Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) Shabana Mahmood has unveiled new settlement rules under her reforms.
Mahmood has now announced the cutting of the proposed 15-year wait for most migrants to 10 years and reversing course on care workers and their dependants.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass in this report explain who waits how long to get indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK under the new settlement rules.
Recall that the reforms were first announced in November 2025. Mahmood said then that moving from a five-year baseline to 10 years was not up for consultation, though the proposed 15-year route for care workers drew a backlash inside Labour. She signalled a possible U-turn in late September 2026 amid cabinet pressure. The latest changes confirm several of those reversals.
Care workers keep the five-year route
The biggest U-turn is for social care. Care workers who arrived before May 2025, earn at least £25,000 and meet their visa conditions keep the five-year wait, rather than the 15 years previously proposed.
Care workers who don’t meet those conditions get a “second chance” and face 10 years.
136,000 dependants spared a separate test
In a second reversal, about 136,000 dependants of eligible care workers will now face the same five-year wait as their partners. Under the earlier plan, dependants would have had to qualify independently.
The standard wait rises from 5 to 10 years
For most other legal migrants, the standard route to ILR doubles from five to 10 years. This is lower than the 15 years floated for some groups, but still a major change to the system.
Small boat arrivals face the longest waits
Migrants who did not arrive by small boat face 10 years if they work or study, or 20 years if they don’t. Small boat arrivals face 20 years if they work or study, rising to 30 years if they don’t.
Who qualifies for the shortest waits?
The highest earners, at £125,141 or more, face the fastest route at three years. Doctors, nurses and teachers earning over £50,271, and refugees arriving through safe and legal routes, face five years if they arrived before May 2025.
Four conditions to meet under the new UK settlement rules
It also listed four conditions that everyone seeking settlement must meet, regardless of when they arrived in the UK.
They include having “a spotless criminal record, speaking English to a high standard, owing no debt to the taxpayer and having a record of sustained National Insurance contributions.”
The Home Office said the criminal record requirement would be raised from the current threshold of a 12-month suspended sentence, while the English language standard would be equivalent to A-Level English as a foreign language.
Explaining the policy, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said, “Settled status is one of the most valuable rights this country can offer. Until now it has been given almost automatically.
“From today, it must be earned. Those who contribute most will settle fastest. Those who don’t play by the rules will be refused or wait much longer.
“This policy creates a migration system that is fair: fair to those who come here and play their part, and fair to British citizens already here, who must not be asked to bear a greater burden.”
On the revised arrangement for care workers, the government said the five-year route was introduced in recognition of their contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It stated, “In recognition of the contribution care workers made to Britain when the sector was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, those who met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year will be able to settle after five years.”
However, the Home Office said the route had also been abused by employers who sponsored foreign workers for non-existent jobs.
It added, “Under this government, 1,800 exploitative employers have been stripped of their right to sponsor foreign workers.”
In his reaction, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the proposals were based on an immigration system that rewarded contribution and compliance with the rules.
He said, “People want to see an immigration system based on control, contribution, and which rewards those who play by the rules.
“These proposals are based on that principle and recognise the contribution made by overseas workers to our country.
“Following Brexit, the previous government lost control of immigration, with an unprecedented spike in numbers. This Home Secretary is gripping this problem, and she has my full support in doing so.”
Burnham added that migrants making valuable contributions to their communities should have the opportunity to settle earlier, while others should expect longer waiting periods.
“It is only fair that those who are making the most valuable contribution to our communities are given the opportunity to settle earlier.
“Those in other roles should expect to wait longer while people who abuse the system or arrive illegally will be refused or will also have to wait longer,” he said.
