How legal migration overhaul could leave 300,000 children in ‘limbo’

LocalPolitics
9 Feb 2026 • 3:47 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • The Home Office's new proposals on legal migration rules could leave over 300,000 children in the UK "in limbo", a think tank has warned.
  • The proposals, outlined in November, aim to end automatic settlement status after five years for legal migrants.
  • Under the new system, migrants would generally apply for settled status after 10 years, with timelines varying from 5 to 20 years based on their "contributions" or circumstances.
  • The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warns these changes would cause insecurity for families, harming integration, educational opportunities, and increasing child poverty.
  • Critics, including the IPPR and the charity Work Rights Centre, describe the retrospective application of these rules as unfair and a "betrayal" of migrant communities.

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