Nigel Farage has pledged to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the main route for immigrants to gain British citizenship, threatening tens of thousands of people legally living in the UK with deportation unless they meet strict new rules. The Reform UK leader said his plans would target the 'Boriswave' – the wave of legal immigrants who arrived under post-Brexit rules established by Boris Johnson – which he described as the 'greatest betrayal of democratic wishes'.
Unveiling his plans, Farage said 800,000 people who 'tend to be young, tend to be low-skilled' were due to qualify for ILR over the next three to four years. He claimed this group would be 'a huge burden on the state', adding that Britain was 'not the world's food bank'. Under current rules, ILR is open to people who have worked and lived in the UK legally for five continuous years, after which they can apply for citizenship.
Farage said a Reform government would rescind all existing ILR statuses and force non-citizens to reapply for visas with high salary thresholds, though the party has not specified what those thresholds would be. The Times reported they would be set at about £60,000, a significant increase on the current skilled worker visa threshold of £41,700. Those visas would not allow access to NHS services or benefits and would require advanced English, with strict limits on family members joining.
The proposals came under fire from Downing Street, which accused Farage of wanting to 'foster division', and from Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London. Farage claimed the policy would save £234bn, a figure sourced from a Centre for Policy Studies report that has been withdrawn due to a dispute over the numbers. When asked, Farage said the figure was 'without a doubt too low'.
Farage refused to specify whether the policy would apply to Ukrainians and Hongkongers who moved to Britain under dedicated visa routes. His policy chief, Zia Yusuf, clarified that it would not apply to EU citizens with settled status, but said negotiations with the EU would be opened regarding welfare access for EU nationals drawing universal credit.
