More than half a million “Boriswave” migrants could be exempted from Andy Burnham’s new visa crackdown.
In a speech on Wednesday, the Prime Minister outlined his plans to “immediately” boost the social care workforce.
Under former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, at least 1.6 million foreign workers entered the country in what has been called the “Boriswave”.
A total of 612,266 visas issued were on the controversial health and care route between 2022 and 2024.
Mr Burnham gave recognition to the “many people from other countries” who were caring for his father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
“I want those carers to know: we appreciate you, we appreciate what you are doing to support people here,” he said.
In order to combat the Boriswave surge, Shabana Mahmood announced reforms to sharply increase Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), tripling the baseline waiting period to apply from five to 15 years.
Under the Home Secretary’s reforms, social care workers are considered low or medium-skilled workers.
Andy Burnham is said to be considering exempting foreign care workers from ILR reforms
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But Mr Burnham is said to be considering exempting care workers from this rule, according to The Times.
The move is backed by Angela Rayner, who last month claimed it would be “un-British” to make care staff wait longer to settle permanently in the country.
It was also advocated for by Mike Tapp, a Home Office minister under Sir Keir Starmer – which led to Ms Mahmood calling for him to be fired.
In an article for The Times, he wrote: “It is my strong belief that those who have come to the United Kingdom on care worker visas who have played by the rules and have genuinely contributed to our care system should not be required to wait longer to apply for settlement.”
ANDY BURNHAM CARE REFORMS – READ MORE:
Angela Rayner previously said it would be ‘un-British’ to make care staff wait longer before applying for ILR
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After the article’s publication, a Home Office source told the BBC he should be sacked for taking “possible ideas that the Home Secretary and her team were working on, and briefed them as his own”, violating the Ministerial Code.
Mr Tapp said he would not be “intimidated” by the Home Office – but he ultimately did not receive a role in Mr Burnham’s Cabinet.
Foreign care worker migration spiked in 2022, with 117,000 carers set to receive settled status in the UK between now and 2030, according to analysis from the Home Office and its Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
The number of foreign care workers migrating to Britain to fill the sector’s 96,000 vacancies fell to 30,000 between 2024 and 2025.
Mike Tapp was essentially sacked as Immigration Minister for going over the top of his boss – but Andy Burnham is now said to be pushing for the same thing that led to his exit
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GETTYJust one migrant care worker will cost the taxpayer more than £100,000 over the course of their lifetime – an estimated £36,000 per foreign worker, and £67,000 for dependents, Home Office data admits.
The most common nationalities for migrant care workers are Nigerian, Indian and Zimbabwean, at 29 per cent, 17 per cent and nine per cent, respectively.
Mr Burnham said care staff should be “the best-paid people in society, not the worst” in his speech, but opened the door to potential tax rises, warning there were “difficult decisions” to be made.
The Prime Minister also said his cross-party talks on social care – which excluded Reform UK – were “just the start” and suggested further reforms to the sector were in store.