Care Workers Retain Five-Year Settlement Route Under Immigration Overhaul

Eligible health and social care workers will continue to be able to apply for permanent settlement in the UK after five years, following a government retreat from proposals that could have made some care workers wait for up to 15 years.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has confirmed that the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain will increase from five to 10 years for most legal migrants. Settlement allows someone to live and work in the UK permanently and can provide a route towards British citizenship.

The original proposals placed lower-paid health and care visa holders on a 15-year pathway and were expected to affect people already living and working in Britain. The plans prompted warnings that care workers could leave the country, worsening recruitment and retention problems across a sector where approximately one in three workers is a non-British national.

Under the revised approach, eligible health and care workers will retain a five-year route but must meet conditions including strong English-language skills, a clean criminal record and a history of National Insurance contributions. Most other migrants will face a 10-year baseline, while some high earners and people on specified specialist visas may qualify after three years.

Further detail will be needed on precisely which care roles qualify and how the transitional arrangements will apply to workers and dependants already in the UK. That distinction will be particularly important for staff employed by independent care providers rather than directly by the NHS.

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