If you want to see the senselessness of Britain’s immigration debate play out in real time, look no further than the crackdown on care workers’ visas that came to a head this week.

As part of its plans to force low-paid migrant workers to wait 15 years before settlement in the UK, the Home Office has been in a battle behind the scenes for the past six months to controversially include care workers in the policy. This is despite the social care system already facing critical staff shortages and the number of British citizens and immigrants taking the jobs dwindling.

After a fierce backlash from health unions and Labour cabinet members, this week the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced a partial U-turn: an estimated 280,000 care workers and their dependents will be exempt and allowed to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years.

It’s a welcome reprieve from a policy that should never have been on the table. But check the fine print and this “watering down” will not protect every care worker. Only carers who earn £25,000 a year and entered or switched on to the care staff visa route before the white paper’s publication in 2025 will be eligible.

Those who don’t meet the strict requirements will have to get another five-year “health and social care” visa before applying for ILR – a move campaigners are warning will leave vulnerable workers open........

© The Guardian