Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has abandoned plans to double the waiting period for foreign care workers to qualify for permanent settlement in the UK, a move critics are calling a U-turn. The original proposal would have extended the wait from five years to 10, with some facing 15 years, a change the Home Office estimated could save £10 billion.
Under the revised policy, some foreign care workers will continue to qualify for settlement after five years, while others will be eligible for a five-year extension. Mahmood stated that the exact cost of the revised plan would be detailed when the changes are presented to Parliament. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the overall changes would still result in "savings in the billions" for the Department of Work and Pensions due to fewer individuals claiming benefits.
Mahmood originally announced the plan to delay settlement in November, citing concerns over the number of people approaching eligibility following record post-Brexit net migration figures. The Home Office had previously stated that the net lifetime fiscal cost of care workers and their dependants expected to settle between 2026 and 2030 was estimated at £10 billion.
Following a backlash from several Labour MPs, Mahmood announced on Monday that care workers who arrived in the UK before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 annually will still qualify for settlement after five years, along with some other groups. Indefinite leave to remain, also known as settlement, grants individuals the right to live, work, and study in the UK indefinitely, and allows them to apply for British citizenship.
The Conservative party has criticized the change, asserting that the U-turn will cost the state billions of pounds. Mahmood contended that the revised policy would prevent individuals from settling too soon and claiming benefits, thus saving public funds.