Addressing delegates at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton, UNISON vice-president Debbie Rowden condemned Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s proposal to treble the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for so-called ‘low-skilled’ roles from five to fifteen years. The plan, leaked last week and expected to be tabled in secondary legislation later this autumn, would hit some 160,000 migrant health-care assistants, nursing auxiliaries and residential-care workers currently on Skilled Worker visas. UNISON’s Fair Visa Campaign argues that lengthening the route to settlement will increase churn, leaving the NHS and social-care providers scrambling for staff just as vacancies top 110,000. The union also wants the government to end the ‘tied-visa’ rule that restricts care workers to a single sponsoring employer, citing evidence of widespread unpaid overtime and withheld passports. For employers, ILR timing determines when foreign workers become exempt from the Immigration Skills Charge, saving up to £5,000 per employee. Doubling the wait could therefore add millions to staffing budgets in the care and hospitality sectors. HR directors are advised to model worst-case sponsorship costs through 2040 and lobby through trade bodies while the draft regulations remain fluid. From a mobility perspective, longer paths to settlement may deter overseas candidates from accepting UK postings, fuelling competition for talent with Canada and Australia, both of which offer permanent residence after three years in comparable roles. Companies relying on intra-company moves for support-service functions should prepare alternative assignment structures or local-hire packages.
Source: UNISON
