Farage Unveils Plan to Scrap Permanent Residency and Deport Legal Migrants
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has announced plans for sweeping immigration changes that would scrap Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and force legally settled migrants to reapply for visas under stricter rules. “The era of cheap, low-skill foreign labour is over,” Farage said, promising to abolish ILR within 100 days of taking power if the party wins the next election. Those affected would face higher salary thresholds, advanced English requirements, and no access to the NHS or benefits. Farage argues the policy will address what he calls the “Boriswave” — the 3.8 million migrants who came under Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit rules — and claims it would save the UK over £234 billion, although that figure comes from a disputed report.
The plan would also prevent all non-citizens from accessing welfare, and anyone failing to meet the new criteria would lose their residency and be subject to deportation. Reform’s policy chief Zia Yusuf admitted that “hundreds of thousands of people [will] lose their settled status,” saying many would leave voluntarily once their benefits were cut, while the rest would face “immigration enforcement as part of our mass deportation programme.” A new five-year visa system would replace ILR, with tougher routes to citizenship that would require at least seven years in the UK and the renunciation of all other nationalities.
Critics from across the political spectrum have slammed the policy. The government dismissed it as a “gimmick,” Labour said the announcement “has already fallen apart,” and the Liberal Democrats warned it would cause chaos for businesses and hurt the economy. London Mayor Sadiq Khan called it “unacceptable,” pointing out that many with ILR are vital contributors to the UK. Despite the backlash, Reform is surging in the polls, with immigration becoming a key battleground ahead of the next general election.
