Overseas social workers and care workers secure settlement exemption

Overseas qualified social workers will be exempt from the Government’s new 10-year route to permanent settlement in the UK, while eligible international care workers will retain a five-year pathway under changes announced by the Home Secretary.

The concessions form part of the Government’s new earned settlement model, which will replace the existing general five-year route with a system in which the time migrants must wait to secure indefinite leave to remain depends on their earnings, contribution and conduct.

Under the proposals, the default qualifying period for settlement will increase from five to 10 years. However, some workers in public service roles, including doctors, nurses and teachers, will be able to settle after five years.

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.”

The Home Office confirmed that overseas qualified social workers would also be exempt from the new 10-year route and retain the five-year pathway as a skilled public service role.

The decision followed campaigning from sector stakeholders, including the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), and uncertainty among overseas qualified social workers, warning that the original proposals risked damaging recruitment and retention across the profession and the sustainability of public services.

BASW said it had submitted a petition to the Home Office earlier this year, calling on the Government to retain the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain. It also secured parliamentary support from MPs Cat Smith and Neil Duncan-Jordan, who tabled questions seeking clarity about whether social workers would qualify for the public service exemption.

International care workers will also be able to retain a five-year route to settlement, provided they have met their visa conditions and earned at least £25,000 a year.

The Government said the concession recognised the contribution care workers made during the Covid-19 pandemic, while acknowledging concerns about the exploitation of overseas workers by companies sponsoring people for jobs that did not exist.

Care England welcomed the announcement, describing it as an important concession following concerns that earlier proposals could have forced thousands of international care workers to wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “This is an important step forward, and we should celebrate it for what it is. Thousands of international care workers came to Britain in good faith, worked hard, paid their taxes and dedicated themselves to caring for others. They have built lives here, raised families and become part of our communities. They deserve certainty about their future.

“International care workers stood by this country during the pandemic, providing essential care when we needed them most. Yet the previous proposals threatened to undermine their future here, without offering a credible plan to recruit and retain more workers from within the UK. Care England has consistently raised these concerns, alongside many others, and it is encouraging that those voices have been heard.”

However, Care England warned that further details were needed about the earnings threshold, transitional arrangements and protections for workers whose employment had been disrupted.

The organisation said the Government had also recognised the position of care workers who had lost their sponsorship through no fault of their own, but raised concerns about the future of support available to help them find new employment.

Green said: “The government has promised greater support for these workers, yet the funding for regional partnerships helping them find new employment is due to end in March 2027. We cannot promise displaced care workers greater protection at the same time as the infrastructure designed to help them is being wound down by the government.

“If the government intends to give workers more time to find another sponsor, there must also be somewhere for them to go for practical help. That means maintaining a route into ethical employers, access to appropriate immigration advice and effective coordination between the Home Office, local government and care providers.”

Under the wider reforms, the highest earners will be able to qualify for settlement after three years, while people earning more than £50,271 and some public service workers will be eligible after five years. The default qualifying period will be 10 years, rising to at least 20 years for those who have breached immigration rules.

All applicants will have to meet four conditions: a spotless criminal record, a high standard of English, no debt owed to the taxpayer and a record of sustained National Insurance contributions.

The Home Office estimates that more than 500,000 people will wait longer than five years to settle under the changes. It said no one would be forced to leave the UK as a result and that people would have the opportunity to apply for new visas allowing them to qualify after 10 years.

The reforms also introduce different settlement arrangements for refugees, with those arriving through Home Office-approved routes able to settle after five years. Other refugees will face a 20-year qualifying period, reduced to 10 years for those who work or study. People arriving by small boat or other clandestine means will face an additional 10-year waiting period.

Care England said it would continue to engage with the Government to ensure the new arrangements provide meaningful protection for international care workers, support workforce retention and safeguard continuity of care for people who rely on essential services.