UK Home Secretary trims migrant settlement rules as pressure mounts on welfare and borders
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The government will still hand foreign care workers a faster route to indefinite leave to remain after five years, but ministers say the revised plan will cut welfare costs and tighten the system for those who do not meet the rules.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government will let foreign care workers who meet visa conditions and earn at least £25,000 a year apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years of residence. The policy replaces an earlier proposal that required a 15-year period for ILR. Mahmood indicated the change will still generate "savings in the billions" compared with the Home Office’s earlier estimate of a £10 billion increase in welfare costs for the cohort.
The revised rules apply to roughly 300,000 care workers who meet the earnings threshold, while about 100,000 care workers who do not meet the conditions will have to wait ten years for settlement. The Home Office estimates that around 500,000 migrants will face longer waiting periods under the new framework, which the government presents as a tougher and more disciplined approach to settlement.
"There will be savings in the billions, but allowing people to settle at five years, given the unique contribution of care workers, obviously has an impact on the numbers," Mahmood told the BBC. She added that a full cost assessment will be published in the new year when the legislation is presented to Parliament.
Border security and asylum minister Anna Turley said the adjustment could deliver at least £1 billion in welfare savings over the next couple of years. The government also announced that doctors, nurses, teachers and other high-earning migrants will be eligible for ILR after five years, while refugees arriving illegally by small boat will face a 30-year wait unless they engage in work or study, a tougher stance that ministers say is necessary to restore control and ensure rules are enforced.
Mahmood emphasized that the package seeks to balance the interests of migrant workers and British taxpayers, noting that the changes affect roughly half a million people who were previously on track for settlement after five years.