UK’s new immigration rules: Indians face longer waits; possible visa bans

If all of Mahmood’s proposals are accepted by Parliament, which in all probability they will be, as the Labour party has an overwhelming majority, and turned into law, then they will certainly affect the thousands of Indian migrants – both legal and illegal - who seek to make Britain their home each year.

Major shake-up

On November 24, Mahmood, herself the daughter of immigrants from Mirpur in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, set out her extensive asylum rules changes that will likely curb illegal immigration and deter refugees from making the dangerous English Channel crossing from France on small boats. The new rules, modelled on Denmark’s strict system, will grant only temporary protection status to asylum seekers and lengthen the path to settlement for those arriving on British shores illegally.

The sweeping reform of the asylum system is designed to strip away the “pull factors” that make the United Kingdom an attractive destination for migrants.

Until now, refugees seeking asylum from war, persecution and famine in their home countries were given an automatic path to permanent settlement in the UK after five years. On arrival, they were housed in government-paid accommodation, given a weekly allowance for food and clothes and assistance to find employment.

Also read: UK doubles residency visa wait for migrants to 10 years; Indians to be hit

In the last few years because of the lack of social housing, asylum seekers and illegal migrants awaiting a decision on their pleas have been housed in hotels which has cost the government billions of pounds and stirred up anger among local communities.

Deportation made easier

The new proposals will grant refugees temporary status for only two and half years, at which point it will be reviewed. If the situation in their home country has improved, they will be sent back and if not then they will be granted another two and half years of temporary status.

Permanent settlement will only be allowed after being in the UK for 20 years.

The sweeping reform of the asylum system is designed to strip away the “pull factors” that make the United Kingdom an attractive destination for migrants

Ironically, Indians are the sixth largest nationality claiming asylum in the UK, preceded only by Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In the year from July 2024 to June 2025 a total of 5,475 Indian nationals claimed asylum. Of these only 20 were granted asylum while 2,691 had their claims refused.

The rest are awaiting a decision. Of the 5,475 asylum applicants, 346 Indians had come across on the small boats illegally, while the rest had entered legally on visas, mostly student visas, and then sought asylum once their visas expired.

Mahmood, the 34-year-old barrister, has promised that she will commence deportation of failed asylum seekers immediately, something her predecessors were unable to do because of the law allowing multiple appeals. The new rules will only allow a single appeal, which will be processed within weeks, instead of the months and years that it currently takes.

'Overstayers'

Indians also happen to top the list of countries of illegal migrants in the form of ‘Overstayers’ of their visas and Suella Braverman, herself a daughter of Indian immigrants, had called them out on it during her stint as Home Secretary in 2022. ‘Overstayers’ are basically people who have come into the country on legal visas like student, work, business, tourism or visiting family and friends but have not gone back before their visa expires hoping to find a way to settle in the UK.

Indians also happen to top the list of countries of illegal migrants in the form of ‘Overstayers’ of their visas

Once they ‘overstay’ they become ‘illegal’, then they either seek to change their visas and stay as long as the appeal process allows them or they simply disappear underground into the ‘black economy’, hoping never to be found. Mahmood has promised that the government will be conducting more raids to identify and round up such illegal migrants, and once found they will not be allowed to appeal but deported back to their home countries.

Also read: Keir Starmer breaks silence on UK anti-immigration rally: 'Will never surrender'

For countries which refuse to accept the return of criminals, illegal migrants or failed asylum seekers, Mahmood has plans to ban legal visas from those nations. The first countries to face such a ban are Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and despite signing a Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) agreement in May 2021, India is said to be one of the other countries which is most reluctant to take back its illegal nationals.

According to the MMP agreement, in return for taking deportees back, the UK had agreed to provide new visa pathways for up to 3,000 young Indian professionals annually. As Braverman pointed out, the UK has given Indians visas, but India has not kept its side of the bargain and has been resistant to accepting removals.

If India does not begin cooperating then it may find itself on the visa ban list over the coming year.

Broken asylum system

Mahmood is determined to fix what she calls a “broken asylum system” that her Labour government has inherited from the 14 years of Conservative Party rule.

Even as the country was reeling from the shock of Monday’s changes, Mahmood dropped another bombshell on Thursday (November 27), this time setting her sights on legal migrants wanting to settle in the UK.

The Labour government has inherited from the Tories a ballooning legal immigration system too. At the time of the Brexit referendum in June 2016 the annual immigration figure stood at around eight lakhs, which was seen as too high. By the time the Brexit rules kicked in in January 2021, immigration came down to just under 7 lakhs.

Free movement from Europe was shut off and many Europeans returned home. However, instead of immigration going down, the numbers of legal immigration steadily continued to rise, peaking at 13.25 lakhs in 2023. This came to be known as the ‘Boris wave’ of immigration. Named after the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson who “got Brexit done”, he simply replaced exiting Europeans with immigrants from the rest of world.

There was a surge of immigrant visas given out to Indians. Boris and his successor as prime minister, Rishi Sunak favoured Indian immigrants over other countries, as they were desperate to sign a Free Trade Deal with India and New Delhi was demanding more visas for its nationals. Boris also focussed on India because he had managed to wean away many British-Indian voters from the Labour party and presumed that Indian immigrants who eventually got their Indefinite Leave to Reside (ILR) in five years’ time would join the Conservative party vote-bank.

New proposals

Mahmood’s new proposals have scrapped the current automatic right that migrants have to settle in the UK after five years’ residency and instead set a baseline of a 10-year qualifying period, which can increase or decrease depending on migrants’ jobs, earning, how they have entered the country, their contribution to society and speaking English to a high standard.

The crackdown means that some migrants may have to wait as long as 30 years to get their ILR.

The second impactful proposal is that migrants will only be allowed to claim welfare benefits after they have been granted British citizenship, which cannot occur before living in the UK for at least 13 years. Until now, as soon as migrants got their ILR after five years they could claim unemployment benefits, social housing and basic government pensions.

The rules will apply not just to new arrivals but also retrospectively to the 16 lakhs ‘Boris wave’ migrants who have come to the UK since 2021.

Mahmood’s proposals have received plaudits from right-wing parties and criticism from those on the left, but most importantly a quick straw poll conducted last week showed that she has got public opinion on her side.

Since 2021, 26 lakh more people have entered Britain than left, meaning that one in every 30 people in the UK has arrived in the last four years. This has allowed the far-right parties to stir up division and hate against migrants, particularly from South Asia. Interestingly, a South Asian-origin Home Secretary is trying to 'fix' the issues.