An IMglobalWealth.news Report
Britain’s plans to tighten settlement rules for migrants are facing resistance from trade unions and employers, highlighting the growing tension between tougher immigration policies and persistent labour shortages.
“UK’s Net migration declined to around 171,000 in the year to December 2025, compared with 331,000 a year earlier. The figure had reached a record 944,000 in the year to March 2023”
The government is considering doubling the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years under a proposed “earned settlement” system. Some migrants could face even longer waits depending on their circumstances.
The Trades Union Congress has urged ministers not to apply tougher rules retrospectively to workers already living in Britain, arguing that migrants who entered under existing conditions should retain access to the five-year settlement route.
The debate comes as the government seeks to demonstrate tighter control over immigration following several years of historically high inflows.
Net migration has already fallen sharply. According to the Office for National Statistics, it declined to around 171,000 in the year to December 2025, compared with 331,000 a year earlier. The figure had reached a record 944,000 in the year to March 2023.
Work-related migration from outside the EU has also fallen substantially following restrictions introduced under successive governments.
Yet employers in several sectors continue to report recruitment difficulties.
England’s adult social-care sector, which has become heavily reliant on overseas recruitment, still had around 96,000 vacancies in 2025-26, according to Skills for Care. Although the vacancy rate has fallen, it remains significantly higher than across the economy as a whole.
Unions argue that making long-term settlement less certain could make Britain less attractive to workers in sectors already struggling to recruit and retain staff.
The dilemma is increasingly visible elsewhere in Europe.
Governments have tightened asylum and irregular-migration policies amid growing public concern and stronger electoral support for anti-immigration parties. At the same time, the European Union is developing schemes aimed at attracting skilled workers from outside the bloc.
The EU Talent Pool, alongside revised rules governing work permits, is intended to help employers recruit non-EU workers in occupations where shortages are particularly severe.
Demographic pressures are adding to that demand. Europe’s working-age population is shrinking in several countries, while health, care, construction, hospitality and specialist industries continue to depend on migrant labour.
The result is an increasingly selective approach to immigration policy: governments are seeking to reduce overall numbers and demonstrate firmer border controls while preserving access to workers considered economically necessary.
Britain’s settlement debate therefore reflects a wider European challenge. Migration may be becoming politically harder to defend, but in parts of the economy it remains difficult to replace.
