Sir Keir Starmer has promised to overhaul a "broken" immigration system, with plans to tighten English tests for all visa applicants and their adult dependants among the reforms being considered,
BBC reports.
Migrants will also have to wait 10 years to apply to settle in the UK, instead of automatically gaining settled status after five years, under the plans.
Labour's long-awaited migration rules, to be published soon, will "create a system that is controlled, selective and fair," the prime minister said.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the idea Sir Keir "is tough on immigration is a joke" and promised to push Parliament to introduce a cap on migration.
Speaking before the publication of the Immigration White Paper, Sir Keir accused industries being "almost addicted to importing cheap labour" instead of "investing in the skills of people here and want a good job in their community".
He singled out engineering as an industry "where visas have rocketed while apprenticeships have plummeted".
The current system shuts out "young people weighing up their future" who missed out on potential training, Sir Keir said.
