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Mahmood to set out changes to settlement rules for legal migrants
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to announce changes to legal migration policy in the House of Commons on Monday
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce her final decision on changes to immigration rules on Monday.
Mahmood proposed extending the wait for permanent settlement from the current five years to 10, with some lower-paid migrants facing a 15-year wait, in response to a period of high net migration.
But she faced criticism for proposing to apply the changes to migrant workers already in the UK, with Housing Secretary Angela Rayner saying this would "change the goalposts".
The BBC understands the proposals are likely to be revised for most of those currently working in social care. The Conservatives said Mahmood had "capitulated control of immigration policy" to Rayner.
Many lower-paid social care workers were facing a wait of up to 15 years rather than five.
The home secretary is expected to announce her final decision in a statement to MPs in the House of Commons.
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR), also known as settlement, gives a person the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like and apply for benefits if they are eligible. They can also use it to apply for British citizenship.
Mahmood announced plans to delay settlements in response to concerns over the number of people approaching eligibility, in the wake of record post-Brexit net migration figures under the previous Conservative government.
The Home Office has said its figures show net migration - the difference between those entering and leaving the country - added 2.6m people to the UK population between 2021 and 2024.