SHABANA MAHMOOD CUTS CARE WORKERS' SETTLEMENT WAIT TO FIVE YEARS

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has revised government proposals that would have required care workers to wait 15 years before qualifying for permanent residence in Britain. Under the reworked rules governing Indefinite Leave to Remain, care workers already living in the UK before May 2025 will be able to settle after five years, provided they meet certain conditions. Mahmood announced the changes this afternoon as part of a wider settlement update. The revision removes care workers from the 15-year qualifying period set out in the government's earlier proposals.

The revised rules also apply to a specified list of public service jobs, including doctors, nurses and teachers, who can qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain after five years even if they do not meet the standard salary threshold normally required for settlement. That threshold otherwise ties eligibility to salary rather than length of residence. The changes could also make people who arrived in the UK by small boat eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain. Both groups would follow the same five-year route already open to eligible care workers.

The change has been described as a reversal of Mahmood's original plan, which would have left care workers facing a longer wait for settlement than other occupations covered by the reforms. The standard salary threshold continues to apply to migrant workers outside the exempted public service and care categories. Care staff, public service professionals and people who arrived in the UK by small boat would each be able to reach settlement after five years under the announcement. The shift marks a departure from the stricter residency requirement originally proposed for care workers alone.