Pre-May 2025 care workers keep five-year UK settlement path

A care worker earning £25,000 a year and meeting visa rules can still apply to settle in Britain after five years. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the change in the Commons, scrapping her proposed 15-year wait for qualifying care workers who arrived on the route before May 2025. Those who fall short can apply for another five-year care visa. ^1,2

That five-year route follows a political fight over a broader plan to make settlement depend on how people earn, work and contribute. Mahmood had proposed raising the usual wait from five years to 10, with some lower-paid workers facing 15. After hearing more than 200,000 responses to the consultation, she kept the standard 10-year wait but spared qualifying care workers. Workers who did not meet visa rules can apply for a new visa without being tied to their former employer, including when a sponsor was rogue. ^9,12

The 10-year rule will affect most migrants who do not qualify for faster routes. People earning more than £50,000 and some public service workers, including doctors, nurses and teachers, can apply after five years. Top earners above £125,141 and some highly skilled migrants can apply after three. Refugees arriving through safe and legal routes keep a five-year path. Others face 20 years, or 30 if they arrived by small boat and do not work or study. The rules make the right to stay permanently depend more on income and activity. They also raise concerns about whether tougher terms will hurt employers who rely on overseas staff. ^2,12

Those longer waits remain at the centre of the dispute. The SNP says the wider reforms could damage Scotland’s economy and public finances. Mahmood says the changes answer abuse of the care visa and reward people who meet its terms. Labour critics had also challenged the proposed 15-year wait. The Home Secretary has now set out the revised rules to MPs; the government’s next task is to put the new settlement system in place. ^1,2,12