The United Kingdom is set to introduce strict new rules limiting access to welfare benefits and council housing for foreign nationals, targeting over two million people who arrived in the country after 2021. Among those affected will be many Bulgarians and their families. The government says the measures are necessary to prevent abuse of the welfare system and to ensure benefits are granted only to those who qualify.

Key elements of the proposals include extending the period required to obtain settled status in the UK from five to ten years. Immigrants who have received welfare support within their first year in the country will face an additional five-year waiting period before being eligible for settled status, effectively making it fifteen years. Those who have relied on benefits for more than a year could see this period extended to twenty years, matching the waiting period imposed on individuals who have entered the country illegally.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood emphasised that welfare support is not an automatic right, but a privilege that must be earned through compliance and contribution. The changes primarily target those who arrived after Brexit. Bulgarians and other EU nationals granted settled status before Britain formally left the European Union, along with relatives who joined them under the London-Brussels agreement, will not be affected. Only newcomers arriving after 1 January 2021 and their families will be subject to the stricter rules.

The proposals are part of a broader effort by the British government to tighten immigration controls. They follow a high-profile case in which five Bulgarians were convicted of the largest welfare fraud in UK history, amounting to £54 million, roughly 61.5 million euros. The scandal has intensified public and political calls for reform.

Although the changes remain at the proposal stage, they have received widespread support from both the government and opposition parties. Debate in the British Parliament is expected to continue until 12 February, after which the measures are widely anticipated to be adopted.