Britainupdated 1h ago3 min read
Shabana Mahmood Preserves Five-Year Settlement for Foreign Care Workers, Extends Others to 10 Years
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Most migrants face a 10-year waiting period for permanent settlement. Care workers exempted from the 10-year rule, retaining five-year route to settlement.
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Carer wait cut to 5
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood backed away from proposals that would have required many foreign care workers to wait 15 years for permanent residence, and she instead preserved a five-year track for those who meet the conditions. Mahmood said care workers who “answered our call when we needed them” would be able to settle on their existing five-year path, while the BBC reported that the Conservatives called her move a “U-turn” that would cost taxpayers billions of pounds. Mahmood also told MPs that settlement “should not be automatic, it should be earned,” as she set a longer default qualifying period for most migrants.
The revised framework kept the five-year route for care workers earning at least £25,000 a year and arriving before May 2025, while it moved other workers onto a 10-year path unless they were exempt. The government also tied faster settlement to higher earnings, with the BBC stating that higher earners on salaries of more than £50,000 and some public service workers such as doctors and teachers could qualify after five years.
Refugee timelines tightened
Mahmood’s reforms also set longer timelines for refugees, with the BBC saying refugees who arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel by small boat or another illegal route would have to wait 20 years if they work or study, and 30 years if they do not. The Home Secretary told Parliament that the government’s approach would ensure “those who are net contributors are encouraged to come to this country and stay here,” linking settlement to contribution rather than time alone. The BBC reported that the Home Office estimates between 2026 and 2030 between 1.3m and 2.2m people will settle in the UK, and it said the central estimate increased to 1.9m.
The BBC also described how the original version would have delayed 799,000 people from gaining permanent residency, and it said the updated plans would drop that number to 517,000. The BBC quoted Refugee Council’s Imran Hussain saying the plans for those who had travelled to the UK illegally or by small boat and do not work or study to wait 30 years for ILR were “unfair and unworkable.”
Political backlash and stakes
The Conservatives framed Mahmood’s changes as costly, with the BBC reporting that the Conservatives said her “U-turn” would cost taxpayers billions of pounds. Labour MPs and unions criticized the earlier approach, and the BBC reported that Housing Secretary Angela Rayner previously said backdating the plans would “change the goalposts.” Mahmood defended the policy in the House of Commons by arguing that settlement “should not be automatic, it should be earned,” while she maintained that care workers meeting the visa conditions would keep their existing five-year path.
The BBC described how one affected person, Ashfak Juned, a Bangladeshi chef working in Birmingham, said he was “crying” when he heard his wait for settled status would now last until 2033. The BBC also said the home secretary confirmed a number of groups would see their settlement path remain as it is today, including Hong Kong British nationals overseas and those on legacy routes including the Windrush scheme.