Shabana Mahmood's Migrant Visa Plans Branded 'Manifestly Unfair' by House of Lords Committee

Government plans to make some migrants wait longer before qualifying for permanent settlement in the UK have been criticised by a House of Lords committee, which said applying the changes retrospectively would be 'manifestly unfair'.

The Justice and Home Affairs Committee said a majority of its members opposed extending the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for migrants who arrived under different rules. The government has proposed increasing the route to settlement from five years to 10 years for many migrants and is consulting on how the changes would be implemented.

Peers also expressed concern that the government has not yet published an Impact Assessment showing how the proposed changes would achieve their stated objectives. In a report published on Tuesday, the committee said debate around migration often focuses on arrival numbers while giving less attention to settlement, citizenship and integration.

Peers Question Settlement Changes

While committee members did not agree on every aspect of the government's plans, a majority concluded that migrants who planned their lives around the existing system should not be subject to new settlement requirements.

The report said such changes could undermine confidence in the UK's immigration system and make the country less attractive to highly skilled workers in the future. Peers also criticised the lack of an Impact Assessment explaining how the proposed reforms would deliver the government's stated aims.

Alongside its assessment of the settlement proposals, the committee argued that migration policy is being undermined by insufficient data. It called on the Home Office to resume publishing exit-check statistics to provide a clearer picture of how many migrants remain in the UK and how many have overstayed their visas.

The committee also said better data sharing across government departments would help policymakers understand migrant outcomes and assess whether integration measures are working effectively.

Calls For Better Integration Support

The report said settlement and integration should receive greater attention within migration policy. Among its recommendations was expanding English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision to meet demand for language classes.

Peers also called for reforms to the Life in the UK test, saying it should focus more on practical knowledge and everyday life in Britain, with less emphasis on memorisation of historical facts. The committee further recommended the creation of a Triennial Migration Plan, with annual progress updates to Parliament, to set out migration and settlement priorities over a three-year period.

Labour Exploitation And Work Visa Reform

The report also addressed labour market issues affecting migrants. Peers recommended that dependants on work visas should be able to qualify for ILR at the same time as the main applicant where household income demonstrates a significant positive contribution to public finances.

To reduce the risk of labour exploitation, the committee backed proposals to link visas to sectors rather than individual employers. It said such a system could give workers greater flexibility to leave exploitative workplaces without immediately jeopardising their immigration status.

The committee also urged the government to simplify immigration rules, improve support for immigration caseworkers and implement outstanding recommendations from the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. Peers said settlement, citizenship and integration should play a larger role in migration policy discussions alongside debate about migration numbers.