Labour accused of 'ripping off' Tory proposals on migration as it looks to introduce tougher requirements for staying in the UK
Labour has been accused of 'ripping off' Tory policies amid reports the Government will introduce tougher requirements for migrants.
An immigration White Paper, due next week, is likely to include measures to raise the level of English required from migrants who apply for a work visa.
They would need the equivalent of an A-level in future, rather than the GCSE standard currently demanded.
Some migrants will also be made to wait as long as ten years before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), rather than five years.
Both ideas were part of a package proposed by the Conservatives earlier this year, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said.
He added: 'This Labour Government is so bereft of ideas on migration that it has resorted to trying to rip off parts of Conservative migration policy.
'Kemi Badenoch and I made clear earlier this year that citizenship of this country must be a privilege, not an automatic right, and laid out a series of new proposals to increase the time needed to gain indefinite leave to remain. And what did Labour do? Vote these measures down in Parliament.'
The Tories brought an amendment to a government immigration Bill in February which would have increased the ILR qualification period to ten years, but Labour against it.
A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel last month
This week the Opposition also set out a Deportation Bill which included automatic deportation for illegal migrants and the removal of the Human Rights Act in immigration court cases.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said ministers were 'focused on bringing down the last government's record-high levels of migration'.
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