Sir Keir Starmer made waves on Sunday by declaring that Reform UK’s policy on indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is “racist” and “immoral”.
Nigel Farage and his top lieutenants have reacted furiously, with the Reform UK leader saying the prime minister “has insulted millions of people”, and claiming that Labour thinks that anyone who believes in border controls is “racist”.
It is the latest front in the ongoing battle over which party has the most credible plans to reduce legal migration after statistics from the past two periods on record – 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 – showed the highest level of net migration since current record keeping began in the 1940s, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Labour conference latest: Ministers hit out at Reform UK
Concerns over ILR – which gives people the right to settle, work and study in the UK and even claim benefits – have been mounting in the lead up to January 2026, when a large number of people are expected to become eligible for the status.
Those who have lived and worked in the UK for five years are eligible for ILR – and January next year will see the first in the so-called “Boriswave” (people who arrived under rules introduced during the Johnson premiership) to reach this point.
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Labour promise changes to indefinite leave to remain – but don’t go as far as Reform
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Both Labour and Reform UK have pledged to change the rules around ILR – but what are the differences in their policy plans?
What is indefinite leave to remain (ILR)?
At present, the government says indefinite leave to remain is a key part of how someone who comes to the UK from abroad, can settle in the country. It’s also called “settlement” or settled status. It gives those with the status the right to live, work and study in the UK for as long as they like, and apply for benefits if they’re eligible. Once obtained, it can be used to apply for British citizenship.
What are Labour’s plans?
The home secretary is announcing new conditions that people seeking ILR will have to meet in order to qualify.
Those include:
• Being in work;
• Making national insurance contributions;
• Not be claiming benefits;
• Learning English to a “high standard”;
• Having a “spotless” criminal record;
• Giving back to the local community in some way, through volunteering, for example.
Little detail has been given yet on most of those requirements – for example, how much immigrants will have to have paid in national insurance, what a “high standard” of English means, or how giving back to the community will be measured.
The government is already consulting on whether to change the five-year period before ILR claims can be submitted to 10 years – but it is also not clear when this will come into force.
What are Reform UK’s plans?
Nigel Farage’s party has pledged to scrap ILR entirely, and make obtaining British citizenship the only route to permanent residence in Britain.
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People who currently have ILR would lose that status, and would have to follow the same new rules as new immigrants coming to Britain.
They would have to re-apply for a visa to work and remain in Britain every five years, and Reform UK has pledged to implement new minimum criteria to qualify for one, including a much higher salary threshold and a better standard of English – although little detail on those has yet been set out.
Those on the five-year work visa would not be able to claim benefits, which would only be available to British citizens, and they would be forced to leave the UK if they no longer met the conditions of their visa. Immigrants from Hong Kong and Ukraine, as well as EU citizens with settled status, would be exempt.
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Reform UK would also raise the average wait for UK citizenship from six years to seven, and would force applicants to renounce other citizenships.
Reform UK has claimed these policies will save £234bn for the British taxpayer – although the exact number is very much in dispute. Reform UK has also not said what would happen to pensioners, for example, who might be too old to be expected to work but, under the current rules, have the right to remain in the UK.
