Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has signalled that the United Kingdom government could soften controversial plans that would force some foreign care workers to wait up to 15 years before gaining permanent residence in Britain.
According to the Guardian UK on Monday, Mahmood is considering changes to the proposals following growing pressure from senior Labour figures, trade unions and organisations representing migrant workers.
The proposed changes have caused concern because many overseas carers came to Britain under rules that allowed them to apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.
We will come to a position that balances fairness for those who came here legally
Under Mahmood’s plan, the standard qualifying period for permanent residence would rise from five years to 10 years, while social care workers and others in lower paid occupations could face a 15-year wait. The proposed changes could also apply retrospectively to people who arrived in the UK from 2021.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Mahmood suggested that the government was listening to concerns surrounding the proposals.
She said: “As we restore control and fairness to our asylum system, we must do the same for legal migration too. Fair to those who seek a new and better life here, like my parents did, and fair to those already here, including British workers, and especially the young.
“That same principle underpins my reforms to the right to live here indefinitely, ensuring settled status is earned by those who have shown a consistent commitment to this country.
“I know that throughout our consultation process some have said elements of these reforms are not fair. To that, let me say this: we will come to a position that balances fairness for those who came here legally, and fairness to British citizens across this country.”
The issue has put pressure on the government as ministers consider the impact on the already stretched social care sector.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has criticised the proposed changes, saying they could affect overseas workers who had “moved their lives here to look after our loved ones”.
Unison general secretary Andrea Egan has also called for the plans to be dropped, arguing that extending the settlement period could push experienced carers out of the UK.
Hundreds of care workers joined a demonstration outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool demanding Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s proposed settlement plans are torn up.
Migrant care workers demonstrating outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool
Official figures show just how heavily the care sector has relied on overseas recruitment. In 2023, 89,236 visas were granted to care workers and home carers, while another 16,645 went to senior care workers.
Among care workers and home carers, 18,664 were from India, 18,143 from Nigeria and 15,279 from Zimbabwe. Ghana accounted for another 10,137, Bangladesh 7,910, while Pakistan accounted for 7,486. The three largest groups from India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe alone represented about 58 percent of care worker and home carer visas granted in 2023.
A separate government report said more than 141,000 migrants entered Britain to work in the care sector during 2022 and 2023, including about 32,000 senior care workers and 109,000 care workers.
The government has since moved to end overseas recruitment of care workers, with the number of Health and Care Worker visas issued to people in caring personal service occupations falling by more than 99 percent by the year ending June 2026 compared with the peak period.
