Reform UK vows to scrap indefinite leave to remain and replace it with five-year visas

Reform UK unveiled plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain and replace it with a system in which migrants must reapply for new visas every five years if the party wins the next general election. Under current rules, indefinite leave to remain is a permanent status that allows migrants to live and work in the United Kingdom and is a key route to citizenship and to claiming benefits. The proposal would also bar non-British citizens from accessing welfare. Reform argues the changes would save £234 billion over the decades, though the figure is disputed.

The policy forms part of Reform's broader effort to curb what it calls the Boriswave, referring to about 3.8 million people who entered the UK after Brexit under looser rules. Hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived since 2021 would soon be eligible for permanent residence under ILR, unless the reform is enacted. Reform says the plan would bring Britain in line with other countries such as the United Arab Emirates and would save the government more than £234 billion over the lifetime of the average migrant. Labour said the savings figure originated in a Centre for Policy Studies report that later should not be used after a challenge by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

A government spokesperson dismissed the plan as a gimmick and said ministers are consulting on restricting migrants' access to welfare. The spokesperson added that people here illegally rightly do not get anything from the benefits system. Foreign nationals usually have to wait five years to claim Universal Credit and the government said it is considering increasing that to 10 years. Ministers said they inherited a broken welfare system with a spiralling benefits bill, and noted that the proportion of Universal Credit payments to foreign nationals has fallen since last July.

Reform's policy chief Zia Yusuf wrote in a Telegraph column that the party is putting business on notice that the era of cheap foreign labour is over. He argued the changes would force hundreds of thousands to apply and ultimately lose their settled status, while those who remain dependent on benefits could face immigration enforcement under Reform's plan.

Context about migration patterns in the region was included as part of the broader discussion. World Bank data shows the United Arab Emirates has one of the highest shares of international migrants globally, with migrants making up about 90 percent of its total labor force, illustrating how migration patterns vary by country and policy.