The UK government has dropped a plan that could have required foreign care workers to wait 15 years for permanent residence.
Under the revised proposal, qualifying migrant care workers will remain eligible for settlement after five years, following criticism of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s planned immigration changes.
Mahmood had proposed increasing the standard settlement period for most migrants from five to 10 years, with a possible 15-year wait for some groups. The government relaxed the plan for care workers after opposition from Labour lawmakers, the BBC reported.
Care workers who earn at least £25,000 a year and arrived in the UK before May 2025 will be eligible to apply after five years. Those who failed to meet visa conditions may apply for another five-year visa before seeking settlement.
Mahmood told the House of Commons on Monday that settlement should be earned rather than automatic, but said the government had considered the contribution of care workers who came after the coronavirus pandemic.
Most migrants earning less than £50,000 a year would still wait 10 years under the plan, with exceptions for some professions and categories.
People earning more than £50,000 and those contributing in health and education, including doctors and teachers, would qualify after five years. People earning more than £125,000 could apply after three years.
Refugees who entered through irregular routes could face a 20-year wait if they work or study and a 30-year wait if they do neither.
The Conservative Party called the care-worker exemption a policy reversal and said it could add billions of pounds in costs. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said internal Labour opposition forced the change.
Mahmood said the revised plan would still save substantial sums, with a detailed impact assessment to follow.
Home Office estimates in March said about 117,000 foreign care workers could qualify for settlement between 2026 and 2030, with estimated lifetime costs of £4.2 billion. Including adult dependents could raise the cost to £9.5 billion.
The number of people who may lose access to settlement under existing rules has fallen from 799,000 to 517,000 under the revised plan.
Bangladeshi chef Ashfaq Juned, who works in Birmingham, told the BBC he cried when he heard his settlement date could be delayed until 2033.
Home Office data show net migration added 2.6 million people to the UK population between 2021 and 2024.
Between 1.3 million and 2.2 million people could qualify for settlement from 2026 to 2030, with a central government estimate of 1.9 million.
Refugee Council representative Imran Hossain described the proposed 30-year wait for refugees who arrived irregularly and are not working or studying as unfair and unworkable.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report