Government drops proposed 15-year settlement wait for eligible care workers

The revised proposals announced on Monday, retain the plan to increase ILR waiting periods for most migrants in the UK from five to 10 years.

However, care workers and senior care workers (sponsored under SOC Codes 6135 and 6136 respectively), will be exempt, retaining the opportunity to apply for ILR after five years, provided that they arrived before May 2025, they earn at least £25,000 a year, and they meet all their visa conditions. Before obtaining ILR, all migrant workers (not just care workers) will also need to demonstrate that they:

• speak English to a high standard;
• owe no debt to the government, such as unpaid taxes; and
• earn at least £12,571 a year for at least three years, aligned with the threshold for paying income tax (this being significantly lower than the Home Office’s minimum salary threshold for care workers).

Care workers and senior care workers who arrived after May 2025 as well as new sponsored care staff, will be subject to the new 10 year waiting period.

The reversal follows concerns that extending the qualifying period would change the terms on which workers came to the UK, making it harder for the care sector to retain staff.

Further details on the status of family members of migrant workers have also been confirmed including the following:

• a partner who arrives to the UK with a migrant worker who then applies for ILR will be able to settle at the same time;
• a partner who joins after the migrant worker arrived will need to complete the same qualifying residence period before they are eligible for ILR;
• children under 18 will still be entitled to settle with their parents.

This is likely to come as a welcome relief to many care providers given the predictions of an exodus of skilled workers from the care sector that the previous proposals prompted. It is worth noting that many sponsored care workers will still be subject to a longer qualification period if they arrived from May 2025, albeit 10 years rather than the previously proposed 15.

It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the ongoing desirability of care work as a viable route to settlement.