Mahmood sets five-year settlement route for qualifying care workers

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a revised settlement framework that lets qualifying overseas care workers apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years, abandoning a proposed 15-year wait for the group. Workers must meet their visa conditions and earn at least £25,000 a year to use the five-year route, she told MPs in the Commons on Monday, November 2. Care workers who do not meet the criteria can apply for another five-year care visa and later seek settlement. Mahmood said they would not be tied to their existing employer. The government has said it will offer a second chance to workers whose visa conditions were not met, while details on how income shortfalls caused by sponsor misconduct will be handled remain important to the scheme’s practical effect. The announcement forms part of a wider overhaul of settlement rules. The standard qualifying period will rise from five to 10 years. Some people will be eligible sooner, including those earning more than £125,141 a year, who may qualify after three years, and some higher-paid workers and public-service staff, including doctors, nurses and teachers, who may qualify after five years. Applicants will also...