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United Kingdom

UK sets 10-year standard wait for settlement, with limited care worker exemption

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's earned settlement model reshapes permanent residence for migrants and employers, and an outcry within Labour forced a partial carve-out for care workers.

Photo: Yahoo News

What happened

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced new settlement rules in Parliament on Monday, doubling the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years. OnlineKhabar English News+1 Under an earned settlement model, the wait depends on a migrant's contribution and conduct, with lower earners facing a longer wait and higher earners and certain professionals a shorter one. OnlineKhabar English News People earning £50,271 a year, and doctors, nurses, teachers and other health and education professionals, can still apply after five years, as can refugees who entered the UK legally. OnlineKhabar English News The government watered down earlier plans by exempting hundreds of thousands of care workers from the longer waits, a move meant to defuse a political outcry within the governing Labour Party. Yahoo News Refugees who arrived illegally by boat face additional penalties and could be required to wait decades. Yahoo News

Around it

The government had announced plans last year requiring lower-skilled workers to wait 10 to 15 years for permanent residence, up from five. Yahoo News The care-worker transition is limited to people who entered or switched into the route before the Immigration White Paper was published in May 2025, and is not a general exemption. Okay News Eligible care workers keep the five-year period if they meet the £25,000 salary, sponsorship and employment requirements, plus strengthened conditions including English language and criminality requirements. Okay News Even with the exemptions, the policy would still reduce by 500,000 the number of migrants who arrived since 2021 and would qualify for residence. Yahoo News

What comes next

The announcement sets out a framework for future implementation, and not every new requirement applies immediately. Okay News

Sources

  1. OnlineKhabar English NewsUK announces sweeping changes to permanent residency rules, extending standard qualifying period to 10 years
  2. Yahoo NewsUK exempts care workers from plan to impose long delays on immigrants seeking residence
  3. Okay NewsUK Settlement Plan Sets Limited Care-Worker Transition

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