Migrants face 20-year benefits wait in new Shabana Mahmood crackdown | Politics | News
Illegal immigrants face a 20-year wait to benefit from social benefits due to explosive new plans. Shabana Mahmood announced that they will have to wait up to 30 years to obtain settlement rights. During the so-called Boris Wave, low-paid workers such as 616 thousand people and their dependents who arrived on health and social care visas between 2022 and 2024 will have to wait 15 years.
The changes will apply to around two million immigrants arriving in the UK from 2021, subject to consultations on transit arrangements for border cases. It will not apply to those with current settled status and living here. The government announced that immigrants who game the system will also face penalties.
Foreign nationals in need of social benefits face a 20-year waiting period for resolution; this is four times the current duration and the longest in Europe.
In contrast, doctors and nurses working in the NHS will be able to settle after five years. To support economic growth, the brightest and best international talent can be recruited quickly, with high earners and entrepreneurs able to stay on after just three years.
The new rules will apply to anyone who has not yet been granted a settlement.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Immigration will always be a vital part of Britain’s story. But in recent years the scale of arrivals has been unprecedented.”
“To settle in this country for good is not a right, it is a privilege. And it must be earned. I am replacing the broken immigration system with one that prioritizes contribution, integration and respect for the British sense of fair play.”
