Nigel Farage’s plan to scrap the right for immigrants to settle in the UK without citizenship could separate parents from children and husbands from wives, experts have warned.
The Reform policy to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR) and force immigrants to reapply for five-year visas, while making it harder to obtain citizenship, was also rounded on by industry for threatening economic growth and by NHS chiefs as a “kick in the teeth” for health and care workers that could bring the sector to its knees.
Farage was also facing questions about how much the policy would save from the welfare budget after the think-tank providing the initial costings disowning the figures. Reform was also forced to admit settled EU citizens would be exempt and still get benefits.
The backlash came after Reform said it would axe ILR even for current immigrants who have it, make them reapply for five-year visas with higher salary thresholds.
He would also ban anyone who is not a UK citizen from claiming benefits, and make it harder for immigrants to obtain citizenship.
This raises the possibility that with increased criteria – such as higher salary thresholds for work visas (from the current £38,700 to aroud £60,000) – a migrant currently with indefinite leave to remain could fail to get a new visa after five years and face deportation.
The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford told The i Paper the proposals would create the possibility that British citizens with husbands or wives with ILR, or parents whose children are UK citizens, could see their family members deported.
This is because anyone who is rejected from one of Reform’s new five-year visas would ultimately face deportation via its removal plan for Channel migrants announced last month.
The Observatory, which provides independent analysis on migration issues, explained that many of the around 430,000 people who have indefinite leave to remain will have had multiple visa applications accepted by the Government, and while some will have been in the UK for five to 10 years, others will have lived here for decades and may have British children.
Researcher Ben Brindle told The i Paper: “The newly announced policies imply the possibility that British citizens’ spouses, and parents who have children who are British citizens, could be removed irrespective of whether this separates them from their British children.
“As things stand, the policy would break parts of both domestic and international law, but Reform have said they would disapply these laws and pass new legislation to make it legal.
“With a parliamentary majority, that’s something they could do.”
Brindle added: “It is difficult to find any precedent for such a change in a high-income democracy.”
Racial abuse directed at NHS workers
NHS Providers, the membership organisation for trusts, said removing the rights of health and care workers retrospectively would be “unacceptable.”
Chief executive Daniel Elkeles said: “These comments will come as a kick in the teeth to all the hard-working international staff who give so much to our health and care services and who have made this country their home.
“Reports of racial abuse being directed at healthcare workers in recent weeks are horrific. Politicians must think about the real-life consequences of their rhetoric.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf reveal during the Reform UK weekly press conference on Monday. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)The Royal College of Nursing said the plans amounted to a threat to “sack thousands of migrant nursing staff” and were “abhorrent beyond words”.
“The policy of retrospectively removing people’s rights in this way would be unprecedented, leaving migrant nursing staff unable to work or access welfare, despite having paid tax.
“It shows neither compassion nor an understanding of the fundamental role our brilliant migrant nursing staff play in health and care. Without them, services would simply cease to function.”
The British Chambers of Commerce said businesses were already struggling with “increased labour costs coupled with an ongoing skills crisis”, with 73 per cent of firms reporting difficulties hiring staff with a “direct impact on economic growth”.
The BCC’s Patrick Milnes said: “There are many solutions to the UK’s labour market problems, including skills reform. However, it’s vital that any changes in the immigration system do not cut off access to global talent before other options are implemented.”
Reform was meanwhile facing questions over claims that the plans would save £230bn in future costs to taxpayers by banning 800,000 so-called “Boriswave” immigrants who arrived in the country after Brexit between 2020 and 2024 under Boris Johnson’s premiership, from claiming benefits.
The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), which originally came up with the figure, said it should no longer be used after the source data was revised by the Budget watchdog.
The Migration Observatory meanwhile argued that the employment rate of Boriswave immigrants was likely at 58 per cent or higher, suggesting more are contributing by paying taxes than those simply taking out of the state through benefits.
Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “Farage is unable to say how many families his policy would break up, what the cost to businesses would be, what would happen to pensioners and how long it would take to implement — basic questions that any serious political party would know the answers to before making an announcement like this.”
A Conservative former Home Office insider said the policy “sounds like it was made up at the pub”, and would lead to “loads of case studies” of families being broken up “which people would be really angry about”.
“They are on to something but it’s ham fisted.”
Policy will appeal to Reform voters
Chris Hopkins of pollsters Savanta said the policy would be popular among Reform voters.
He told The i Paper: “I think on the face of it the policy will appear popular, and that’s all that matters to Reform. But really Reform are probably just preaching to the converted to some extent – the types of people that will already vote for them will probably back this sort of policy, I’m not sure it will win them any new voters or even necessarily hugely shore up the existing set.
“But it sounds good. It sounds like they are tougher on immigration than the government or the Conservatives, and that’s how they want to appear. Whether it appeals to the electorate as a whole isn’t really the point, I don’t think.”
Farage said the immigration figures under Johnson, and Conservative governments since 2010, had “betrayed democracy”.
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“Far too many that have come don’t work, have never worked and never will work,” he said.
“The ability to bring dependents of all kinds, and when you realise that most that come are very low-skilled, and on very low wages, you start to get a very, very different picture. In fact, you start to get a massive benefits bill.”
He told a press conference his plans meant workers would see wages rise under his plans.
He said: “I do repeat the point that mass, unskilled migration has driven in many, many cases, the minimum wage to become the maximum wage. Under our proposals, would pay go up, yes it would go up a bit, and I think that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. Would our proposals help train British people for jobs? It would.”
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