Reform plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain for migrants

[Twiglets1]

BBC report following Farage's press conference this afternoon:

Reform UK has announced it would abolish the right of migrants to qualify for permanent settlement in the UK after five years, if the party wins the next election.

Under the plans, Reform would abolish the right of migrants to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) - which gives migrants rights and access to benefits - and reapply for new visas with tougher rules.

Reform will also unveil plans to bar anyone other than British citizens from accessing welfare. The party claims their plans would save £234bn over several decades.

Reform said it would replace ILR with visas that force migrants to reapply every five years. That includes hundreds of thousands of migrants currently in the UK.
Applicants would also have to meet certain criteria, including a higher salary threshold and standard of English.

The announcement launches Reform's fresh assault on what they brand the "Boriswave" - 3.8 million people who entered the UK after Brexit under looser rules brought in by Boris Johnson's administration.

Speaking at a press conference, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the "main reason" for the policy was to "wake everybody up to the Boris wave".

Hundreds of thousands of these migrants, who have come to the UK since 2021, will soon qualify for permanent residence under the ILR scheme.

Reform said the changes would not apply to EU nationals whose settled status is protected under the European Union Withdrawal Agreement, who make up the majority of benefit claimants by people with ILR.

But EU nationals not benefiting from the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement will be subject to the new system.

Reform will also introduce a new scheme called Acute Skills Shortage Visas (ASSV) for jobs in crisis. Under the scheme, firms can hire one worker from abroad only if they train one at home.

Reform will also raise the average wait for UK citizenship from six years to seven.

Reform say their policy is designed to bring Britain into line with other countries such as the US and United Arab Emirates (UAE) and save the UK more than £234bn over what it calls the "lifetime of the average migrant".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c930xypxpqpo

Does this mean nobody can apply for citizenship (including those who've worked here for years, those who moved here as small children, those who worked from 20-68 and want to retire here?
Women who've escaped an abusive British husband and have British kids?

I'm not sure about your specific example but I would try to gain British citizenship before the next election to be on the safe side. The next general election will probably not be for a few years.

Farage did say in the press conference that anyone who already has legal British citizenship would be safe from any possibility of being deported.

Some people will say Reform has no chance of getting into power anyway but who knows.

It's the Boris wave that are coming up to the five year requirement to apply for ILR that Reform are wanting to stop due to the future cost to the UK. I don't think it looks like it's retrospective. Makes sense. He says it's about 800,000.

It sounds like you would need an extra period on non permanent visas, eg work ones, and then go straight for citizenship rather than the ILR period first.

Yes. And they are raising the wage requirements. You would have to renew your visa every 5 years and noone on a work visa will be able to claim benefits including their dependants.

Well, they can’t now, so the only change there is the extended time.

"Shooting" people who disagree with you politically?

Topical...

You sound completely unhinged. This political violence reflex is repulsive.

He's after the 'Boriswave'; those who came here after his Brexit effectively to replace EU migrants. Current government are going to screw them over anyway by making them wait for LtR and/or have family join them.

No idea how to implement it or get other people in the jobs bein done whether skilled or not.

He's dog whistling to his fans who think we can empty the UK of dark skinned people. .

Good luck with that.

My friend has lived and worked here since 1988, she’s really worried now, her birth country doesn’t allow dual nationality so she would have to give that up to take up British citizenship, hence not doing it so far. Surely they are going after the wrong people if they are trying to drive out high income people!

There’s an income threshold so if she’s high earning she’ll be ok.

I have British citizenship. This is not about me. It's about vulnerable children and partners.

The usual stuff from Mr Toad. No analysis of the economic impact of this. Made up figures that don’t stack up about the alleged amount saved. No detail of how the policy would function or how those who don’t qualify will be detained or deported (many to countries with whom we have no return agreement or are war-zones) or the cost of that. No analysis of how this conflicts with existing treaties like - ironically - the Brexit agreement… I believe he subsequently had to admit EU citizens would be exempt because it would require a renegotiation. 🤣 No information about what happens to those for whom IDL has been granted already. He proposes to place an absolute cap on immigration and significantly raise the required salary threshold so where’s he going to get care workers from? Or is he going to let the Boomers know they’ll have to wipe their own bottoms? No economic analysis whatsoever and pie in the sky nonsense as usual. He’s a charlatan but it seems he has calculated that, as with Brexit, his target voters don’t understand even the basics of economics so won’t care.

And what’s he going to do, tell people who’ve been here decades and are married to British citizens and have British children “sorry, you’re being deported now because you don’t earn a high enough salary”? “Sorry kids, your mum doesn’t claim any benefits but she’s being deported because she’s forrin”.

One wonders whether this will also apply to his girlfriend who was so broke she couldn’t afford a hotel room so had to stay with him, and then mysteriously got the best part of a million pounds in cash out of the blue to buy a house in his constituency, which he announced on TV that he had just purchased yet now swears is nothing to do with him at all. Very mysterious. I suppose she’ll be ok because she’s French so probably covered by EU protection rights - the irony.

A sensible person would decouple the recourse to public funds from indefinite leave to remain and make access to benefits contributory for all but the disabled, like in most European countries. There’s no need to remove IDL from long-term residents who aren’t claiming benefits anyway. But Mr Toad isn’t sensible or interested in actual solutions, just dog whistling.

It's better to look sensibly at what he said. Probably more constructive bearing in mind people listen to Reform now. No point just saying he's a "charlatan".

Re the caseworkers there would be an ability to take a capped amount of people for essential work, reviewed each year.

The government won't release figures and current official figures are unreliable. So everyone is in the dark really. He thought about 800,000 would be affected, half of whom would be EU citizens. They would have to comply with visa requirements.

I think it's a good start to solve a big ongoing problem that is otherwise going to get worse and will bankrupt the country. It's not going to be quick or easy, which he admitted and obviously there will be many impediments and objections. But it's a start. He's putting UK taxpayers before individual immigrants which is different from the current system. I'm not convinced by Reform yet but at least he's got ideas better than "many in, one out (if we are lucky)"

@TheClaaaw re those who already have IDL I believe that the proposal is that seeing as it would be scrapped if Reform get in, non EU nationals with IDL would have to apply for a 5 year visa instead which could be renewed.

Or apply for British citizenship if eligible.

I imagine more people would be applying for British citizenship. Or dual citizenship - though not all other countries allow dual citizenship.

No, sorry, that’s not acceptable. People who’ve lived here for decades and made a life here, contributed a huge amount, should not have to reapply for the right to stay every 5 years in perpetuity or be forced in many cases to give up their citizenship in their home country in order to have any security over their status as UK residents. You’re talking about people who’ve been here for decades and decades, married with families, who’ve made their life here and paid decades of tax. Why should they have that hanging over them every 5 years? What happens if they do get sick later and their income drops? Even if not claiming benefits and supported by family/ savings, according to Mr Toad they’d fail the visa renewal requirements and be deported after decades of living and working here. It’s disgusting and shows it has nothing to do with contributing to society and everything to do with xenophobic dog whistling to pander to the flag people.

CPS has publicly retracted their nonsense numbers that Farage based his idea on.

As long as she doesn't get sick or too disabled to be able to carry on in her job, that is.

Exactly. Totally unworkable and ridiculous. It’s clearly been dreamed up in a pub when worse for wear without thinking through any of the practicalities or finances. These people are a joke. They couldn’t run a kids’ cake sale and make a profit. The idea they could run an economy or the Home Office competently is laughable.

@TheClaaaw What do other countries do?

Most countries have some version of indefinite leave to remain or permanent residence.

They certainly haven't figured out how to run our local council yet.