Are all of us foreigners just going to be told to pack up and leave if Reform win?

[Onegingerhead]

I might be totally unreasonable here (or not), but please hear me out.
(Bloody) foreigner here — I’ve lived in the UK since 2001. Built my whole life here: house, husband, DC, the lot. Worked the whole time in a field that requires the highest level of qualification.
I’m getting increasingly worried about the talk of Reform winning in 2029. Some even say it could be sooner if Labour are pushed into early elections. This week (as we all heard) our beloved Reform suggested rescinding ILR or even settled status from Europeans. God knows what else they’ll come up with, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they went after naturalised Brits next and started revoking citizenship, just to please the voters.
I know a lot of foreign-born women — some married to born-and-bred Brits, some to other Europeans (not always from the same country), some to men from overseas. All sorts of combinations.
So what do you think lies ahead for us? Will we be politely asked to leave, or will things just get so hostile that we’re pushed out anyway? And how likely is it that people who aren’t very white, or who have an accent, will face more discrimination in work?
I’m meeting my foreign friends tonight and we’ll be talking about it. For most of us, moving now would be incredibly difficult. We’re late 30s to early 50s, and starting over in a new country isn’t exactly easy. Some of us are married to men from different countries entirely, and we don’t even speak each other’s languages well enough to get proper jobs there.

AIBU and should think we will actually be allowed to stay?
AINBU sorry but you’d better start planning your move now

What damage do you think they’re doing exactly? Because I keep seeing this and it doesn’t ever appear linked to anything solid or factual? Their foreign policy (while cringey watching Starmer trying not to throw up in his own mouth next to trump) has been pretty savvy, they’ve fostered better relations with the EU than the Tories managed… well, ever… and given they’re our biggest trading partners that seems sensible, they’ve undone some of the damage done by Brexit, huge investment is going into primary care which has been drowning for a decade (assuming you like being able to see a gp and a dentist from time to time this is good news). I’m disappointed that they’ve not been radical enough and I think their communication strategy needs a lot of work as they just don’t seem very good at saying what they’re doing in simple terms (unlike Farage, who communicates very well, but unfortunately mostly bullshit) but dangerous? Really?!

Any day now, this strategy of calling people who disagree with you "hateful" will start winning hearts and minds, and the rise of Reform will be halted.

Any day now.

That’s because the UK allows you to have dual citizenship! If I became US citizen I would have to renounce my British citizenship. BUT the British government does not care about that. At any point, should I want my passport back, it’s just a matter of filling in a form . BECAUSE THE UK ALLOWS ME TO BE A DUAL NATIONAL EVEN IF MY HOST COUNTRY DOES NOT.

The figures differ between June and December, but the website I linked to is comparing like with like.

Yes, 2024 is down on 2023 and 2022, but still up over the historical trend.

What will also start to work any day now will be people shouting in online discussions as that makes them HEAR BETTER.

If reform get in can I leave with you? God it’s scary.

This all seems infinitely nebulous to me.

Maybe worry about it when it appears in the manifesto?

Mind you Labour didn't say that they were going to cut the Winter Fuel Payment to pensioners in their manifesto but still did it.

You should calm down. I don't know why people are getting angry with the UK about other countries choosing not to allow dual citizenship.

Is it our fault? No.

If their own countries don't allow dual citizenship then they are the ones forcing people to choose which passport to have, not the UK.

It's not a strategy.
Although you may perceive it as such.
It's an observation.
The truth often hurts.

What is this "it" in "Nigel announcing it to big fanfare" though?
Do you have video of what he actually said?
Have you seen the actual contents of the brochure?

So decreasing, like I said. The two figures are not interchangeable for good reason.

It was reported yesterday, but the figures are for the year ending June 2024 - they're old. Look at the more recent ONS figures up to December 2024 (second post from the top of page 29).

The website I linked to is comparing like with like, year on year.

What makes you so sure that the 2024 decrease isn't just a blip?

All of Nige's policies are vague and nebulous. They are deliberately designed to sound like they're going to do something dramatic and popular but never have any substance behind how they are going to achieve it. For example, how many times have you heard him say "stop the boats!" And how many times have you heard him explain how they will stop the boats?

I will not stop worrying about what he is clearly saying is his policy when he is leading in the polls. I am not an ostrich.

According to the Adam Smith Institute, the UK population is projected to grow by almost 5m over the next decade, with an increase of 7.3% expected between 2022 and 2032. This probably horrifies you, given what you've posted. However, deaths are set to rise due to us "Boomers" dying off, leading to a projected 17,000 more deaths than births over the same 10-year period (in fact, we've been recording more deaths than births every year since 2015 and our birth rate has plummeted to an average of just 1.46 children per woman which will not sustain the UK population as we need an average replacement rate of at least 2.1). This suggests that without immigration our population will begin to shrink in the coming decades. Immigration tends to increase the working-age population, which is what we need - more tax payers to pay for public services. So, regardless of what people think about net migration, it looks like this is all that's currently available to us, at least in the short to medium term, to help the UK avert population decline and the ultimate failure of our economy.
It would also help if the 1million 18-22 year olds who are currently not in employment, education or training (NEET) were persuaded into doing something productive, but the point is we need immigration whether Reform supporters like it or not.

@LaDumDum

It's not a strategy.
Although you may perceive it as such.
It's an observation.
The truth often hurts

But it’s not the truth. It’s simply your truth and how you perceive it.

Policies?? He has more than one? I'm shocked, he must be keeping them well hidden

Traditionally you don’t disclose them until manifesto release.

‘Farage said that under a Reform government 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’

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/22/farage-vows-to-scrap-settled-status-placing-thousands-at-risk-of-deportation

I think it's because you are treating an intense personal decision as though it's easy and light. We're fortunate that our country of origin allows dual citizenship with the UK (@TwelvePiecesOfFlair - the UK also allows it, by the way), but if it didn't, we would not have taken UK citizenship.

Yes, generally speaking, you can reclaim citizenship from your country of origin, but different countries have different processes, some are expensive, require documentation that might be difficult to find, and/or time consuming. I believe some countries require you to reestablish resident as if you were a non-citizen. And, as we're seeing here, there's never a guarantee the requirements won't change.

Your insistence that you are the arbiter of truth doesn't hurt me, but it does hurt your political goals.

No you wouldn’t. When you take citizenship of another country, unless they have a dual nationality arrangement, you effectively disavow your citizenship. If you wish to become Spanish again (assuming you did not keep dual nationality) you have to move to Spain on an immigrant visa, be resident for the required period etc and acquire nationality exactly the same way every other non Spanish national has to. Being born in a country does NOT qualify you for citizenship if you have subsequently acquired citizenship of another country.

ETA @Onegingerhead if you are naturalised as a British citizen, it cannot be revoked unless it is in the public interest because you have, for example, been convicted of a capital crime etc. I am naturalised and have no concerns about being kicked out at any future point.

Apart from the whipping up hatred ones, they obviously need to be aired to create an even more hostile environment than we've already got, great

Controlled immigration is fine. Bring in who we need, the UK isn't a charity we already pay enough foreign aid. Ah yes, pick on the young and working class. I'd expect nothing less. No wonder people aren't having babies, the NHS is horrendous with maternity care. Childcare is extortionate and many people can't afford to look after their children at home- that is a major issue. 1 million young people unemployed -i'd be interested to know if that statistic includes people unable to work for health reasons, because young ill people do exist. You don't get benefits if your able to work and don't job seek, you are sanctioned