Home secretary must drop cruel plans to restrict rights of essential migrant workers

Care workers recruited from overseas could be driven out of the sector if the government sticks with plans to make them wait up to 15 years for settlement rights, UNISON said today (Friday).

Severe shortages in the care workforce and poor wages have meant providers have increasingly turned to employing overseas workers to find the skilled staff needed to plug the gaps.

Changes to visa rules in July 2025 effectively closed off routes into social care for new overseas workers, and ministers have since proposed further restrictions, including trebling the qualifying period for them to make a long-term home (known as indefinite leave to remain) in the UK from five to 15 years.

Many workers took up jobs on the basis they would only need to wait five years before applying for indefinite leave to remain.

Applying these changes retrospectively to workers who are already here is morally wrong, says UNISON, and will hasten the staffing crisis in social care and leave people more vulnerable to exploitation from unscrupulous employers.

The union is calling on MPs across the South West to oppose government proposals to extend the qualifying period for settlement and support plans for migrant care staff to move more easily between employers.

UNISON South West regional secretary Tim Roberts said “Behind every visa change is a real person, a care worker who has built a life here, who supports vulnerable people every day, and who wants nothing more than stability for themselves and their family.

“We’re hearing from staff across the South West who came to the UK in good faith, on the understanding they could settle after five years. Now the goalposts are being moved, leaving them anxious about their future and at risk of being trapped in jobs where they feel they have no choice but to stay.

“If ministers are serious about fixing social care, they must start by treating the workforce with respect. That means scrapping these plans and giving care workers the security and freedom they need to stay, thrive and continue delivering the care our communities rely on.”