UK Keeps Five-Year ILR Route for Eligible Care Workers Who Arrived Before May 2025

The UK government has dropped a proposal that could have made some migrant care workers already in Britain wait 15 years before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain (ILR). Eligible care workers who entered the social care route before May 2025, earn at least £25,000 annually and meet the required conditions will retain a five-year route to settlement. The same transitional approach will apply to qualifying healthcare and education workers who arrived before the deadline. For most other migrants outside the exemptions, the proposed settlement route will be 10 years. The reforms also link eligibility to factors including English proficiency, National Insurance contributions, debt and compliance with immigration rules. The change follows strong opposition from unions, migrant groups and politicians, who argued that changing settlement rules for people already living and working in the UK would be unfair.

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