Britain has exempted hundreds of thousands of migrant care workers from plans to extend the waiting period for permanent settlement, softening proposed immigration changes following criticism from trade unions and Labour party lawmakers.
Foreign care workers who meet all the requirements of their visas and earn at least £25,000 a year will still be able to apply for settled status after five years, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has revealed.
The concession represents a step back from initial plans that would have resulted in some less-paid migrants waiting 15 years, rather than the current five.
Most other migrants will qualify after 10 years, the usual qualifying period, under the new rules introduced in 2027. People earning £125,000 or more will be able to qualify after three years, with higher earners and public-sector workers such as teachers, nurses and doctors able to qualify after five.
“Those who contribute most will settle fastest,” mahmood said.
By 2030, the government said the reforms would cut the net number of migrants entitled to settle by 500,000. It also imposed longer settlement periods on refugees who arrived through irregular means.
