
Political editor
At the heart of the debate around legal migration are contested notions of fairness.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has talked of her parents coming to the UK from rural Kashmir. Now, this daughter of immigrants is responsible for reshaping the very system that brought them here decades ago – and doing so in a way that both her party and the country regard as fair.
"Fair to those who seek a new and better life here, like my parents did. And fair to those already here, including British workers, and especially the young," is how Mahmood put it in her speech to the Labour Party conference in September.
The debate has come at a time of huge legal immigration in recent years and during a period in which Reform UK have been particularly prominent in the national political conversation.
Both of these things are factors in Labour wanting to be seen to be taking people's concerns about the scale of arrivals seriously.
But her political opponents smell what they see as weakness and retreat, with parts of her original plan now being revised, as the BBC's Iain Watson reported over the weekend.
