‘I feel free now’: Shabana Mahmood’s immigration shake-up provokes mixed emotions

Some relatives of British citizens say they feel left behind, but announcement has brought relief to many care workers

“The only time we’re regarded as human beings is when they need a lot of hands onboard, like during Covid. But after that, we’re tossed away like we’re some rubbish,” Aneisha Williams says.

Williams, 39, was months from qualifying for indefinite leave to remain after 10 years in the UK. But claiming housing benefit could delay her settlement for years under Shabana Mahmood’s “earned settlement” plans.

Under pressure from Labour MPs and unions, the home secretary this week offered qualifying care workers a five-year settlement route. But others, among them partners and former partners of British citizens, face continued uncertainty.

Williams, a supermarket worker from London, married a British man in her native Jamaica and joined him in the UK in 2016. Her daughter, now 18, is British. During the Covid crisis, her marriage broke down, leaving them homeless while Williams was on a family life visa.

Migrants with no recourse to public funds can have that restriction lifted in cases of hardship, as Williams did. Housing benefit transformed her life without affecting her settlement prospects at the time.

Last year, Mahmood proposed adding up to 10 years to the settlement qualifying period for benefit claimants. This week she said applicants must have spent five continuous years without relying on benefits.

While Mahmood says family members of British citizens will retain existing settlement pathways, how that protection applies to people whose marriages have broken down or who claimed benefits remains unclear.

“We were never told this would happen, and never would have taken the help if we did, even though my past situation was very grim,” Williams said. “I was due to qualify in a couple of months – now it could be another 10 years.”

Research has found most people on the existing “10-year route”, which Williams is on, are Asian or Black. Williams added: “It’s a racist policy – and it’s like every other year they come up with something that makes you feel further hopeless.”

Ashley, a civil servant from Sheffield who asked to use a pseudonym, arrived from the US in 2017 and moved from student and graduate visas to a spouse visa after marrying a British man in 2025. She expected to qualify in 2027 under the 10-year long-residence route, which the government plans to end. With transitional arrangements unclear, she fears waiting until 2030, by which time she estimates she will have spent £25,000 on visa and healthcare charges.

“I’m one of the privileged immigrants – from a white English-speaking country, I have a PhD. I’m married to a British citizen. And it is still so unbelievably hard,” she said.

Mahmood’s announcement brought relief to many care workers. Under the revised plans, those who entered the route before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 a year can qualify after five years, rather than the 15 originally proposed. Others face another five-year visa before settlement.

Rasika Samarasinghe, who arrived from Sri Lanka in October 2022 and earns just over £25,000 caring for elderly people, is planning a double celebration. As well as the settlement change, the Home Office has reversed its refusal to let his wife, a teaching assistant, and their three children, aged 12, nine and eight, remain in the UK as his dependants.

After sending the family “go home” letters, the Home Office told them the refusal should be disregarded. The Guardian understands similar decisions affecting other care workers’ families have also been reversed.

“I felt so shocked and hopeless when the Home Office said my wife and children could no longer stay here,” Samarasinghe said. “The children are delighted they can stay at school with their friends. Now we can plan our future. I feel free now.” His wife is organising a party for their church friends and everyone who supported them.

The government began restricting care workers’ family visas after the Home Office estimated in 2023 that about 120,000 dependants had joined 100,000 care worker applicants.

Care workers have been barred from bringing family since March 2024, and overseas recruitment was banned from July 2025; Samarasinghe’s family arrived before both. A spokesperson for the Home Office said it did not routinely comment on individual cases, but that applications initially rejected could be approved after a review.

Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors welcomed the Home Office’s U-turn, saying: “This is a hugely significant and positive outcome. This family came to the United Kingdom lawfully … We are delighted that this family can now move forward together with renewed hope, security and peace of mind.”

Amenzei Ogiemwonyia, a care worker who campaigned with the Unison union, said: “We organised and refused to be silent, and that’s what the Fairer Visa Campaign was all about: standing up to the rightwing press, lies, propaganda and politics. Some of us are elated – but we still need to read the fine print.”

Campaigners remain concerned. Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, the chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, called the response, apart from the care-worker concessions, “bitterly disappointing”, and said it was “deeply unfair” that some workers who came expecting a five-year route would now wait 10 years. The Home Office estimates that about 500,000 people will have to wait longer than five years for settlement, which officials say will save billions from the welfare bill.