Mahmood refuses to detail cost of revised settlement plans
Summary
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood declined to estimate the cost of revised settlement rules for migrant care workers, saying detailed figures would come with a future impact assessment. She said the broader changes would still save billions in benefit spending, while the Conservatives said the revisions would cost the state billions.Key Facts
- Mahmood’s original proposal would have increased the standard wait for settlement from five years to 10, with some migrants facing 15 years.
- Under the revised plan, some care workers who arrived before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 a year can still qualify after five years.
- Other care workers may be able to seek a five-year extension before qualifying for settlement.
- The standard settlement wait will rise from five years to 10 years under the updated proposals.
- People earning more than £50,000 and some workers in health care and education could qualify after five years; taxpayers earning more than £125,000 could apply after three years.
- Some refugees who arrived by small boat or another illegal route would face waits of 20 years if they work or study, and 30 years if they do not.
- The Home Office previously estimated the net lifetime cost of care workers and their adult dependants expected to settle from 2026 to 2030 at £10 billion.
- Mahmood said about 500,000 people already in the UK would wait longer than five years under the revised plans.
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