Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders in the UK will be exempt from a proposal to double the qualifying period for settlement to ten years from 2027. But they will also be facing tougher English requirements in return.

On Monday, UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood laid out an immigration overhaul under which those on work visas would no longer automatically gain permanent residency after five years. Refugees who arrive illegally would face a wait for 20 years, or 30 if they arrived in a small boat.

But Hong Kong migrants holding the BN(O) visa would still face a tighter B2 English level language requirement and criminal record checks under the new rules, and must also hold no government debt. Migrant workers earning at least £50,000 (HK$530,000) per year – including doctors, nurses and teachers – will only have to wait five years. Those earning above £125,000 (HK$1.31 million) will be able to apply for settlement after three years.

“[E]arned settlement institutes a new paradigm in our migration system, long overdue,” Mahmood told parliament on Monday. “That one of our greatest rights that we can offer now depends upon a contribution made and responsibilities met. The right to live in this country forever must now be earned. It will no longer be automatic.”

Australian prime minister Albanese has told UK’s PM Andy Burnham he is looking at changing rules for British backpackers in Australia, after an increase in the number of travellers visiting popular hotspots such as Sydney.

Backpackers had previously been required to do about three months of regional work as part of visa conditions to help with the country’s work shortages in some occupations. But under the free trade agreement signed under Boris Johnson, Britons do not have to undertake the rural work that many other nationalities do as a condition of their visas. It also extended the maximum period for the visa to three years and the age limit to 35.

Albanese, who met Burnham on Monday evening at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in the Caribbean, told reporters he wanted to discuss changing the agreement between the UK and Australia that removes a regional work requirement for British travellers. The Australian government has said the changes have led to traveller numbers more than doubling, from 40,000 two years ago to 87,000 last year, the majority concentrated in Sydney and beachside suburbs. The easing of visa restrictions also applies to Australians coming to the UK but fewer than 10,000 came last year.

Albanese told the Australian parliament that the numbers of Britons arriving at a small destination was putting pressure on the local workforce. Burnham confirmed to reporters that he was meeting Albanese but declined to comment on any potential changes.

US President Donald Trump had rare praise for rival Democrats Tuesday after their stunning US midterm elections victory and admitted the Iran war may have played a part in the defeat of his Republican Party.

But he refused to take any personal responsibility for the result that upends the final two years of his presidency, instead trying to shift the blame to his fellow Republicans.

The complimentary comments were highly unusual for Trump, who spent much of the midterms campaign branding Democrats as everything from communists to Islamists. Trump also reiterated that, unlike his 2020 presidential election loss, he accepted the vote results and was ready to work with Democrats now that they will control Congress. At the same time, Trump warned he was ready to use his executive power to veto any Democratic legislation he felt like.

With polls showing the Iran war and resulting rise in oil prices was vastly unpopular with voters, Trump also acknowledged that the stalled conflict had contributed to the result, yet his conciliatory tone did not extend to his own party. Trump posted later that he was going to “become a political pundit” and give the reasons why Republicans lost, blaming several members that he used to praise, but the White House also called the quality of the Republicans into question.

Iran is on his mind and there is widespread speculation that the president will resume large-scale military action against Tehran — doubling down on a war that it is now clear voters loathed.