Conservatives have demanded emergency action to prevent 800,000 migrants gaining the right to stay in the UK forever.
The number is higher then the population of major cities such as Leeds or Manchester.
But Labour dismissed concerns about the influx and accused the Tories of allowing immigration to soar when they were in power.
Research has found that more than two million visas were issued to migrants between January 2021 and June 2024. Current rules mean they will be eligible to apply for “indefinite leave to remain” after five years, so the first of these migrants will be eligible in January 2026.
It could mean they gain access to the NHS, social housing and Universal Credit. After 10 years of paying National Insurance, they would entitled to the state pension.
A report by the Centre for Policy Studies predicted 801,000 migrants from the post-2020 wave are likely to gain indefinite leave to remain. The the lifetime net fiscal cost to the state would be £234 billion – equivalent to a bill of £8,200 for every UK household, spread across several decades, the report said.
Tories are calling on the Government to change the law so that the leave is granted after ten years, not five.
Conservative MP Mike Wood asked Ministers: “There is clearly a cost to doing nothing about the current indefinite leave (ILR) to remain policy, and a recent Centre for Policy Studies report estimates the net lifetime cost as £234 billion for those expected to be granted ILR over the next five years. What is the Minister’s assessment of that cost?”
And Tory Shadow Home Office Minister Katie Lam asked: “As we have heard, according to the Centre for Policy Studies, over 800,000 migrants from the past five years could soon claim indefinite leave to remain.
“In NHS care, benefits, social housing and more, that will cost £234 billion—nearly six years of defence spending, or almost all income tax receipts for a year.
“Will the Minister commit to extending the qualifying period for ILR, or will she accept that the consequence of her policy is a liability for the public of hundreds of billions of pounds?”
But Labour Home Office Minister Seema Malhotra dismissed the questions. She told Mr Wood: “The number of settlement grants grew by almost a third in the final year that his party was in government, compared with 2023. We will take absolutely no lessons from the Tory party and a shadow Home Secretary who completely lost control of our borders, allowing net migration to quadruple to a record high of nearly 1 million while the number of dangerous boat crossings soared.”
And she said to Ms Lam: “I am still quite flabbergasted by the questions that the Conservatives ask in the House. Their party saw net migration more than quadruple to record levels.”
However she said Labour would publish plans to cut migration in a white paper due later this year.
“Work is under way to consider a range of proposals, including how better to support the integration and employability of refugees,” she said.
