Shabana Mahmood has abandoned a proposed 15-year settlement wait for qualifying migrant care workers already in Britain, preserving their five-year route after opposition from Labour MPs.

The exemption covers care workers who arrived before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 annually. Those not meeting their visa conditions can apply for another five-year visa and seek settlement afterwards.

The wider changes remain: people earning below £50,000 face a 10-year route unless exempt. Monday’s revision reduces the number whose permanent residency would be delayed from 799,000 to 517,000.

Indefinite leave to remain allows people to live, work and study in Britain permanently, claim benefits where eligible and apply for citizenship. Existing routes remain for Hong Kong British nationals overseas, armed forces members, people with a British connection and legacy schemes, including Windrush.

Mahmood rejected the description of a U-turn, saying settlement should be earned rather than automatic. She said the Department for Work and Pensions estimated the reforms would cut benefit spending by billions, while recognising care workers who answered Britain’s call after the pandemic.

The plans, announced last November, followed record post-Brexit migration under the previous Conservative government. The Home Office puts net migration during 2021–24 at 2.6 million and forecasts 1.3 million–2.2 million settlements during 2026–30, with a central estimate of 1.9 million.

Labour critics objected to changing conditions for workers already here. Angela Rayner said that would “change the goalposts”; other Labour MPs warned of worsening skills shortages. Birmingham chef Ashfak Juned, from Bangladesh, said he was “crying” after learning his settlement wait would extend to 2033.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp called the concession a costly U-turn, citing Home Office calculations that 196,000 care workers and adult dependants could settle during 2026–30 at an estimated £9.5 billion lifetime taxpayer cost. Conservative Sir Edward Leigh countered by highlighting his party’s responsibility for migration peaking near one million in 2023.

Reform UK’s Nigel Farage claimed a £50 billion lifetime cost, citing citizenship eligibility for over 200,000 Health and Care visa arrivals before the next election. He proposed reviewing citizenship for care-visa arrivals from now and a minimum 10-year citizenship qualification.

Conversely, the Institute for Public Policy Research estimates skilled workers and dependants approaching settlement will contribute £115 billion net over their lifetimes. These figures concern different populations and are not directly comparable.

Liberal Democrat Max Wilkinson criticised a debate reduced to numbers and small boats; Green MP Siân Berry condemned additional barriers. Refugee Council spokesman Imran Hussain called the proposed 30-year wait for illegal or small-boat arrivals who neither work nor study “unfair and unworkable”, advocating prompt asylum decisions, integration for recognised refugees and dignified departures for those without permission to remain.