More than 1 million migrants already in UK could be forced to wait five extra years for residency

More than a million migrant workers already living in Britain may have to wait an extra five years to win permanent residence rights under a major review.

It is the first indication that Labour’s immigration reforms – published on Monday - could have sweeping consequences for migrants already in the country, not just those who arrive in future.

The Home Office is reviewing the criteria which may be applied to foreign workers who have come here since 2020, the Mail understands.

‘We have more than a million people who quite soon will become eligible for permanent rights and we need to make sure that it isn’t booming out of control,’ a government source said.

Under current rules most foreign workers become eligible to apply for ‘indefinite leave to remain’ after living here for five years.

But the review will look at whether some or all should be required to wait a decade.

The period from January 2020 to December 2024 saw about 1.5million foreign workers handed visas.

nHome Secretary Yvette Cooper visits the Bentley factory in Crewe, Cheshire, today following the launch of the Government's Immigration White Paper

Yvette Cooper toured the Crewe factory in the wake of her immigration plans publication

The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper met workers on the Bentley production line during a factory visit 

The Home Office does not publish figures on how many of those remain in the country.

It comes after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was grilled in the Commons by MPs from her own party over the impact of her immigration White Paper on permanent residency rights.

The Home Office published major plans for immigration reforms earlier this week

Florence Eshalomi, the Labour MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, said she had been contacted by constituents who were ‘understandably worried about where this uncertainty leaves them’ and were ‘worried about their future plans’.

She asked: ‘One even told me that they were so worried that they were considering leaving the UK, because their settled status here is in jeopardy, so can the Home Secretary please outline whether this policy applies to people who are already living and working in the UK, or will it apply just to new visa applicants?

Ms Cooper replied: ‘We will set out further details of the earned settlement and citizenship reforms later this year, and we will consult on them.

‘There will be plenty of opportunity for people to comment on and consider the detail, but it is important that we extend the sense of contributions and the points-based system to those reforms as well.

‘We have also said that we will maintain the current five-year route for those who have come on a dependant visa or a family visa, as part of maintaining families.’

Separately, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has demanded more generous terms for foreign nurses.

The Home Office is reviewing how foreign workers should be able to claim permanent residency rights in Britain, it has emerged

Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary and chief executive, said in a speech on Monday that indefinite leave to remain should be extended to ‘all nursing staff without delay’.