UK drops 15-year settlement wait for migrant care workers already in country

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has dropped plans to make migrant care workers already living in the country wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement following opposition within her Labour Party.

Under the revised proposals, migrant care workers earning at least £25,000 ($34,000) annually who arrived in the UK before May 2025 will remain eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.

Mahmood has also abandoned the proposed 15-year waiting period for low-income workers, reducing the qualifying period to 10 years.

The changes mark a retreat from her earlier proposal to extend the current five-year settlement period to 10 years, a measure introduced in response to a period of high net migration.

The original plans faced opposition from within the governing Labour Party, particularly over proposals to apply the extended settlement requirements to migrant workers already living in the UK.

The opposition Conservative Party, meanwhile, criticized any potential relaxation of the proposals, describing it as a "slap in the face to British taxpayers."

Indefinite leave to remain, also known as settlement, allows individuals to live, work and study in the UK without a time limit.

It also enables them to apply for benefits, provided they meet the relevant eligibility requirements.