Registered nurses will keep access to a five-year route to settlement under reforms announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood today. Nursing support workers will also retain the five-year route to settlement if they arrived in the UK before May 2025.
The RCN has welcomed this confirmation, which follows months of concern about proposals that could have significantly increased the time some migrant nursing staff had to wait before becoming eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR).
Care workers also received a major concession, as they were originally set to face a 15-year route to settlement. This has been reduced to five years for those who arrived in the UK prior to May 2025 and meet the conditions for applying, including the requirement to evidence continuous employment. Those who are unable to do so, including because they have been subject to sponsor malpractice, will be able to apply for a further five-year Health and Care Worker visa, restricted to work in the care sector.
Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, said: “Nursing staff fought hard to see the worst of these reforms pared back and it’s right that the five-year route to settlement will remain open for most care workers already here. As we called for, it's also incredibly significant that registered nurses from overseas will be recognised for their extraordinary contribution as public servants and remain on a five-year route to settlement. That's good for migrant nursing staff, patients and our services."
The reforms introduce a new "earned settlement" model, with eligibility for ILR varying according to occupation, earnings and an individual's immigration history.
The key settlement routes announced by the government are:
- five years: registered nurses and other qualifying public service workers
- five years: higher-rate taxpayers earning more than £50,271 a year
- five years: social care workers and nursing support workers who arrived before the government's immigration white paper in May 2025 and have met the conditions of their visa
- ten years: the new standard route to settlement for most migrant workers
- ten years: social care workers who arrived after the May 2025 cut-off date.
Anyone seeking ILR will also need to meet four non-negotiable conditions, regardless of when they arrived in the UK.
- A spotless criminal record (up from the current threshold of a 12-month suspended sentence).
- English spoken to a high standard (equivalent to A-Level English as a foreign language).
- No debt owed to the taxpayer.
- A record of sustained National Insurance contributions.
Nicola said: “While the changes make the home secretary’s proposals fairer, they’re still not fair. We already have the most hostile immigration system for migrant nursing staff, with longer waits to permanent settlement than comparable countries and staff having no access to public funds. At a time when demand on both our NHS and social care sector is only continuing to grow, this looks like putting politics before patients.
“The contribution of migrant nursing staff cannot be overstated, but it is so disappointing to see a debate between politicians so often devoid of the facts. Migrants working in our NHS and social care are key to the delivery of services, working hard and paying tax. They’re not drains on society, but part of our communities and carers for older people and the vulnerable. They deserve respect.
“The fundamental truth is that the prime minister’s ambitions for a national care service need a thriving nursing workforce. We need to value the contribution of our migrant colleagues and to grow our domestic nursing staff with a fully funded plan.”
If you're internationally educated and an RCN member, you can contact the RCN Immigration Advice Service for confidential advice, support and assistance with immigration-related issues.
