Keir Starmer gets tough on migration, doubles UK citizenship wait times

London | British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday unveiled a tough new set of policy measures, including doubling the wait time for migrants seeking citizenship from five to 10 years, to ensure immigration figures fall significantly over the next five years.

Addressing a press conference from Downing Street ahead of the Labour Party government's much-anticipated Immigration White Paper being tabled in Parliament, Starmer blamed the previous Conservative Party administration for leaving behind a “mess” of an "open borders experiment".

He went on to pledge that his government's tighter measures will create an immigration system that is “controlled, selective and fair”.

“Make no mistake, this plan means migration will fall. That is a promise,” said Starmer.

“Every area of the immigration system – work, family and study – will be tightened up so we have more control. Fair rules must be followed,” he said, with reference to the White Paper.

The new system will end the current mechanism of automatic settlement and citizenship for anyone, including Indians, living in the UK for five years. Instead, all migrants must spend a decade in the UK before applying for permanent residency, unless they can show a “real and lasting contribution to the economy and society”.

Under this new framework to be rolled out, “high-skilled and high-contributing” individuals, such as “nurses, doctors, engineers and AI leaders”, who contribute to the UK economy, will be fast-tracked.

The new rules will also toughen language requirements across every immigration route to ensure a higher standard of English. For the first time, this will also extend to all adult dependents of foreigners, by requiring them to demonstrate a basic understanding of English – "helping individuals integrate into their local community, find employment and reducing the risk of exploitation and abuse", Downing Street said.

The full package of the White Paper reforms will be laid out by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in the House of Commons and is also expected to include a crackdown on overseas care worker numbers.

“Public services were stretched, housing costs soared, and employers swapped skills investment for cheap overseas labour. In sectors like engineering, apprenticeships almost halved while work visas doubled and communities were asked to absorb record numbers,” Downing Street said.

“Backdoor routes to settlement will be closed, enforcement will be stepped up as we end abuse of the system,” the statement added.

Starmer has been under considerable pressure to cut migrant numbers after the anti-immigration Reform party's recent surge in local polls. However, he was firm on not setting an annual cap on numbers allowed into the country.

“I don't think it is sensible to put a hard-edged cap on it. That has been done in one form or another for the best part of 10 years by different prime ministers. The only thing that links those prime ministers and the various caps or quotas or limits they put in place is every single one of them failed,” he said.