Photo: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, OGL v3.0 (file image: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood) / Source: Wikimedia Commons
NEW Politics · 06:37
UK unveils 'earned settlement': ten years as the default wait, but care workers keep their five-year path
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has told MPs that the right to settle permanently in the UK will no longer be granted almost automatically after five years but will be "earned" through contribution and character. Most migrants will face a new ten-year default, while the highest earners can settle within three years. After a Labour backlash, care workers who arrived before May 2025 keep their five-year route.