The major problem with Labour's 'good citizen' test for migrants hoping to stay in UK

A major flaw in Labour's new migration plan has been exposed as experts say it is going to be "very hard" to assess contribution. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will use her first speech to the Labour conference on Monday to unveil plans forcing migrants to prove they contribute to society before being allowed to stay permanently.

Under the proposed reforms, indefinite leave to remain will depend on paying national insurance, supporting oneself without claiming benefits, a clean criminal record, volunteering in the community and speaking English to a high standard. However, Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, says, while the plans demonstrate a move away from the "box-ticking exercise", she says that it will be hard to assess whether someone is a "pillar of the community".

"There aren't clear ways of assessing whether someone is contributing socially in the same way as you can assess how much someone earns or claims in benefits," she told The Times.

"It's easy to assess whether someone's claimed benefits or how much someone earns. It's going to be very hard to assess whether someone is a pillar of the community."

During her speech today, Ms Mahmood is expected to say: "I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country - long-term settlement, indefinite leave to remain - is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities."

Under the new plans, migrants will also have to wait 10 years rather than the current five before being able to claim indefinite leave to remain unless they are making a particularly significant contribution to society, whether financially or through voluntary and charity work.

A new points system would also mean migrants who fall short in some of the categories could be forced to wait longer than 10 years.

Those who make little or no contribution, would need to rely on benefits, or break the law, face removal from the UK when their existing visa comes up for renewal.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced last week that he would abolish indefinite leave to remain altogether, forcing migrants to reapply for visas every five years under stricter criteria, including a higher salary requirement and a better standard of English.

In response to this, the prime minister labelled the policy as "racist" and warning it would "tear our country apart" as it would lead to the deportation of people lawfully working in hospitals or schools or running businesses.