A simmering Labour cabinet row over immigration boiled over on 21 October after Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh refused four times in a live Sky News interview to support Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s flagship proposal to extend the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from the current five years to 15 years. Mahmood argues the tougher benchmark is needed to restore public confidence in the immigration system and to encourage longer-term economic contribution before migrants can access full settlement rights. Her consultation paper, published in July, would make the change retrospective to anyone arriving after 1 January 2021 and would sharply raise the minimum income required for settlement. But opposition inside government has intensified. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner branded the plan “changing the goalposts”, while Fahnbulleh warned the policy could “prolong the process of building social cohesion”. Critics also say the measure would hurt the already-stretched social-care sector, which relies heavily on foreign workers; back-bench MPs are lobbying for an exemption for care staff. Home Office officials counter that an exemption would prompt an exodus of carers once they secure ILR. Prime Minister Andy Burnham is publicly backing his home secretary but has hinted he may soften the proposal after more than 200,000 consultation submissions. A final policy paper is due next month, yet more than 100 Labour MPs have signalled they could rebel unless concessions are made. Employers’ groups warn that lengthening the ILR route risks deterring international talent at a time when UK vacancy rates remain above pre-pandemic levels. For global mobility managers the episode is a flashing warning light: permanent-residence planning for assignees may soon span a decade and a half, fundamentally altering assignment cost models, retention strategies and employee value propositions. Companies with large care-sector workforces face the greatest exposure if the exemption campaign fails, and should prepare alternative attraction and retention levers in the UK market.
Source: The Guardian
