Making low-paid migrants wait longer for permanent settlement will worsen the UK's social-care worker shortage

The UK’s adult social-care sector is facing a persistent workforce shortage, with tens of thousands of care positions remaining vacant across care homes, home-care services and other providers. Migrant workers have become an important part of this workforce, particularly following the expansion of the Health and Care Worker visa, which enabled overseas recruitment into eligible care roles. The debate has intensified following proposals to extend the standard pathway to permanent settlement (indefinite leave to remain) from five years to as much as 15 years for some migrants, including lower-paid workers. This represents a potential additional 10 years before eligible workers can obtain permanent status. Critics argue that the longer settlement period could make the UK less attractive to migrant care workers, encouraging existing workers to leave and discouraging potential recruits from coming to the country. The concern is that this could increase the number of unfilled social-care positions over the following five to ten years, worsening staffing pressures across the UK’s adult social-care sector. Supporters of the policy argue that stricter settlement requirements could reduce the UK’s dependence on migrant labour and encourage employers to recruit and retain domestic workers. The central question is therefore whether extending the settlement pathway will strengthen immigration control or further deepen the social-care workforce shortage.