The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been forced to back down over proposals to make care workers wait 15 years to qualify for permanent residence.
Under the Government’s reworked plans governing Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), care workers who were in the country before May 2025 and who meet certain conditions will be able to settle after five years.
Workers in a set list of public service jobs – such as doctors, nurses and teachers – will also be able to qualify for ILR after five years even if they do not meet the standard salary threshold.
It is part of a new system which will enable the highest earners to get permanent residence after three years, but where some small boat migrants could be forced to wait up to 30 years.
Routes to settlement over three, five, 10 or 20 years
Under the new system legal migrants will be able to settle on the following timelines
3 years: additional rate taxpayers earning over £125,141, as well as highly skilled individuals on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas
5 years: higher rate taxpayers earning over £50,271, as well as skilled public service workers (see full list below)
10 years: the new standard route for everyone else
20 years: anyone who claims certain benefits while in the UK or commits a visa offence
Carve out for care workers
After a backlash from Labour MPs over the proposal to make social care workers already in the country wait 15 years for permanent residence, Mahmood has introduced a carve out for care workers already in the country.
Under the “transitional arrangement”, care workers who arrived in the country before May 2025 – when the Government published its Immigration White Paper, which included a commitment to extend the timeline for ILR – will be able to qualify after five years so long as they have met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year.
The same will also apply to a small group of existing workers in other public services who arrived before May 2025, such as nursing auxiliaries and teaching assistants.
However, the Government said that the care worker route had also been abused, with some “rogue” companies sponsoring workers for jobs that did not exist.
To give a “second chance” to people in this category – which the Home Office estimates to be around a quarter of the total who arrived before May 2025 – these individuals will be able to apply for a new five-year Health and Care visa, restricted to “genuine work” in the sector. After this period, they will also be able to apply for settlement.
Care workers who arrived after May 2025 will have to wait 10 years before they can earn ILR.
Public service workers earning below £50,271 will be able to apply for settlement after five years in the following occupations
Generalist medical practitioners
Specialist medical practitioners
Physiotherapists
Occupational therapists
Speech and language therapists
Psychotherapists and cognitive behaviour therapists
Clinical psychologists
Other psychologists
Therapy professionals not elsewhere classified
Midwifery nurses
Registered community nurses
Registered specialist nurses
Registered nurse practitioners
Registered mental health nurses
Registered children’s nurses
Other registered nursing professionals
Pharmacists
Optometrists
Dental practitioners
Medical radiographers
Paramedics
Podiatrists
Other health professionals not elsewhere classified
Further education teaching professionals
Secondary education teaching professionals
Four ‘non-negotiable’ conditions
Anyone seeking settlement, regardless of when they arrived in the country, will also have to meet four “non-negotiable” conditions:
A spotless criminal record (up from the current threshold where someone can qualify with up to a 12-month suspended sentence) Spoken English equivalent to A-level English as a foreign language No debt owed to the taxpayer A record of sustained National Insurance contributionsNew rules for refugees
Mahmood has also introduced new pathways to settlement for refugees ranging from five years to as high as 30.
5 years: for individuals who arrived via safe and legal routes
10 years: for those who did not arrive by small boat and have entered work or study
20 years: for refugees who did not arrive by small boat and have not entered work or study, as well as those who arrived by small boat and have entered work or study
30 years: for individuals who arrived by small boat or via another illegal route, and who do not enter work or study
How many people will be affected by the new rules?
The Government said the reforms would result in more than 500,000 people having to wait longer than the current five year wait to settle, with the Department for Work and Pensions calculating this will reduce the welfare bill by “billions”.
Mahmood said: “Settled status is one of the most valuable rights this country can offer. Until now it has been given almost automatically.
“From today, it must be earned. Those who contribute most will settle fastest. Those who don’t play by the rules will be refused or wait much longer.
“This policy creates a migration system that is fair: fair to those who come here and play their part, and fair to British citizens already here, who must not be asked to bear a greater burden.”
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