Reform UK has announced plans to abolish the right of migrants to qualify for permanent settlement in the UK after five years, should the party win the next general election.
Welfare restrictions
Under the proposed changes, migrants would need to reapply for new visas under stricter rules, with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) abolished. ILR currently gives people the right to live, work, and access benefits in the UK permanently.
The party also said it plans to prevent anyone other than British citizens from accessing welfare. Reform claims these measures could save the UK £234bn over several decades.
Labour and government response
Chancellor Rachel Reeves dismissed the proposed savings as “having no basis in reality” and said the government is already examining ways to limit migrants’ welfare access.
Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage said the UK should not act as “the world’s food bank.”
Launching the new policies, Farage stated: “It is not for us to provide welfare for people coming in from all over the world.”
Currently, migrants can apply for ILR after five years in the UK, granting rights to live, study, and work permanently.
Targeting the “Boris wave”
ILR is a key step toward British citizenship and allows people to claim state benefits.
Reform said it would replace ILR with visas requiring migrants to reapply every five years. This includes hundreds of thousands already living in the UK.
Applicants would also need to meet certain criteria, including higher salary thresholds and English language standards.
The government is consulting on plans to extend the average wait for ILR from five to ten years.
Reform framed the policy as a response to what it calls the “Boriswave” – 3.8 million people who entered the UK under looser post-Brexit immigration rules introduced by Boris Johnson.
Implications for families
Farage told reporters the “main reason” for the policy was to “wake everybody up to the Boris wave.”
Hundreds of thousands of these migrants, who have arrived since 2021, are soon eligible for permanent residence under ILR.
In July, 213,666 people with ILR claimed Universal Credit, according to Department for Work and Pensions figures.
There is no detailed breakdown of the benefits claimed by ILR holders, but roughly a third were in employment.
Broader immigration reforms
The Migration Observatory at Oxford University estimates 430,000 non-EU citizens held ILR at the end of 2024.
Reform said the changes would not apply to EU nationals protected under the EU Withdrawal Agreement, who make up most ILR benefit claimants.
Legal and political fallout
EU nationals not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement would be subject to the new rules.
Asked if it was fair to remove status from law-abiding migrants, Farage argued there was no “fair play for British people who have been priced out of the market” by “endless cheap foreign labour.”
He acknowledged the policy could split families and displace integrated migrants but said the party is giving advance notice.
Reform said it would replace ILR with increased entrepreneur and investor visa routes for “founders, innovators, and those committing significant capital.”
The party also announced Acute Skills Shortage Visas (ASSV) for critical jobs, allowing one foreign hire for each worker trained domestically.
Reform plans to raise the average wait for UK citizenship from six years to seven.
Currently, ILR applicants must usually meet English requirements, have no serious criminal record, and pass the Life in the UK test.
Citizenship applications are possible 12 months after receiving ILR.
Reform policy chief Zia Yusuf said the changes could force “hundreds of thousands” to reapply and potentially lose their settled status.
He added: “Many who lose their leave are dependent on welfare and may leave voluntarily. Others will face enforcement under our mass deportation programme.”
The policy is controversial due to its retrospective effect on those already in the UK.
Rights for hundreds of thousands of current residents would be removed unless strict criteria are met.
Party reactions
Critics warn it could create uncertainty for families and face legal challenges.
No other major UK party has proposed measures as extreme on legal migration.
Reform said the policy aligns the UK with countries like the US and UAE and could save over £234bn over a migrant’s lifetime.
Labour challenged the figure, noting it came from the Centre for Policy Studies, which later advised the estimates “should no longer be used.”
Farage insisted the £234bn estimate was “without doubt too low” due to gaps in publicly available data.
The Chancellor said Reform’s numbers “have already begun to disassemble” and defended government efforts to reduce illegal migration.
Tory shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Reform is “copying Conservative ideas in a half-baked and unworkable way.”
Philp added the party’s economic proposals are “reckless, left-wing, and risk more debt, more spending, and more tax.”
The Liberal Democrats called Reform’s proposals “not serious,” warning businesses could face disruption and the UK could lose billions in growth and tax revenue.
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