Settlement Rights Open Letter

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  The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP

  Secretary of State for the Home Department

  2 Marsham Street

  London SW1P 4DF

  11th January 2026

  Dear Home Secretary,

  We the undersigned write to express our concern with the Government’s proposals to restrict settlement rights. They are unfair towards migrant workers who have put down roots, contributed to their communities and built lives here. This will undermine public services, social integration and the wider economy.

  The British public believe in fair play: that if you work hard, follow the rules and contribute, that Government should tread lightly on your life. The proposal to double the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain to 10 years, rising to 15 years for those such as care workers, wrongly deemed “low-skilled”, alongside new conditionality is deeply unfair.

  The proposals to change settlement rules would pull the rug from under migrant workers, including in social care who provide dignity and comfort to our loved ones, often in difficult conditions and for low pay. The Government must uphold its promises – we cannot simply change the rules halfway through an agreed process.

  These proposals undermine the Government’s priorities for economic growth, reducing child poverty and strong public services. For instance, adult social care already faces around 110,000 vacancies, and as we await the Casey Review and the Fair Pay Agreement, these proposals risk pushing the sector closer to breaking point. While we support efforts to grow and train the domestic workforce, this is a separate task. Restricting the rights of the workers keeping the sector running will not grow the domestic workforce – it will only worsen care provision.

  We make the following recommendations to the Home Office:

  • Halt the consultation process until a full Impact Assessment is published: The Government is making sweeping immigration reforms without transparency regarding its own forecasts on the economy, public services and communities with protected characteristics. It must restart the process with an Impact Assessment, together with a Child Rights Impact Assessment, with the starting point of treating people fairly as well as supporting the economy and public services.

  • Rule out retrospective application: The Government must immediately rule out applying new immigration rules to migrant families already in the UK. Thousands of families have planned their lives around current rules.

  Upholding fairness, trust in Government and the dignity of work are core British values and essential to building

  a country that works for everyone.

  Neil Duncan-Jordan MP Andrea Egan Dr. Dora-Olivia Vicol,

  Unison, General Secretary Work Rights Centre, CEO

  Adrian Ramsay MP co-signed this cross-party letter initiated by Neil Duncan-Jordan MP.