The UK home secretary, Shabana Mahmood is set to announce migrants will have to prove they are contributing to society to earn the right to remain in the country.
In her Labour conference speech will outline a series of new conditions migrants have to meet to qualify for indefinite leave to remain.
Under the proposals, legal migrants will have to learn English to a high standard, have a clean criminal record and volunteer in their community to be granted permanent settlement status.
Labour says the policy draws a clear dividing line between the government and Reform UK, which says it would abolish indefinite leave to remain.
Currently, migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years, giving them the right to live, study and work in the UK permanently.
Labour plans to double the period it takes to gain the status from five years to 10, and a consultation was announced in May as part of a package of plans to cut immigration.
Reform said it would replace indefinite leave to remain with visas that force migrants – including non-EU nationals who already have the status – to reapply every five years.
Labour says this would force workers who have been contributing to the UK for decades to leave their homes and families.
UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer had said reform UK’s policy was “racist” and “immoral” .
Chancellor Rachel Reeves echoed his comments on Monday. She told newsmen that people in the UK illegally should be sent home but it was quite a different thing to deport those living and working in the UK legally.
“Those policies are racist, and we will call them out,” she added.
In response, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that Labour do not believe in border controls and said the prime minister’s comments were a desperate attack.
Reform UK policy chief, Zia Yusuf said that people have perfectly legitimate concerns about immigration and are smart enough to know if somebody is voting for a policy that Starmer calls racist, what do you think Starmer thinks of you?”
He added that the UK “should not fund benefits and welfare for foreign nationals”.
Ministers are keen for migrants to prove they have integrated in the UK if they want the settlement status.
That includes meeting conditions such as making National Insurance contributions, not taking any benefits payments and giving back to their communities.
Labour says some foreign nationals could earn earlier settlement, based on their contribution or skills.
The main theme of Labour’s conference is taking the fight to Reform UK, which is leading in UK-wide national opinion polls.
In her speech, Mahmood is also expected to say patriotism “is turning into something smaller, something more like ethno-nationalism”.
Mahmood will argue that “fair migration” and secure borders are integral parts of an “open, generous, tolerant” country.
She will tell party members “you won’t always like what I do”.
But she will warn them if the Labour government does not succeed, “working people will turn away from us” and “seek solace in the false promises” from Nigel Farage’s party.
Mahmood will also speak about her parents’ experience of arriving in the UK, arguing the acceptance of migrants depends on their contribution to local communities.
