Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood abandoned plans to make lower-skilled migrants wait up to 15 years before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), scaling back one of the central elements of her proposed immigration crackdown.
Under the revised rules announced on Monday, most lower-skilled migrants will qualify for permanent settlement after 10 years, rather than the proposed 15 years. However, care workers already in the UK before May 2025 and earning at least £25,000 annually will retain the existing five-year qualifying period, alongside their eligible dependants.
The concession is expected to benefit approximately 300,000 people, representing about three-quarters of foreign care workers and their relatives affected by the proposed changes.
About 100,000 other care workers and dependants who do not meet the eligibility conditions will face longer waiting periods.
UK Immigration Reforms Still Affect 500,000 Migrants
Despite the concessions, the Home Office estimates that more than 500,000 migrants will face longer waits for permanent residency under the revised settlement framework.
The government had previously proposed extending the qualifying period for lower-skilled migrants to 15 years as part of efforts to reduce immigration and limit pressure on public services.
The changes follow a sharp increase in overseas migration after Brexit, with approximately 1.9 million people expected to become eligible for indefinite leave to remain between 2026 and 2030.
Mahmood had argued in March that the arrival of hundreds of thousands of lower-skilled workers and their dependants between 2022 and 2024 could create a £10bn burden on public finances through increased demand for housing, healthcare and other public services.
However, she declined to repeat the £10bn estimate following Monday’s concessions, saying updated government calculations showed the revised proposals would still generate savings worth billions of pounds. The Conservatives have criticised the changes, arguing that they could cost taxpayers up to £10bn.
Political Pressure Forces Mahmood to Dilute Reforms
The concessions followed resistance from senior Labour figures, including Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, who criticised the proposed retrospective application of the new settlement requirements as “un-British”.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh had also repeatedly declined to endorse the proposals to extend the qualifying period for permanent residency.
Some Labour MPs welcomed the government’s decision to soften the reforms, while others argued that changing settlement conditions for migrants already living and working legally in Britain was unfair.
Labour MP Diane Abbott warned that the changes could create a situation similar to the Windrush scandal, in which Caribbean migrants who had legally settled in Britain were wrongly detained and threatened with deportation.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described the government’s decision as a £10bn U-turn, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called it the beginning of a wider retreat from the immigration crackdown.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham defended the revised policy, saying the government wanted an immigration system based on control and contribution that rewarded those who followed the rules.
Stricter Requirements for Permanent Residency
Despite easing the rules for many care workers, Mahmood confirmed that applicants seeking indefinite leave to remain would face stricter eligibility requirements.
Applicants will be required to:
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Have a clean criminal record.
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Demonstrate English-language proficiency equivalent to A-level standard.
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Have no outstanding tax debts.
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Show that they have maintained their National Insurance contributions.
The government also plans to introduce a 20-year qualifying period for refugees who entered the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats. The waiting period could increase to 30 years for those who do not enter employment or education.
The revised framework therefore preserves a five-year settlement route for eligible existing care workers while extending the waiting period for many other migrant categories.
