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Nigel Farage has said Reform UK would scrap the main route that migrants take to gain British citizenship, leaving tens of thousands of legally settled people facing deportation unless they met strict rules.
Farage said the plans would tackle the “Boriswave” – the increase in the number of legal migrants who came to work in the UK under post-Brexit migration rules established under Boris Johnson. Much of that increase was because of schemes from Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan to settle refugees.
Reform said the mass deportation would save £234bn, though the figures come from a Centre for Policy Studies report that has been withdrawn because of a dispute over the numbers. The thinktank has said its costs “should not be used”.
Farage has said Reform will scrap indefinite leave to remain, which is open to people who have worked and lived in the UK legally for five continuous years, and their dependants. After a minimum of a year on that status, they can apply for naturalisation and gain a British passport, though each stage comes with considerable fees.
Reform UK would scrap that settled status and would make non-citizens continue to apply for visas with new high salary thresholds of about £60,000, according to the Times. That would be a considerable increase on the current skilled worker visa, which requires people to earn £41,700 a year.
Those visas would not allow the people who have them to access NHS services or benefits and would require advanced English, with strict new limits on whether spouses or family members could join.
Reform said anyone who had indefinite leave to remain would have it rescinded – and would need to reapply for a visa – throwing the lives and status of many families into uncertainty.
“We have to clean up the mess of Boris Johnson or the Boriswave will bankrupt us,” Farage said announcing the plans in the Daily Mail. “The era of cheap, low-skill foreign labour is over.”
The reforms would also mean that those applying for citizenship must wait at least seven years and prove a fluent level of English, as well as giving up citizenship of any other country.
Labour has already announced plans to introduce tough new restrictions on indefinite leave to remain, meaning most applicants must have been in the UK for 10 years before they can apply.
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However, a Labour source disputed claims in the Telegraph that significant numbers of migrants with indefinite leave to remain were receiving benefits – saying it was only about 16% of all foreign claims.
The majority – 60% – are EU citizens who have settled status and whose access to benefits is guaranteed by the Brexit deal. “Their access to benefits was agreed as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement and would not be impacted by his proposed changes to indefinite leave to remain rules,” a Labour source said.
Farage will launch the new policy on Monday. Writing in the Mail, he said: “The Tories and Labour have turned the UK into a food bank for the world.”
A Labour source said: “Farage’s not even half-baked announcement has already fallen apart. Yet again, Reform have no credible plan and their only answer is ‘don’t know’.”
