Almost 300,000 foreign care workers are to be exempt from Shabana Mahmood's immigration rules crackdown after a Labour Party revolt.

New measures published on Monday marked a major U-turn on plans – first published a year ago – to make foreign workers wait much longer to qualify for settlement to live in Britain.

Huge concessions to Labour MPs who opposed the original plan mean that out of 1.9million foreign nationals due to become eligible for settlement by 2030, only 500,000 will end up waiting longer.

The Home Secretary's new scheme will mean about three quarters of foreign care workers – more than 282,000 people – remain on a five-year qualification period for settlement, or 'indefinite leave to remain' (ILR).

And those who do not qualify for ILR after living here for five years will be given a new five-year visa and a second chance to meet the criteria for permanent residence.

The new package also contains a series of concessions for other types of workers, as well as shorter ILR waiting periods for some refugees. 

The existing five-year route will remain available for other foreign nationals employed in public sector jobs that require lower qualifications, such as teaching assistants, podiatrists and nursing auxiliaries.

Other workers in lower-qualified jobs will no longer have to wait 15 years for ILR – as previously set out by Ms Mahmood – and could instead qualify in ten years.

It comes just months after Ms Mahmood warned that a failure to implement her original blueprint would lead to a '£10billion drain on public finances' as foreign workers qualify for full access to welfare and social housing.

She had insisted that diluting the proposals would be 'an affront to the idea of fairness within our society', while putting 'further strain on public services like housing and healthcare'.

But now the measures have been rewritten after strident opposition from her party's Left-wing.

Angela Rayner castigated them as 'un-British' in March when she was a backbencher – and has since been reappointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The Home Office's measures will be phased in from next year.

They will require all applicants for ILR to meet certain key criteria, such as not having a criminal record and being able to speak English.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'The Government has executed a substantial climbdown on their previous ILR policy under pressure from the open borders Left

'Over 250,000 low-wage care workers and dependants - even ones who came fraudulently - will now get to stay for at least ten years and 75 per cent of them can now stay forever.

'The Government’s own figures show the cost of this to taxpayers is £10billion.

'This is completely unfair to hard-pressed taxpayers.'

He added: 'The government also said that illegal immigrants will have a path to citizenship and full benefits.

'My view is that illegal immigrants should never get citizenship.'

Reform leader Nigel Farage branded the decision 'the beginning of the capitulation'.

He added: 'That it is a very major U-turn in the position of the Home Secretary is clear, that it will cost this country a vast amount of money is clear.'

Despite the huge climbdown the proposals were still attacked by Labour MPs as Ms Mahmood announced them in the Commons.

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott criticised them as ‘unfair’ and compared them to the Windrush scandal.

She told the Commons: ‘It is right that care workers are exempted from the new arrangements for ILR, but for the rest of the workforce, the retrospective nature of these new arrangements still seem to be unfair.

‘Because you can come in legally, you can work legally, and then have your residency rights turned upside down. How can that be fair?’

Left-wing Labour MP Stella Creasy questioned why the Home Secretary had not made it easier for an extra 200,000 lower-paid migrants to settle in Britain more quickly.

She said: ‘There are still around 200,000 people who do not earn more than are in work, who do not have a British spouse or connection, and are not working in the care sector or public sector.

‘For example, scientists, researchers, skilled technologists, who will now face a 10-year wait to get settlement in this country.’

Former Corbynite shadow chancellor John McDonnell questioned increased settlement times of up to 30 years before migrants who arrive illegally by small boat and do not enter work or study can settle permanently in Britain.

‘I work with a large number of people who come here, often by the boats themselves as well, and often their families as well,' he said.

‘The years of waiting for security does have its impact, particularly on their mental health.’

Labour MP Rachael Maskell described the immigration changes as ‘prejudicial’.

She told the Commons: ‘I will read the detail in the consultation, but I am concerned about retrospective changes because our word should be our bond to people coming here.

‘But also, in an economy where skills and contribution do not correlate with wages, I do find her proposals prejudicial on that basis. Will she look at that again in the light of the consultation, so we can really put fairness at the heart of this?’

Separately, general secretary of Unison, Andrea Egan, said her trade union had played a key role in getting the Government to backtrack.   

'Unison has led the charge against the Home Secretary’s plans, with migrant workers themselves organising an inspiring campaign through the union,' she said.

'So we are glad she has finally listened to us and not implemented the worst aspects.

'These plans were morally bankrupt and a threat to public services – they should be dropped altogether.

'The government has spent a year attacking workers who are the backbone of our health and social care system, in a futile attempt to appease the far-right.

'It’s time to stop demonising migrant workers and start celebrating their contribution.'