social care workers, USA News (London): Migrants currently working in social care are due to be spared from having to wait 15 years to qualify for permanent residency. The Home Secretary will unveil the Government’s long-awaited changes to indefinite leave to remain (ILR), with the proposals set to be watered down for care workers who are already in the country.
It comes as research shows that the number of overseas care workers is on track to plunge by more than 90 per cent compared with just three years ago, despite rising demand and a fall in the number of British starters in the sector. Mahmood has proposed extending the wait before someone qualifies for ILR from the current five-year threshold to 10, with some lower-paid migrants including care workers having to wait 15 years under original plans. The measures were supposed to apply retrospectively, meaning those already in the country would have to wait longer than expected.
Parliamentary Expectations and Worker Exemptions
The final measures will be confirmed by the Home Secretary in Parliament, with Mahmood expected to dilute the rules for care workers following opposition from Labour MPs, including Housing Secretary Angela Rayner. As a result, social care workers already in the UK are now expected to be exempt from the 15-year wait. However, most other workers will have to live and work in the country for 10 years before becoming eligible for ILR.
Between 2022 and 2024, more than 600,000 workers and their dependents moved to Britain on health and care visas, with more than half expected to apply for indefinite leave to remain when eligible from next year. Concerns were previously raised that a 15-year requirement for existing carers could prompt many overseas workers to leave the UK, exacerbating staffing difficulties.
Analysis from The King’s Fund
According to analysis by The King’s Fund think-tank, the number of overseas care workers is already in steep decline. If current trends continue, only 10,000 overseas care workers will be recruited this financial year, less than a tenth of the number in 2023-24. The think-tank found that nearly half of new starters in care work in 2025-26 were of international origin, compared to 18 per cent in 2020-21.
Overseas care worker recruitment plunged from a peak of 105,000 in 2023-24 to 30,000 in 2025-26, on track to fall to 10,000 in 2026-27. Concurrently, new British workers entering the sector are declining, with 140,000 new British starters in 2025-26 down from 255,000 in 2020-21, while 175,000 left the sector last financial year. Danielle Jefferies, senior analyst at The King’s Fund, noted that the divergent trend lines paint a bleak picture for the social care workforce without significant government intervention. The Home Office declined to comment on the ILR announcement.
