Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce her final decision on indefinite leave to remain (ILR) rules for legal migrants next week, with the changes laid before Parliament.
That is according to a BBC News report published on Saturday 31 October. The Home Office has told the BBC it will not comment on the final decisions until they are presented to Parliament in the coming week.
What was proposed
Mahmood first set out the plan at the Labour conference in September 2025. The standard qualifying period for ILR would double from five years to 10. Some lower-paid migrants would wait longer still, with many social care workers facing up to 15 years.
The government ran a public consultation on the reforms. The BBC says it drew 200,000 responses.
What is likely to change for care workers
The BBC understands that social care workers already in the UK are now likely to be exempt from the longer wait of 15 years.
The report does not say what period they will fall under instead. It does not confirm whether care workers already here will stay on the current five-year route, or whether they will move to the standard 10-year period that most other workers are expected to face. That detail will only be clear when the statement of changes is published.
What the BBC does say is that most other workers will likely need to live and work in the UK for 10 years before they can apply for settlement, as originally proposed. That period can be cut for people who contribute to their local community or earn higher incomes.
So the picture at this stage is: 10 years remains the default for most, with faster routes for higher earners and community contribution, and care workers already in the UK spared the 15-year wait. How far they are spared is the open question.
Why the care worker exemption matters
The dispute inside government has been about applying the new rules to people who are already in the UK on a visa. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, before she returned to the cabinet, called the proposals "un-British" because they changed the rules for people who had come to Britain in good faith. The BBC notes that many lower-paid care workers were the group facing the jump from five to 15 years.
Care providers who sponsor overseas staff will want to read the final rules closely. A worker's route to settlement affects retention, and the sector has relied heavily on sponsored workers in recent years.
What Andy Burnham and other ministers have said
Prime Minister Andy Burnham backed Mahmood last week without fully committing to the detail. Speaking on Friday 23 October, he said the government had been consulting on the reforms and would come forward with its decisions soon. He added that he strongly supports the Home Secretary's view that settlement is a right to be earned through contribution, LBC reported.
The same LBC report says Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh had criticised any attempt to make people wait longer for settlement in a social media post that was later deleted. She then said she fully supports the Home Secretary and the government's position on migration reform, describing her earlier remark as light-hearted.
On the Conservative side, a party spokesperson said in September that Mahmood had caved in to pressure from Rayner and her backbenchers and would shred her own plans, calling it a slap in the face to taxpayers.
What ILR holders and applicants should know now
Indefinite leave to remain gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like, and to claim benefits if eligible.
Nothing has changed yet. The current rules remain in force until a statement of changes is laid and takes effect. If you are on a Skilled Worker or Health and Care Worker visa and counting towards settlement, the document to watch next week is the statement of changes to the Immigration Rules. It will set out the final qualifying periods, any exemptions and the dates from which they apply.
If you are close to five years and eligible under the current rules, it is worth taking advice on timing before the new rules land. Our team can review your position and advise on your Skilled Worker visa and settlement options. Book a consultation with NARA Solicitors.
For employers, especially care providers holding a sponsor licence, the changes will affect how you plan recruitment and retention of sponsored staff. We covered the earlier parliamentary debate on the 10-year rule in our news update.
We will publish a full breakdown once the statement of changes is laid before Parliament.
If you are unsure how the new settlement rules may affect you or your workers, NARA Solicitors is here to help. Our team is ready to provide the guidance and support you need.
Book a consultation with Nara Solicitors today.
