UK's Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has dropped a proposal that would have required some migrant care workers already in the UK to wait 15 years before qualifying for permanent settlement.
Under the revised plans outlined in the House of Commons, eligible care workers who joined the social care route before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 a year working in the sector would retain a five-year route to indefinite leave to remain.
Mahmood also abandoned the proposed 15-year wait for other lower-income workers, replacing it with a 10-year pathway.
The changes follow opposition from Labour politicians, trade unions and migrants who argued that applying longer settlement requirements to people already living in Britain would unfairly change the conditions under which they arrived.
Indefinite leave to remain, also known as settlement, allows a person to live, work and study in the UK without a time limit and claim benefits where eligible.
Addressing MPs, Mahmood said the revised system would link settlement more closely to an individual’s contribution to the country. “The right to live in this country must now be earned, it will no longer be automatic,” she said.
The home secretary said a five-year pathway would remain available to people earning more than £50,000 a year, alongside qualifying workers in healthcare and education.
A faster three-year route would be available to those earning more than £125,000, whom she described as making an exceptional contribution through taxation.
Mahmood argued that the taxes paid by higher earners supported services relied upon by people across the country, including those on the lowest incomes.
Migrants outside the stated exceptions would generally face a 10-year route to settlement, including those earning less than £50,000. She said these applicants would be able to renew their temporary visas while demonstrating a sustained contribution.
The home secretary also outlined factors that could prevent a person from qualifying for settlement, including a criminal record, insufficient English-language proficiency, unpaid debt and failure to make National Insurance contributions.