Nigel Farage has pledged that Reform UK would abolish the right for migrants to gain permanent settlement after five years, promising to end what he described as the “era of cheap, low-skill foreign labour.”
The move comes as hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived under the Conservative government’s post-Brexit system are set to qualify for permanent residence. Critics have dubbed the surge the “Boriswave”, after Boris Johnson’s overhaul of immigration rules.
Higher salaries, stricter rules
Reform’s blueprint would significantly raise the salary threshold for skilled worker visas from the current £41,700 to around £60,000. Applicants would also have to demonstrate “good character”, ruling out those convicted of crimes such as fraud, tax evasion or other offences.
Language requirements would be tightened too, with migrants needing an advanced C1 level of English far higher than the current B1 standard. Visas would be conditional on not having claimed benefits, and any form of welfare support would be banned outright.
Rules on family reunification would be tougher, with a tiered system limiting the number of dependants lower-paid workers could bring.
Farage argued that the overhaul was needed to restore public trust. “We have to clean up the mess of Boris Johnson or the Boriswave will bankrupt us. The era of cheap, low-skill foreign labour is over,” he said.
Citizenship pushed further out of reach
Reform would also increase the residency requirement for citizenship from five to seven years and insist applicants prove near-native English. Dual nationality would be barred.
Figures suggest that 270,000 migrants will become eligible for ILR next year, rising to more than 600,000 by 2028. Last year, almost 173,000 people were granted permanent status the highest number in 13 years.
Reform’s policy goes further than Labour’s plans, which will require most migrants to wait ten years before applying for ILR. The Conservatives, meanwhile, have urged new home secretary Shabana Mahmood to impose tighter rules immediately on those already living in Britain.
Business backlash expected
The proposals are likely to trigger alarm among employers. Business groups criticised Labour’s earlier reforms, warning that restrictions on settlement would deepen labour shortages.
Jane Gratton of the British Chambers of Commerce said similar policies “place additional burdens on firms who need to fill urgent vacancies” at a time of rising costs.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s policy chief, said the measures would inevitably see “hundreds of thousands” of people lose their settled status in Britain. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said many would leave voluntarily once barred from welfare, while others would face “immigration enforcement as part of our mass deportation programme.”
