Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether migrant workers employed in the social care sector will be subject to the same settlement routes and qualifying periods as counterparts working in the NHS under the Health and Care visa.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

The consultation seeks views on the impact proposed changes might have on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.

The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.