• September 28, 2025

Home Secretary confirms bringing in new laws to prove social worth before applying for ILR

LONDON Sept 28: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said that she wants to bring in new laws so migrants must prove their social worth before they are given settled status in Britain – known as Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Foreigners will have to show they are integrated and make a “contribution to the local community” – and not just that they have a job and can afford to live here. This can include volunteering for a charity, or being a school governor, she told The Sun in an exclusive interview. There was no mention on whether the period of claiming ILR would be increased from 5 to ten years in the interview.

In a major change to policy, the Home Secretary echoed the immigration stance of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, saying she wants to tighten rules around those claiming Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK.

She said: “The pace of that migration has been very, very fast. I totally understand why people have concerns about it. We need legal migration, it is a good thing. We are a country that has always welcomed people who want to come and work here. But I think in addition to living and working here there is a bigger thing to do as well which is to make sure that people are making a contribution to their wider community and wider society.”

She directly referenced the threat of the Far Right as a reason that Labour need to get a grip on immigration.

She told The Sun: “I think securing the border is fundamental to holding the country together. I know if I’m not able to get this mess sorted out, then there will be more division in our country. The Far Right is on the rise. I think that’s a dangerous moment for the country. I have no choice but to deliver, because the price of not delivering here is something much worse for the country that I love.”

She said ministers are looking at how to ensure that indefinite leave to remain “is linked not just to the job you are doing”, but also “the wider contribution you are making to our communities”.

On illegal migration, she has ordered reviews in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Modern Slavery Act.

The Home Secretary has pledged to cut migration numbers through a number of measures.