Legal migrants in the UK could soon face waits of a decade or more before securing permanent residency under proposed government reforms. Under the plans, the standard qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain would double from five years to ten, while some workers in occupations below graduate level could face waits of up to fifteen years.
The proposals, put forward by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, treat permanent settlement as a privilege to be earned rather than an automatic entitlement. Under the earned-settlement framework, migrants could potentially shorten their qualifying period by earning higher incomes or demonstrating community contributions through a points-based system. Even so, the prospect of prolonged uncertainty has unsettled workers who built their lives around the longstanding five-year requirement.
The policy has sparked pushback within the government itself. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner previously described making care staff already in Britain wait up to fifteen years as "un-British," and Prime Minister Andy Burnham has weighed exempting hundreds of thousands of care workers to relieve pressure on the sector. After issuing roughly 200,000 health and care worker visas over the past five years, ministers are expected to grant some exemptions to care staff already in the country, though most other professions still face extended waits.
Critics argue that partial concessions will fail to prevent broader harm. In a joint letter to ministers, cross-party MPs, racial equality organisations, and health bodies warned that the measures echo Windrush-era policies by targeting established legal residents. With the health and care sectors already critically understaffed, signatories cautioned that shifting the rules threatens cancer treatment targets, NHS waiting lists, and the retention of essential workers across the country.