UK settlement wait rules revised for care workers

On 1 November 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was to announce rules that would double the standard wait for UK settlement from five to 10 years, with some care workers facing 15 years. Ministers and MPs warn the plans could worsen health and social care shortages and repeat Windrush-era injustices, though some care workers already in Britain may get exemptions. Longer waits could be reduced through community contribution or higher income.

The next day, Mahmood softened the plans after cabinet and backbench backlash, allowing an estimated 280,000 care workers and dependants to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years. Care workers earning more than £25,000 get the five-year path, while about 100,000 more may get a new five-year visa. Most hardline plans remain, including up to 30 years for those who arrived irregularly.

On 3 November, Mahmood declined to specify the cost of scrapping her plan to make foreign care workers already in the UK wait longer for permanent settlement. Under revised plans, care workers who arrived before May 2025 and earned at least £25,000 a year would continue to qualify after five years. She said the state would still save billions, with costs to be published when the changes go before Parliament.