Dover, Albion’s Shore by David Hugh Lockett
By Rupert, KRAN Chair of Trustees
So now it’s official: this Labour Government defines migrants’ contribution to British society primarily in financial terms.
This week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood slightly relented on her original determination to extend the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain so that care workers can still apply after five years (statement to Parliament, 2 November 2026). The new rules next month and roll out during 2027.
However, under her new rules, the majority of migrants - including most asylum-seekers and refugees - will have to wait 10 years, or even longer (20 or 30 years) if they arrived here “illegally”. There are some exceptions to these draconian wait times: people who earn £50,000 a year can apply after five years, while high earners (more than £125,000 a year) may apply after just three years. This inevitably means that all our young people will have to wait a minimum of 10 years and then potentially still face the risk of being deported. This is even after planting roots, forging links with the community and making a new life for themselves.
Ms Mahmood justified this new policy in terms of the “contribution” that different categories of migrants make to Britain: so, if you’re a banker or futures trader, you get moved to the front of the queue; if you’re a hospital porter, a refuse collector or a volunteer at a food bank (because you’re not permitted paid work as an asylum seeker), you face decades of uncertainty.
The lives of asylum seekers and refugees are already precarious enough; these new, inhumane and socially-divisive rules will make their lives even harder. We at KRAN will be joining with other organisations to campaign against them - please join us.