‘I work myself to exhaustion serving to households – migration guidelines are inflicting large ache’
Riffat Fahad, 32, who came to the UK as an asylum seeker, has issued a heart-wrenching appeal to Shabana Mahmood urging her to rethink a shake-up of indefinite leave to remain rules
A distraught care worker has issued a heart-wrenching appeal to Shabana Mahmood – saying there is “a pain inside me I cannot hide” over hardline migration laws.
Riffat Fahad, 32, who came to the UK as an asylum seeker, says workers like her hold families together, but are now made to feel like a “burden” and “stranger”. She pleaded with the Home Secretary to reconsider plans to force her to wait years before she can apply to settle permanently.
Unison chief Christina McAnea said thousands of overseas care workers have been “cheated” and warned of an exodus if the plans go ahead. And Asylum Matters has accused the Government of treating migrants like second class citizens.
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Riffat told The Mirror: “I work long shifts that stretch into exhaustion. I pay my taxes like everyone else. Nothing is handed to me – everything I have, I earn through sweat, patience, and heart. And yet, sometimes I hear people call workers like me a ‘burden’ – even a ‘stranger’.
“A burden? I wake before dawn so that someone else’s mother is washed, dressed, and comfortable. I stay beyond my hours so a family can go to work knowing their father is safe.”
Under plans put forward by the Home Secretary, people like Riffat will have to wait 15 years before they qualify for indefinite leave to remain. It is part of a range of measures the Government says will drive down immigration – with Ms Mahmood saying migrants must earn the right to settle.
Riffat, who came to the UK from Pakistan, said: “I don’t want to feel like a temporary guest in the place where I spend my days serving others with everything I have. I just want stability. Respect.
“A chance to build a future without waiting decade after decade to be trusted.”
Under current rules a person needs to be in the UK for five years before they can get settled status. But Ms Mahmood’s proposals will see this extended – although NHS workers, high earners and people who do volunteer work will be fast-tracked.
It has sparked an outcry, with opponents saying it will create a “two-tier” system. Louise Calvey, director of Asylum Matters, said: “Riffat’s words express how so many people across the country are feeling after this abhorrent migration and asylum policy announcement.”
As a result, she warned, families will live in limbo for years not knowning if they or their loved ones will be “torn away”. Ms Calvey said: “The Home Secretary said she wanted this scheme to ‘unite the country’. You can’t unite people with division, and that’s exactly what this creates: a two-tier system with migrants treated for years or decades as second-class citizens. “
The proposals, she said, send the message that workers from overseas are not equal to those born in the UK.
And Unison boss Ms McAnea said: “Thousands of overseas care workers across the country will recognise this shocking story.
“Migrant staff are keeping the care sector from collapse. Employers begged them to come to Britain to do jobs they’d been struggling to fill.
“The workers were told they could put down roots here. No wonder they feel cheated by the government.
“Plans to triple the wait before workers can apply to settle here from five to fifteen years are beyond cruel. Ministers must think again. Or face an exodus of staff to countries more appreciative of their skills and experience.”
On November 20, Ms Mahmood told the Commons: “To settle in this country forever is not a right, but a privilege. And it must be earned.
“Today that is not the case. Settlement or indefinite leave to remain comes almost automatically after five years residence in this country. At that point, a migrant gains access to many of the rights of a British citizen, including to benefits.”
She said that 1.6million are forecast to settle in the UK between 2026 and 2030 – with a peak of 450,000 in 2028. In a policy document outlining the plans, the Home Office said low-paid workers – including 616,000 people and their dependants who came on health and social care visas between 2022 and 2024 – would be subject to a 15-year baseline.
The Labour government closed this route earlier this year, citing widespread abuse.
A government spokesperson said: “We are grateful to our overseas frontline healthcare workers, who bring compassion, deliver high-quality care and strengthen our health service, but net migration must come down.
“As the Home Secretary has set out, under our proposed new settlement model, individuals will have the opportunity to reduce the qualifying period to settlement and citizenship based on contributions to the UK economy and society.
“We have launched the consultation and encourage health and care workers to take part.”
