Foreign social care workers who arrived in the United Kingdom before May 2025 will be able to apply for permanent residence after five years instead of 15, under final settlement rules announced on Monday.

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the rules were finalised on 2 November. Social care workers earning at least £25,000 a year will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years, if they arrived before May 2025.

The draft “earned settlement” scheme announced in November 2025 had proposed a 15-year wait for these workers. Workers who broke the conditions of their original visas will be given what Mahmood called “a second chance”, with a fresh five-year qualifying period.

Mahmood said the government had already stripped around 1,800 exploitative employers of their licences. She said the government would help affected workers find positions with legitimate care providers.

Other terms in the final rules include:

  • Workers earning more than £50,271 a year, doctors, nurses and teachers can settle in five years.
  • Those earning more than £125,140 a year can settle in three years.
  • Other low-income workers can obtain ILR in 10 years, rather than the 15 proposed in the draft.
  • The qualifying period for refugees and people who arrived by illegal routes will range from five to 30 years, depending on whether they were studying or working and how they arrived.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the House of Commons the change would cost £10 billion, using Mahmood’s own estimate. He alleged that Mahmood was not in control of immigration policy.

Background

The Health and Care Worker visa scheme began in October 2020 and ran until July 2025. It brought large numbers of overseas workers into the UK care sector. The scheme has been linked to reports of workers facing unpaid wages, illegal recruitment fees, threats and other exploitation by employers.

The government had announced the draft earned settlement scheme under pressure from parties on the political right, including Reform UK. The basis of the overhaul was to raise the default qualifying period for settlement from five to 10 years, with various factors lengthening or shortening it for individuals.

The UK government said it received more than 202,000 responses to a public consultation on the draft policy, and that 73 percent of respondents were visa holders. The softer final rules followed pressure from the left of the Labour Party and from health unions, according to reports.

Net migration to the UK reached a record 944,000 in the year ending March 2023. After policy was tightened, the net figure fell to 171,000 as of December 2025.

What it means

For Sri Lankans working in UK social care who arrived before May 2025, the final rules shorten the route to permanent residence, which carries the right to live and work in the UK permanently. People who arrived later, or who earn less than the thresholds above, face longer qualifying periods.

Workers whose employers lost their licences may be eligible for the fresh five-year period. Anyone affected should check the current Home Office guidance, or seek advice from an authorised immigration adviser, before making plans based on the new rules.