British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce changes to the country’s immigration rules on Monday, with the proposed reforms focusing on stricter eligibility requirements and longer waiting periods for migrants seeking permanent residence.
The proposals, first introduced in November 2025, aim to extend the current five-year qualifying period for obtaining Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which allows migrants to live, work and study in the United Kingdom without time restrictions. The status also provides access to certain social welfare benefits.
Under the initial proposals, some foreign workers in the social care sector could have been required to wait as long as 15 years before qualifying for permanent residence.
However, reports suggest the government may soften some of the measures by exempting care workers who are already living in the UK from the new requirements.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner previously opposed applying the changes retrospectively, describing such an approach as “un-British,” particularly if it affected migrants already living in the country.
Mahmood has defended the proposed extension, arguing that large numbers of migrants who arrived legally in the UK are approaching eligibility for permanent residence. She has said that the sharp rise in net migration following Brexit, during the previous Conservative government, makes changes to the system necessary.
Citing figures from the Migration Advisory Committee, the home secretary warned that the potential cost to taxpayers could reach £10 billion over the lifetime of those receiving benefits.
In a speech in March, Mahmood said the UK had experienced migration levels between 2021 and 2024 that had previously been recorded over a period of four decades.
She also estimated that around 350,000 lower-skilled workers and their family members who arrived through health and social care visa routes would become eligible to apply for permanent residence over the next five years. Obtaining ILR would also give them access to certain welfare schemes.
The government’s year-long public consultation on the proposed reforms has received more than 200,000 responses.
Mahmood’s announcement is expected to clarify which elements of the original proposals will remain, whether migrants already living and working in the UK will be exempted, and how much longer applicants may have to wait before qualifying for permanent residence.
