# UK doubles residency wait for care workers

> UK doubles residency wait from five to ten years but exempts social care workers.
- Title: UK doubles residency wait for care workers · Scroll | Shortify
- Summary: UK doubles residency wait from five to ten years but exempts social care workers.
- Keywords: residency, care workers, immigration, labour party, home secretary, social care, indefinite leave to remain, Scroll
- Source: Scroll — https://scroll.in/article/1096972/uk-doubles-waiting-period-for-residency-with-exemption-for-care-workers
- Author: Erica Consterdine, The Conversation
- Published: 2026-11-12T16:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: uk, residency, care workers, immigration, labour party, home secretary, social care, indefinite leave to remain, news, politics
## New residency rule
UK doubles residency wait from five to ten years for indefinite leave to remain.
## Care workers exempt
Social care workers get exemption from the new residency rule.
## Mixed response
Left says period too high, right says exemptions too lax.
## Fairness concerns
Migrants expected five years for settlement but now face ten.
## Political tension
Labour faces internal conflict over immigration policy.
## Historical context
16 years of restrictive immigration rhetoric from 2010.
## Labour's dilemma
Labour torn between union roots and migrant rights.
## Recent shift
Exemption for care workers signals possible policy change.
## Key takeaway

UK doubles residency wait to ten years but exempts social care workers from the new immigration rules.