Earned Settlement: care workers on visas keep five-year route to settlement

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood presented the "Earned Settlement" policy to the House of Commons on 2 November 2026. Under the policy, the right to settle permanently in the UK must be "earned". The government has softened its approach towards social care workers who arrived before the Immigration White Paper was published in May 2025.

The new general rules

According to the statement published on GOV.UK, the wait for settlement will depend on a person's contribution, not just the years spent in the UK. Applicants must meet four baseline conditions: no criminal record, a high standard of English, no unpaid debt to the state, and three years of National Insurance contributions.

• Five years: people earning over £50,000 a year, and healthcare and education workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers.
• Three years: people earning over £125,000, and those arriving on the highest talent schemes.
• Ten years: everyone else, including those earning under £50,000. They can renew their existing temporary visas.
• Twenty years: people who have committed an immigration breach.
• People who have claimed benefits must have had five continuous years without relying on state support.

The route is to remain unchanged for, among others, Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas), members of the armed forces, people with a British connection and those on legacy routes such as Windrush.

Care workers

Ms Mahmood noted that between 2022 and 2025, 250,000 people and their dependants arrived on, or switched into, the social care route. She acknowledged that the route was abused. The government has split care workers into two groups:

• Those who earned £25,000 a year and worked in social care, as their visa required, can settle after five years, as before.
• The second group, who did not meet their visa conditions, make up around a quarter of those who arrived in this period. They can apply for another five-year care visa, without being tied to their old employer. At the end of it they will be able to apply for settlement again. They will also get more time to find a new job before their current visa is curtailed.

The same transitional arrangement will apply to public sector workers in roles identified by the Migration Advisory Committee, such as auxiliary nurses. These arrangements apply only to people who arrived before the White Paper was published in May 2025. Ms Mahmood stressed that the rules that apply are those in force when a settlement decision is made, not on the day someone arrives.

Refugees

People arriving through new safe and legal routes will get a five-year path. The standard qualifying period for refugees who did not arrive that way will rise to 20 years, with a further 10 years added for those who entered illegally, for example by small boat. Taking up work or study cuts the period by ten years.

What this means for you

The statement does not mention EU citizens or people on the EU Settlement Scheme, so it implies no change for them. It concerns people applying for settlement under the UK's visa system, including, for example, those working in care on sponsored visas. It does not give a date for the changes to take effect. A full impact assessment is to be published as the reforms are implemented.