Labour will finally unveil its long-awaited immigration white paper on Monday, when we will learn how the Government plans to bring down the country’s record-high immigration levels. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will reveal the plans in a new attempt to take on Reform UK, as Nigel Farage’s party soars in the polls largely due to anger about migration.
A number of elements are already understood, including new requirements for anyone moving to the UK to learn English “to A-level standard”. The ‘B2’ qualification means the individual can speak English “flexibly and effectively”, and express themselves “fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions”. This is an increase from the current GCSE standard required, with a government source saying the rules will form part of a new system “that is controlled, selective and fair”.
It’s also rumoured that the government will double the length of time required for someone to be in Britain before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, from five years to 10 years.
This would address a growing concern about the looming benefits and welfare bill that the past five years-worth of immigrants are on the cusp of being entitled to.
Last year immigration stood at 728,000, however this was down from the over 1 million migrants seen in just one year of Boris Johnson’s premiership.
The new reforms are also set to restrict visas for certain nationalities who are considered the most likely to overstay and claim asylum.
Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans are top of the likely list.
The white paper is also set to introduce crackdowns on international students applying for asylum in the UK.
In March, the Home Office published figures revealing that 16,000 asylum applicants in 2024 were on a student visa.
Ms Cooper has argued this is a sign that the existing system is being abused.
International students are also in line for an additional crackdown by making it more difficult for them to stay in the UK after their degree merely by taking up low-paid jobs.
This morning the Tories accused Labour of “ripping off” their policies, which the party proposed earlier this year.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “This Labour Government is so bereft of ideas on migration that it has resorted to trying to rip off parts of Conservative migration policy.”
“Kemi Badenoch and I made clear earlier this year that citizenship of this country must be a privilege, not an automatic right, and laid out a series of new proposals to increase the time needed to gain indefinite leave to remain.
“And what did Labour do? Vote these measures down in Parliament.”
This week, Mr Philp also published a fully written Deportation Bill, which includes automatic deportation for illegal migrants and would misapply the Human Rights Act in all immigration cases.
Labour is desperate to crackdown on immigration to prevent the rise of Reform, though Home Office sources have insisted that the new white paper has been worked on for months and is not a snap response to Labour’s defeat in the Runcorn by-election last week.
The immigration white paper will not cover plans to tackle the illegal migration crisis coming over the Channel, which is being addressed by separate policies.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “To tackle abuse by foreign nationals who arrive on work and study visas and go on to claim asylum, we are building intelligence on the profile of these individuals to identify them earlier and faster.
“We keep the visa system under constant review and will where we detect trends, which may undermine our immigration rules, we will not hesitate to take action.
“Under our plan for change, our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system.”