UK to double wait for permanent residency, with exemptions for care workers

Key Points:

• The UK has doubled the waiting period for most foreign workers to qualify for permanent residency from five to ten years, with refugees arriving via "small boats" potentially waiting up to 30 years; however, care workers earning at least £25,000 annually are exempt and can settle after five years.
• Permanent residency eligibility will now be linked to income, with those earning over £50,000 qualifying after five years and those earning above £125,000 after three years, while the median UK salary is about £39,000.
• The new rules, applying retroactively, also disqualify applicants with criminal records, insufficient English proficiency, unpaid government debts, or fewer than three years of national insurance contributions.
• The government estimates the changes will delay settlement for half a million people, saving billions in benefits, and expects up to 1.4 million people to gain settled status between 2026 and 2030.
• These revisions respond to political pressure amid rising anti-immigration sentiment and follow efforts to reduce Channel crossings, which have dropped by over 40% this year due to UK-France cooperation.