Tulia Group Launches Moving the Goalposts Report, Exposing the Human Cost of UK Settlement Reforms for Migrant Care Workers
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
27 May 2026
Tulia Group CIC today launched Moving the Goalposts: Impact of Proposed UK Settlement Reforms on Migrant Care Workers, a new report documenting how proposed changes to UK settlement rules could affect migrant care workers and their families. Watch launch recording here.
The report was launched at an online public event attended by migrant care workers, community organisations, trade unions, advocates, researchers and supporters. The launch created space for workers and organisations to respond to the findings, share lived experiences and discuss urgent recommendations for Government.
The report draws on 269 survey responses and seven focus groups with migrant care workers and their dependants. It finds that the proposed extension of settlement from five years to 10–15 years would not be experienced as a simple administrative change. For workers who came to the UK legally, filled critical gaps in social care and planned their lives around the existing five-year route, the proposed changes risk extending insecurity and moving the goalposts mid-journey.
Key findings include:
72.9% of respondents said they had felt unable to leave a workplace because of visa risks.
87% said changing employer was difficult or very difficult.
95.2% expected negative mental health effects from a longer settlement route.
91.1% anticipated increased family separation.
100% said people already in the UK should retain the original five-year route.
Only 36.1% said they would be likely or very likely to remain in health and social care if the route became 10–15 years.
Presenting the findings, Dr Hillary Musarurwa highlighted how sponsorship dependency already limits workers’ freedom to challenge poor treatment, change jobs or plan for the future. The report warns that extending the period before settlement, without addressing employer dependency, would mean more years in a system where workers’ immigration status can become tied to workplace control.
Participants at the launch echoed this concern. Attendees called for no retrospective effect on those already in the UK, protection for all care workers regardless of whether they work in the NHS, public sector or private care, and wider reform so care workers are not excessively tied to individual employers. One attendee wrote that the issue “moves beyond just statistics and policy language and captures the lived realities for many of these families.”
The launch also heard strong concerns about family life, children’s futures and mental health. Dr Last Mafuba, Independent Chairperson of REACH Mental Health Alliance and Founder/CEO of Inini Initiative Ltd, said the report “humanises a conversation that is too often reduced to policy headlines and political rhetoric” and warned that uncertainty, conditional belonging and prolonged insecurity have serious emotional and psychological consequences.
Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya, Founder and CEO of Tulia Group CIC, said:
“This report is about fairness, dignity and the future of social care. Migrant care workers came to the UK under rules they understood. Many have worked, paid taxes, cared for communities and built their family lives around the promise of a five-year route to settlement. Changing those terms mid-journey risks harming workers, families, employers and the care system itself. We are calling for transitional protection and for migrant care workers’ voices to be heard in policy decisions that directly affect their lives.”
The report sets out six key recommendations for Government:
Guarantee full transitional protection for those already in the UK.
Treat family settlement as a central policy issue, not an afterthought.
Decouple lawful residence from excessive employer power.
Introduce a bridging status for workers leaving exploitative sponsors.
Target enforcement where structural vulnerability is concentrated.
Communicate clearly and legislate transparently.
Tulia Group is urging policymakers, MPs, local authorities, unions, care providers and civil society organisations to read the report, share its findings and support evidence-based advocacy to protect migrant care workers and their families.
Moving the Goalposts is available from Tulia Group CIC at www.tulia.org.uk.
Media contact:
Tulia Group CIC
Email: info@tulia.org.uk
Website: www.tulia.org.uk
Notes to editors:
Tulia Group CIC is a Coventry-based Community Interest Company providing legal advice, immigration support, employer sponsorship and compliance guidance, advocacy, community education and research. Its work is shaped by the communities it serves and reflects both professional expertise and lived experience.
