Farage vows £230 billion savings by deporting migrants if Reform wins next election

Nigel Farage has vowed that hundreds of thousands of migrants will be forced out of the United Kingdom if Reform UK wins the next election, insisting the move would save taxpayers more than £230 billion. The party’s leader says the plan would end what he calls the ‘scam’ of legal permanent settlement for foreign nationals and warns that failing to tackle the issue risks creating a fiscal timebomb that could bankrupt the country. He writes in the Daily Mail that he would abolish indefinite leave to remain, the status that allows people who have lived in the UK for more than five years to access benefits and apply for citizenship.

Reform estimates about 3.8 million migrants who arrived after the pandemic would be eligible for ILR between 2026 and 2030. The party argues many of those people are either destined for a life on benefits or are low-skilled workers who would bring dependants, potentially expanding demands on welfare and public services. Farage contends that preventing them from remaining in the UK would save about £234 billion over their lifetimes, which would otherwise be claimed in benefits. Under the plan, no new ILR awards would be made and migrants already allowed to live here under ILR—so-called settled status—would have it rescinded. Migrants living in the UK would instead have to apply for a five-year renewable visa accompanied by stricter criteria, such as proving English proficiency and the ability to earn a high salary, and would face limits on how many dependants could join them.

Those rejected under the scheme would lose state benefits and be expected to leave voluntarily or face removal under Reform UK’s tougher approach to illegal migration, part of a policy called Operation Restoring Justice. Reform’s policy document, due to be published on Monday, suggests the changes will be implemented in a staggered and orderly fashion to allow British workers to replace migrants in the economy. The party argues that the era of cheap foreign labour is over, and Farage has insisted that only UK citizens will be eligible for welfare. The qualifying period for citizenship—currently one year after settled status is granted—would be extended to prevent it being obtained cheaply, according to Farage, who added that the Tories and Labour have turned the UK into a foodbank for the world.