Mahmood prepares to announce final changes to UK permanent residence rules

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will present the final decision on indefinite leave to remain rules next week. According to the BBC, for most social care workers already in the country, the proposed increase in the waiting period from 5 to 10–15 years is likely to be revised.

Aziz KarimovFirst published on tafs uz 31 October 2026 at 10:412 min read

The key facts

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce the final decision on permanent residence rules next week
Social care workers already in the UK are expected to be exempt from the extended waiting period
The consultation on the reform gathered 200,000 responses; the reform faced objections within the government

The decision is expected next week

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce the final decision on immigration rules for legal migrants next week, presenting it to Parliament. The rules concern obtaining indefinite leave to remain — permanent residence that gives the right to live, work and study in the country for an unlimited period and, subject to meeting the criteria, to claim benefits. This is reported by BBC News, noting that the Home Office refuses to comment on final decisions before they are laid before Parliament.

What was proposed and what is likely to change

Initially, Mahmood proposed increasing the waiting period for permanent residence from the current five years to ten, and for some low-paid migrants to fifteen years. According to the BBC, for most workers already employed in the social care sector, the proposals are likely to be revised: staff in this sector who are already in the country will most likely be exempted from the extended waiting period. For most other workers, as envisaged in the original version, the requirement to live and work in the UK for ten years will remain, which may be reduced through participation in local community life or with higher earnings. The consultation on the reform received 200,000 responses.

Disagreements within the government and the opposition's reaction

Mahmood feared that after a period of very high net migration under the previous government, too many people would gain the right to permanent residence. At the same time, her proposals met objections within the government: before returning to the Cabinet, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner called them 'un-British', since they changed the rules for people who had come to the country in good faith. In September, the Conservatives said Mahmood had 'given in to pressure' from Rayner and would 'tear up her own plans' for the indefinite leave to remain reform, calling this 'a slap in the face to British taxpayers'. The final shape of the decisions will become known after they are presented to Parliament; the BBC notes that for social care workers the exemption is so far only likely, not officially confirmed.