Overview
- A letter signed by 35 Labour MPs, Unison’s leader and 33 civil society groups urges a pause, a full impact assessment and a guarantee that new rules will not be applied to people already in the UK.
- The ‘earned settlement’ plan would double the standard wait for indefinite leave to remain to 10 years, extend it to 15 for health and social care routes, introduce criteria on clean records, A‑level English, three years’ continuous work and no government debts, add penalties for benefit claims, and offer faster routes for high earners.
- Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has defended the overhaul as necessary to control legal migration, with allies insisting she is fully committed, and the public consultation closed on Thursday.
- Opponents warn the changes could deepen staffing shortages in social care, citing roughly 110,000 existing vacancies, and increase risks of exploitation by tying workers to longer sponsorships.
- Reporting says the retrospective element could affect about 2.2 million recent arrivals, with other estimates noting around 1.6 million due to qualify for settlement between 2026 and 2030 and a cohort of roughly 616,000 in health and social care from 2022 to 2024.