Woman Who Has Lived in the UK for Nearly 10 Years and Was Hoping to Get Permanent Residency Gets the Shock of Her Life

A woman who has lived in the UK for nearly 10 years says she feels abandoned after learning that new immigration rules could force her to wait several more years before she can settle permanently in Britain.

Aneisha Williams, 39, who works in a supermarket in London, was just months away from qualifying for indefinite leave to remain. However, changes proposed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood could affect her chances because she previously received housing benefit.

Williams said migrants are treated as important when the country needs workers, especially during difficult times such as the Covid pandemic, but are quickly forgotten afterwards.

She explained that people like her were needed during the pandemic, but now feel as though they are being pushed aside.

Williams moved to the UK from Jamaica in 2016 after marrying a British man. Her daughter, who is now 18, is also British.

Unfortunately, her marriage broke down during the Covid pandemic, leaving her and her daughter without a home.

At the time, she was living in Britain on a family visa. Although many migrants are not normally allowed to claim public benefits, people facing serious financial difficulties can sometimes receive permission to access government support.

Williams was granted this permission, and housing benefit helped her find somewhere to live and rebuild her life.

She said she had no idea that accepting government help could later affect her chances of securing permanent residency.

Under the immigration changes proposed by Mahmood, migrants who have claimed benefits could face a much longer wait before qualifying for indefinite leave to remain.

Last year, the Home Secretary suggested that people who had received benefits might have to wait up to 10 additional years before settling permanently.

However, during an announcement this week, she said applicants would need to have gone five continuous years without relying on benefits.

Although the government has said family members of British citizens will keep their existing routes to settlement, there is still confusion about what will happen to people whose marriages have ended or who previously received financial support.

Williams fears that she could be among those affected.

She said nobody warned her that receiving help during a difficult period could cause problems years later.

According to her, she would have tried to avoid claiming benefits if she had known the rules might change, even though she was struggling badly at the time.

She explained that she had expected to qualify for permanent residency within a few months but now fears she could be forced to wait another 10 years.

Williams also criticised the proposed policy, describing it as unfair and discriminatory.

Research has shown that many migrants using the existing 10-year settlement route are from Asian or Black backgrounds.

She believes the constant changes to immigration rules are making life increasingly difficult for people who have already spent many years building their futures in Britain.

Another migrant facing uncertainty is Ashley, an American woman living in Sheffield who works as a civil servant.

Ashley, who asked for her real name not to be published, arrived in the UK in 2017.

She initially lived in Britain on student and graduate visas before switching to a spouse visa after marrying a British man in 2025.

She had expected to qualify for permanent residency in 2027 through the 10-year long-residence route.

However, the government is planning to remove that route, leaving her unsure about what will happen next.

Ashley now fears she might have to wait until 2030 before becoming eligible.

By then, she estimates that she will have spent around £25,000 on visa applications and immigration healthcare charges.

She said that even though she comes from an English-speaking country, holds a PhD and is married to a British citizen, navigating the immigration system has been extremely difficult.

While Williams and Ashley remain worried, some migrant care workers have received more encouraging news.

Following pressure from Labour MPs, trade unions and campaigners, Mahmood announced changes to the settlement plans for certain care workers.

Under the revised proposals, qualifying care workers who entered the route before May 2025 and earn at least £25,000 annually could become eligible for permanent residency after five years.

This is a major change from the earlier proposal, which could have forced some care workers to wait 15 years.

However, not everyone will benefit from the new arrangement, and some workers could still need another five-year visa before qualifying for settlement.

One person celebrating the announcement is Rasika Samarasinghe, a care worker from Sri Lanka who arrived in Britain in October 2022.

Samarasinghe earns slightly more than £25,000 a year caring for elderly people.

He was already worried about his family’s future after the Home Office refused permission for his wife and three children to remain in Britain as his dependants.

His wife works as a teaching assistant, while their children are aged 12, nine and eight.

The family had received letters telling them to leave the country, causing serious worry and uncertainty.

However, the Home Office has now reversed its earlier decision and told the family to disregard the refusal letters.

This means Samarasinghe’s wife and children can remain in the UK.

The decision has brought enormous relief to the family, especially the children, who had feared losing their schools and friends.

Samarasinghe said he felt shocked and hopeless when he was initially told that his family could no longer stay.

Now, he says they can finally begin planning their future together without the same fear hanging over them.

His wife is even organising a celebration with friends from their church and others who supported the family during the difficult period.

The Guardian understands that similar decisions affecting other care workers’ families have also been reversed.

The government began tightening rules for care workers bringing family members to Britain after Home Office figures suggested that around 120,000 dependants had joined approximately 100,000 care worker applicants in 2023.

From March 2024, care workers were no longer allowed to bring new dependants to the UK under the route.

The government also stopped overseas recruitment for care workers from July 2025.

However, Samarasinghe’s family had arrived before those restrictions were introduced.

A Home Office spokesperson said the department does not normally discuss individual immigration cases but confirmed that applications initially refused can sometimes be approved following a review.

Naga Kandiah, a solicitor at MTC Solicitors, welcomed the decision to allow the family to remain together.

He said the outcome was extremely important because the family had entered Britain legally and should now be able to move forward with greater security and peace of mind.

Other campaigners have also welcomed the changes for care workers, although they remain cautious.

Amenzei Ogiemwonyia, a care worker who supported the campaign alongside the Unison trade union, said workers had stood together to demand fair treatment.

He explained that the campaign was about ensuring migrant workers were heard and challenging negative claims about immigration.

However, he warned that campaigners still need to examine the full details of the government’s plans before deciding how much progress has been made.

Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, chief executive of the Work Rights Centre, also raised concerns about the wider immigration changes.

She said that although the concessions for care workers were welcome, the government’s overall response remained deeply disappointing.

According to her, it is unfair for people who moved to Britain expecting to qualify for permanent residency after five years to suddenly discover that they might have to wait 10 years.

The Home Office estimates that around 500,000 people could be required to wait longer than five years before becoming eligible for settlement.

Government officials argue that the changes could save billions of pounds in welfare spending.

However, critics believe the proposals could leave many migrants facing years of uncertainty, particularly those who have worked, paid taxes, raised families and built their lives in the UK.

For people like Williams, the biggest concern is that the rules could change just as they are approaching the end of a long immigration journey.

After nearly a decade in Britain, she had hoped to finally secure permanent residency and move forward with her life.

Instead, she now faces the possibility of spending several more years waiting for the security she believed was almost within reach.