British PM Announces Radical Changes in Immigration Policies

International - بین الاقوامی , Snippets , / Thursday, October 2nd, 2025

London, October 02 (QNA) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced radical changes in immigration policies, which will strip refugees of the right to apply for permanent residency after five years and prevent them from automatically obtaining family reunification.
Starmer said in a statement that there will be no golden ticket for settling in Britain, stressing that the path to permanent residency for refugees will be longer and more stringent. He added that if anyone wants to come to the United Kingdom, they must contribute to the British society.
He stressed that settlement must be earned through contribution to the country, not by paying a human trafficker to cross the Channel, affirming that Britain will continue to receive refugees fleeing persecution, but will also work to address the pull factors that encourage illegal small boat crossings.
The new measures exclude family reunification, reflecting a noticeable hardening from the Labour Party government, which seeks to recalibrate its rhetoric on immigration, especially amid the rise of the far-right Reform Party, which has advanced in recent opinion polls and pledged to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and abolish the policy of granting migrants indefinite leave to remain.
Notably, Starmer announced last week plans to launch a digital identity system for all workers in the United Kingdom before the end of the current parliamentary session, aimed at combating illegal employment and reducing irregular migration. However, this step sparked internal controversy, as some of his ministers warned that the plan is incomplete and may not add anything new to the existing electronic visa systems.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood revealed at the ruling Labour Party conference that migrants seeking permanent residency will have to prove they are contributors to society, have not previously relied on social assistance, and have a clean criminal record.
She also clarified that the required residency period to qualify for permanent residency has increased from five to ten years, with the possibility of reduction if foreigners demonstrate positive contributions through paying national insurance or participating in volunteer work