Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has scrapped controversial plans that would have forced 300,000 migrant care workers to wait 15 years before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), cutting the wait to five years for those earning £25,000 or more.
In a speech to the Commons, Ms Mahmood announced what she described as the biggest overhaul of migration rules in a generation. The original proposal, put forward when Keir Starmer was prime minister, would have extended the wait for low-paid migrant workers from five years to 15. The change was dismissed as "un-British" by Labour frontbencher Angela Rayner.
New settlement rules
Under the revised plans, care workers from overseas must earn over £25,000 and have five years of continuous employment to qualify for ILR. Around a quarter of care workers will not meet these conditions and face an extended wait.
Ms Mahmood said half a million people currently in the UK will face a delay before qualifying for ILR. Small boat arrivals will be ineligible until they have lived in the country for 20 or 30 years.
For the first time, those granted ILR must have a clean criminal record, no debt to the government, speak English to a high standard, and have at least three years of paying National Insurance. Migrants who claim certain benefits will also be penalised under the new rules.
Fast-track routes
High earners and public service workers will be fast-tracked. People earning over £125,141 on highly skilled worker visas will qualify for ILR after three years. Those paid over £50,271 and skilled public workers, such as NHS staff, will qualify after five years.
Refugees arriving through safe and legal routes will be eligible after five years. Small boat arrivals will have to wait 20 years if they are in work or study, or 30 years if they are not.
Ms Mahmood told MPs: "These reforms are the right thing to do, both morally and financially." She added: "The right to live in this country forever must now be earned. It will no longer be automatic."
Reaction to the U-turn
Andy Burnham voiced support for the measures, saying: "People want to see an immigration system based on control, contribution, and which rewards those who play by the rules."
Unison general secretary Andrea Egan said: "We are glad she has finally listened to us and not implemented the worst aspects. These plans were morally bankrupt and a threat to public services – they should be dropped altogether."
Ms Mahmood said care workers whose applications fail will be given a second chance. She said: "Everyone will have a fair shot to make their contribution, and no-one will be punished for the sins of their employer, but we will also preserve the critical element of this reform - that settlement must be linked to contribution."
Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green said: "This announcement deserves recognition, but it cannot be the end of the story. We need protections that work in practice, certainty for workers and their families, and a system that allows care providers to retain the people our communities rely on every day."
Ms Mahmood also announced she had scrapped proposals to let migrants earn ILR faster through volunteer work, following concerns around safeguarding and verification, the Home Office said. The shake-up will save billions of pounds from the welfare bill, she said.
