According to Shabana Mahmood, skilled workers would be subject to the new ILR regulations retroactively.
The Home Secretary stated that the government plans to apply the proposed modifications to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) retroactively to immigrants who are currently residing and employed in the UK, according to The Times.
The Home Secretary stated that the government plans to apply the proposed modifications to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) retroactively to immigrants who are currently residing and employed in the UK, according to The Times.
For the majority of migrants, including those on skilled worker visas, the qualifying time for ILR will treble from five to ten years under the plans.
Unless they meet specific reduction criteria, skilled worker occupations below graduate level (RQF Levels 3 to 5) may have a lengthier qualification period before they may apply for settlement.
The Times reported that around 616,000 care workers and their dependants who arrived between 2022 and 2024 would have begun qualifying for permanent settlement next year under the previous system. The suggested improvements are likely to eliminate that pathway.
Mahmood supported the measures’ economic rationale, according to an article published in The Times on March 1, 2026. She cited research from the Migration Advisory Committee that indicates that while nurses and doctors contribute approximately £166,000 to the economy overall, foreign care workers cost the public an average of £36,000 over their lifetime. In addition, she argued that the Office for Budget Responsibility’s methodology, which currently presumes that all migrants are net fiscal contributors, does not accurately represent the situation.
On Monday, existing Immigration Rules were amended to provide temporary protection for refugees.
The Times states that the broader ILR reforms, however, are anticipated to go into force in the autumn of 2026.
According to the Times, over 40 Labour MPs are getting ready to protest the reforms. Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy expressed worries about justice, pointing out that many impacted migrants have employment, pay taxes, and have built their lives around the current regulations. Labour cannot defeat Reform UK by copying its agenda, Andy McDonald said. The deputy leader of Labour, Lucy Powell, cautioned that the changes would erode confidence in ethnic minority groups.
Separately, as reported by the BBC on 1st March 2026, Mahmood also confirmed that refugee status in the UK will now be temporary, with cases reviewed every 30 months. She told the BBC that a long-held belief about what it means to be a refugee is being altered by the government, which is switching from permanent to temporary status. The journey to ILR might take up to 20 years for refugees.
According to these rumours, there may not be much time left for anyone on a skilled worker visa or another sponsored route who is nearing the current five-year ILR qualifying limit to apply under the current regulations.