Mahmood revises care-worker settlement rules within wider migration reforms

Immigration · First reported 2 Nov, 14:14 · Updated 14:19

Image: Wikimedia Commons · NASA Johnson Space Center · Public domain

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says her revised migration package will still reduce net migration, while changing the proposed settlement wait for some foreign care workers. The plans also set different settlement timelines according to earnings and other conditions.

Care workers who meet visa conditions and earn at least £25,000 a year would qualify to apply for settlement after five years; others could seek a further five-year visa before applying.
The revised care-worker provision follows criticism of an earlier proposal that could have required some lower-qualified workers arriving on health and social care visas from 2022 to wait 15 years.
Mahmood said around 500,000 people who would have settled after five years will instead have to wait longer under the changes.
The proposed settlement routes include three years for the highest earners, five years for some other higher earners and public-service workers, and a 10-year default for others.
The Week describes opposition to the reforms from within Mahmood’s party and from opponents; The Irish News snippet focuses on the revised care-worker waiting period.

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Key facts

Care-worker five-year route: At least £25,000 annual earnings and compliance with visa conditions.
Default settlement period: 10 years.
Highest-earner threshold and route: At least £125,141 a year; settlement after three years.
Refugees arriving by small boat: 20-year settlement wait, rising to 30 years if they do not enter work or study.