Reform UK vows to scrap indefinite leave to remain, potentially reshaping migrant rights

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has unveiled plans to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR), the status that allows migrants who have lived in Britain for five years or more to apply for citizenship and access a range of benefits. The proposal would apply to both new applicants and those who have already been granted ILR, raising the prospect that some current holders could be deported if the policy were enacted. Farage argued the measure could save billions in future welfare costs, saying scrapping ILR would remove a long-term entitlement that he described as financially burdensome. The party’s announcement also drew immediate pushback from Conservative lawmakers and other critics who said the plan was poorly defined and risks destabilizing lives and services. Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, accused Reform of copying Conservative ideas and dismissed the policy as "half-baked and unworkable," warning that mass low-skill migration imposes costs on housing, welfare, and public services and that any system should reward contribution while preventing abuse.

What ILR is and why it matters remains central to the debate. ILR is an immigration status that gives migrants the right to live, study, and work in the UK without time restrictions. Holders can access the National Health Service without paying the Immigration Health Surcharge and may eventually apply for British citizenship after five years of lawful residence. While most applicants must wait at least 12 months after obtaining ILR before pursuing naturalization, the status itself effectively grants long-term security in the UK and a pathway to citizenship, anchoring many families’ lives in British communities.

Under current rules, eligibility for ILR typically requires five years of legal residence, though some visa routes have different thresholds. Those with Tier 1 visas, which historically targeted entrepreneurs, had shorter paths under specific conditions, and holders of Innovator Founder or Global Talent visas—newer replacements for Tier 1 categories—may face longer waits. Refugees can apply for ILR five years after their grant of refugee status. The Migration Observatory at Oxford University has estimated that roughly 430,000 non-EU citizens were granted an initial visa from 2005 onward and now hold ILR but not citizenship, though some may have since left the UK. Across all time periods, the total number of non-EU ILR holders is therefore likely in the hundreds of thousands. Separately, the Migration Observatory notes that more than four million EU nationals had their status settled after Brexit, though it does not provide precise data on how many are still in the country or have become citizens. Reform’s office has estimated that about 3.8 million migrants who arrived after the pandemic will become eligible for ILR between 2026 and 2030.

Reform’s plan would abolish indefinite leave to remain and require migrants to renew their status every five years. Farage has said applicants would need to meet a higher salary threshold and demonstrate improved English, though the party did not specify a salary figure in its briefing and said it would publish figures later. Crucially, Reform asserts that no new ILR awards would be made and that those already living in the UK under ILR would have their status rescinded if the policy were enacted. The proposal has immediate political resonance, with reform advocates arguing it would curb what they see as a pull of low-wage migration and a long-term burden on public services, while opponents warn of humanitarian and economic consequences for refugees, families of British citizens, and others who are currently able to build long-term ties to the country.

Experts cautioned about the groups likely to be affected most. Dr. Ben Brindle, a research fellow with the Migration Observatory, said that refugees and the family members of British citizens could be disproportionately impacted because they are less likely to meet strict economic and language requirements, even if they have strong ties to the UK. He noted that the policy would represent a fundamental shift in how the country manages long-term residency for people who have already integrated and contributed to British society. Farage has said the rule would not apply to around six million EU nationals living in the UK with settled status after Brexit, but it remains unclear how the policy would handle people who arrived after the five-year threshold prior to enactment or those who have children here.

Critics have questioned the potential impact on the National Health Service and other public services if large numbers of ILR holders were deported or faced additional visa hurdles. Ashley Stothard, an immigration lawyer at Freeths, called the plan outrageous, arguing that it would undermine the rights of lawful migrants who have contributed to the UK socially, economically, and culturally. The Centre for Policy Studies—whose original £234 billion estimate of welfare costs attached to scrapping ILR was later withdrawn—had argued the policy could yield large savings, but those claims drew dismissal from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who said the figures did not reflect reality. The Conservative Party branded Reform’s proposals as half-baked and unworkable, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan pointed to the fact that thousands of Londoners hold ILR and have legal rights as residents, workers, and neighbors, stressing that deporting people who are legally living in the capital would be unacceptable.

The policy debate comes amid broader questions about the costs and benefits of migration, the efficiency of public services, and the balance between border control and humanitarian obligations. Supporters of more restrictive policies argue that tighter rules are needed to ensure migrants contribute to the economy and public finances, while opponents warn that moving to a revocation-based regime risks destabilizing families, undermining community cohesion, and creating administrative complexity for employers and public agencies. As Reform prepares to push its agenda ahead of the next electoral cycle, policymakers and researchers say any proposal to reconfigure ILR will require careful consideration of legal rights, fiscal impacts, and the practical realities of residency and citizenship for hundreds of thousands of people who already consider the UK home.