LONDON.- British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled on Monday, November 2, 2026, the government's final overhaul of how migrants can settle in Britain, replacing the current five-year route to indefinite leave to remain with an "earned settlement" system that makes 10 years the standard wait — but watering down her own earlier plan by exempting hundreds of thousands of care workers already in the country from the longest delays. The announcement, reported by Reuters and the BBC, follows a consultation that drew more than 200,000 responses and a dispute inside the governing Labour Party over rules opponents called a drastic change for people who came to Britain in good faith.
Under the final rules, most migrants will wait 10 years instead of five before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain, the status that allows a person to settle permanently. The sharpest change from the original proposal concerns care workers: the plan announced in November 2025 would have forced lower-paid workers, including care workers, to wait up to 15 years. Under the version unveiled on November 2, care workers who earn at least £25,000 and arrived before May 2025 will remain eligible after five years, and a Home Office list of "public service" jobs — including psychotherapists, physiotherapists, children's nurses, dental practitioners and midwifery nurses — will also keep the five-year route. The longer waits may still apply to new arrivals.
Who still waits longest, and what the numbers say
The concessions shrink, but do not erase, the scale of the change. Under the original version, 799,000 people would have had their settlement delayed; under the updated version, that figure drops to 517,000, and the government says the policy will still reduce by about 500,000 the number of migrants who arrived since 2021 and would qualify for residence by 2030. The rules are due to take effect in 2027 and will be applied retrospectively to workers already in Britain, a point Housing Secretary Angela Rayner had earlier described as "un-British" for those already living in the country.
The toughest treatment falls on refugees: those who entered via small boats and rely on public funds will face a minimum wait of 30 years for permanent settlement. "Those who contribute most will settle fastest," Shabana Mahmood said. "Those who don't play by the rules will be refused or wait longer." The government argues the changes are needed because around 350,000 lower-skilled workers and their dependants who arrived after Brexit are expected to become eligible for settlement in the coming years, and up to 1.6 million people could become eligible between 2026 and 2030, largely driven by health and care visa arrivals. Net migration has already fallen sharply, almost halving last year to 171,000 from 331,000 a year earlier, down from a record 944,000 in 2023 — but ministers present earned settlement as the next step in tightening a system they say must reward contribution, not just time served.
Read more on The Wire Post: Shabana Mahmood's settlement crackdown stalls as 200,000 are granted permanent status, Shabana Mahmood poised to spare care workers from the 15-year settlement wait and Shabana Mahmood imposes a total UK visa ban on Eritrea as fast-track ends.
Sources: Reuters via KRRO and The Straits Times, BBC via YEN and Bytes Europe, The Guardian via Sunday Guardian Live, November 2, 2026.