Care workers' settlement wait cut under revised UK plans
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has scrapped plans that would have required many migrant care workers already in the UK to wait 15 years for permanent settlement. BBC News
Settlement is the permanent right to live in the UK, also known as indefinite leave to remain. Under the revised plans, care workers who arrived before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 a year will qualify for settlement in five years. BBC News
The retrospective element of the plans, meaning rules that apply to people who have already arrived, has not changed in the revised announcement. Angela Rayner, who returned as housing secretary under Andy Burnham, described that element as "un-British". She said the government should not shift "the goalposts". She repeated the criticism in an interview at the Labour Party conference in September. BBC News
Under the original plans, announced last year, many social care workers would have had to wait 15 years. About 500,000 people will now have their path to settlement delayed, compared with about 800,000 under the original plans.
Mahmood made a statement to MPs in the House of Commons on the revised changes. Conservative MP Chris Philp accused her of a significant U-turn. Mahmood had earlier said that allowing care workers to reach settlement more quickly could cost the UK £10bn.
The care worker changes sit within a wider set of rules for migrants settling in the UK, which the Home Secretary unveiled on 2 November. Under the new rules, the right to live in the UK permanently will no longer be granted almost automatically after five years. GOV.UK The government's earned settlement model means migrants will need to earn permanent status rather than receive it after a fixed period. GOV.UK
The overhaul followed months of debate. Reuters Paragraphs of the Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, known as HC 584, are set to take effect on 30 November 2026. GOV.UK In September, Rayner described the permanent residence change as "disruptive". The Guardian
