Britain sets 10-year settlement wait for some migrants
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood eased a planned crackdown on social care workers after objections from Labour lawmakers, as the government tightens settlement rules.
Britain's Labour government confirmed on Monday that many foreign workers already in the country will have to wait longer before they can apply to settle permanently, with some facing a qualifying period of 10 years or more.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the minister responsible for immigration, set out the changes at the end of a lengthy consultation, Dawn reported. She also watered down a proposed tightening of the rules for social care workers after anger from lawmakers in her own party, the newspaper said.
Dawn reported that the longer wait would apply to many foreign workers already in Britain, not only to people arriving from now on.
The South China Morning Post reported that the reforms are the government's latest attempt to toughen the system, after the number of arrivals rose following Britain's departure from the European Union, with post-Brexit policies bringing healthcare workers and students from around the world. SCMP said the concession to care workers was intended to defuse a political row.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham backed the home secretary. Britain had "lost control of immigration" after Brexit, Euronews quoted him saying. "This Home Secretary is gripping this problem, and she has my full support in doing so," he said.
Dawn reported that the measures come as Burnham's administration tries to balance voter demand for lower immigration against the government's aim of boosting economic growth.
The Guardian reported that some migrants will wait 10 years or more before they can settle. SCMP said the longer wait applies to some migrants, and that some care workers were granted concessions to the rules as first proposed.
Dawn reported that lawmakers from the ruling party had objected to the original plan for social care staff, and that Mahmood confirmed the qualifying period once the consultation ended.
How the reports differ
Euronews led on Andy Burnham's claim that Britain had "lost control of immigration" after Brexit and on his backing for the home secretary, while the Guardian's headline put the wait at "10 years or more". Dawn led with Shabana Mahmood watering down the planned rules for social care workers and named the ruling-party lawmakers who had objected, the concession the South China Morning Post framed as an attempt to defuse a political row. SCMP tied the reforms to the surge in arrivals after Brexit; Dawn tied them to the government's need to weigh voter demand for lower immigration against economic growth.
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