London: U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he stands by the principle that settlement (permanent residence) in the U.K. should be “earned” and not granted automatically.
An increase in the baseline qualifying period for settlement — from 5 of 15 years — had been proposed by U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as part of a draft “earned settlement” immigration overhaul last year, during the Keir Starmer administration. Individuals could qualify for shorter or longer periods depending on income, immigration violations and other factors.
Impact on Indian Nationals
Indian citizens are likely to be significantly impacted by the new rules. Indian nationals constituted the largest group from outside the EU+ area (the EU and a few other European countries) to migrate long-term to the U.K. for the year ending December 2025.
‘We’ll Set Out the Plan Quite Soon’
“We’ll set out the plan on that quite soon,” Mr. Burnham said during a TV interview on Monday (October 26, 2026) morning. He said the government was still considering responses received during the public consultation process earlier this year.
In recent weeks the Prime Minister has indicated that the government would soften its proposed stance towards social care workers. These individuals formed a significant part of the “Boriswave” of migration — a surge in migrants in the early 2020s — who are now becoming eligible for settlement.
On Brexit and the EU
Mr. Burnham said that since the U.K. left the EU in 2016, things had not “played out as people said it would at the time,” with the country’s economy weakening and control over immigration becoming more challenging. He said “revolving-door immigration” was being replaced by permanent immigration to the U.K.
Over the weekend, the Sunday Times reported that Mr. Burnham had told the publication he would be open to considering “free movement” — the right to live and work — between the U.K. and the EU.
In his Monday interview, Mr. Burnham reiterated his wish to see the U.K. rejoin the EU in his lifetime, adding however that he would “not move ahead of the public.”
“The British public… will be the bosses here. They will decide what will happen in relation to Brexit,” he said, denying that he was “testing the waters” with the public and media on how a return to the EU would be received.
The U.K. and EU are working towards concluding an agreement covering agriculture and immigration, among other areas, at a summit meeting on November 20. Mr. Burnham ruled out an early general election; the current parliament expires in 2029.
