Shabana Mahmood has been called to immediately enact rules to double the time migrants have to wait to apply for permanent settlement in Britain, with data indicating hundreds of thousands will qualify as of next year.
The Government has out plans which will require migrants to wait 10 years before they can apply for the right to remain in the UK indefinitely.
Under current rules, migrants can apply for the right to remain indefinitely after five years.
However, ministers have not yet decided whether it will apply to foreign nationals already in the UK.
Shorter periods of qualification apply to migrants who can prove they have contributed to “economy and society”.
Former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who Ms Mahmood replaced last week, said a consultation would be put out later this year before a final decision was made.
Home Office figures analysed by The Times have seen renewed calls to apply the changes before hundreds of thousands of migrants who had arrived in the UK since 2021 would be able to qualify for permanent residence.
About 270,000 migrants will become eligible for permanent residency in the UK from next year – known as indefinite leave to remain.
New Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been urged to change rules for migrants living in the UK
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PA
