Shabana Mahmood’s hardline immigration reforms could be watered down following pressure from Labour MPs and key trade unions.
The Home Secretary has outlined plans to double the default time migrants must live in the UK before qualifying for settlement from five to 10 years – with some having to wait up to 30 years based on their circumstances.
Tensions over reforming indefinite leave to remain (ILR) heightened on Wednesday when Government talks with the Labour-affiliated union Unison broke down after Mahmood refused to allow a migrant care worker to attend the meeting.
Splits in the Cabinet have also emerged, with Housing Secretary Angela Rayner previously branding the reforms as “unfair” and “un-British”.
The tougher rules – which have been widely opposed by Labour MPs and peers – could affect up to 1.6 million people forecast to become eligible for settlement between 2026 and 2030, according to Home Office figures.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh – who arrived in the UK as a child refugee – recently refused to say whether she backed the plans in a Sky News interview. She later noted that she fully supports the Home Secretary’s position on migration.
The Home Office is still reviewing 200,000 responses to a consultation on the plans, with a response to be set out “in due course”.
Here are the main concessions that could be made, from a fast-track route to settlement for foreign care workers to a wider reconsideration of retrospective implementation.
Fast-track for care workers
One of the most likely concessions could be a fast-track route to settlement for migrant care workers who are already in the UK.
Under Mahmood’s reforms, care workers would have to wait 15 years for ILR as they fall into the lower-qualified workers category. The Home Secretary previously said the group is “never expected to be net economic contributors”.
But more than 100 Labour MPs and leading unions have opposed proposals to triple their settlement period from five to 15 years, including for those nearing the end of their current five-year wait. They argue their contribution to the UK should be valued, and making them wait longer would worsen staff shortages in the industry.
Demand on the care sector is growing, with adult social care directors facing a £715m deficit and high staff turnover due to low pay and heavy workloads, according to the 2026 Association of Directors of Adult Social Services annual survey.
What are Mahmood’s immigration reforms?
Under the reforms, the new default qualifying period would be 10 years. However, this would be higher or lower for different categories of people.
Those earning over £125,140 would be allowed to settle after three years.
People in higher-skilled jobs who earn over £50,270 – or who work as full-qualified public sector teachers, doctors or nurses – could reach settlement after five years.
Those with a standard family visa have to wait five years, while those who volunteer in the community could get a reduction to either five or three years.
On the other hand, people who first entered the UK illegally would have to wait 30 years.
Those who have claimed benefits for over a year could only settle after 20 years, with people who claimed for under 12 months forced to wait 15.
People in lower-skilled jobs, including care workers and teaching assistants, would have to wait 15 years.
Those granted asylum in the UK would have a 20-year qualifying period with no reductions unless the person takes up work or study.
The Home Secretary is reportedly reviewing potential concessions that would allow care workers to earn settlement faster than the proposed 15 years, according to The Telegraph.
The newspaper reported that the Home Office is considering options for how a migrant’s “professional history” and “allegiance to a particular sector” could reduce the time they have to wait. However, it is not clear exactly which groups, beyond care workers, could be eligible for any further concessions.
Andy Burnham has repeatedly signalled his support for the cohort given his commitment to creating a National Care Service, telling care workers at Labour’s conference “you are not invisible to me” and promising he “won’t leave this job without doing everything I can to change things for you”.
Former immigration minister Mike Tapp had a public spat with Mahmood after calling for care workers to be exempt while he was still in post. Repeating his position on Thursday, he said: “I’m really clear that these care workers should be exempt.”
Staged settlement with restricted access to benefits
Another possible concession could be exempting all migrants who are already in the UK from the tougher rules, but restricting their access to benefits for a period of time after they secure settlement.
This would mean exempting existing migrants from the 10-year timeline while temporarily restricting their post-settlement benefits. This could be a way of improving the situation for those who are already in the UK and on their way to settled status.
Lord Blunkett – former Labour home secretary and the Prime Minister’s political mentor – suggested that the controversy around ILR could be settled with “robust avenues” for speeding up settlement for those who demonstrate “commitment to the country”.
He told The Telegraph that migrants showing “independence and self-reliance” should be able to earn faster access to settlement, suggesting those who rely on welfare should have to wait longer.
Ministers are already consulting on proposals to force migrants who have claimed benefits for less that 12 months to wait 15 years for settlement, and for those who have claimed for over a year to wait for 20 years.
Currently, those without settled status cannot claim benefits that count as “public funds” such as means-tested welfare benefits, disability allowances and state-funded housing. People who breach these rules would be subject to longer waits.
Mahmood has already suggested some migrants may get “special treatment”, with “transitional arrangements” that could apply to spouses, older people, those on a particular household or individual income and children.
Scrapping retrospective reforms
Labour MPs and peers are particularly concerned about the retrospective nature of the ILR proposals, meaning they would apply to migrants who are already living in the UK and previously believed they were on a five-year path to settlement.
In her Labour conference speech, Mahmood signalled she may water down this aspect of the reforms.
She said her proposals were designed to ensure “settled status is earned by those who have shown a consistent commitment to this country”, adding: “I know that throughout our consultation process some have said elements of these reforms are not fair.
“To that, let me say this: we will come to a position that balances fairness for those who came here legally, and fairness to British citizens across this country.”
Key Labour peers have signalled their opposition to plans, with Baroness Lister previously telling The i Paper she would “strongly oppose” the measures.
Former child refugee Lord Dubs, who fled the persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939, also said the retrospective nature of the proposed changes is “something people are particularly concerned about”.
Nearly 80 Labour MPs and peers signed a private letter to the PM asking him to retreat on the hardline reforms, criticising the plan to make it harder for care workers to settle and to move the goalposts for those already in the UK.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This Government has announced reforms that mean settlement must be earned and not automatic.
“We are currently considering responses to our consultation on elements of these reforms.”