At a speech in Dover on Monday, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf revealed more detail about the party’s plans for the Home Office if they win the next general election.
There were eye-catching pledges to deliver “net negative immigration” and ban former churches from being turned into mosques or places of worship for other faiths, something which Yusuf – who is Muslim – said was “incendiary”.
However, what was perhaps most surprising was how similar Reform’s pledge on visa plans is to current Government policy.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What did Reform say on visa bans?
To achieve the “net negative” immigration goal – that is, to ensure more people are leaving the country than entering it – Reform has vowed to deport more than 600,000 illegal migrants during the party’s first term in office.
However, this will clearly depend on migrants’ home countries being willing to accept them back.
Yusuf said on Monday: “Return agreements will be secured. Countries of origin will take back their nationals. And ladies and gentlemen, if a country refuses, we will stop issuing visas to that country.
“Today I can announce that based on overstaying rates and illegal boat arrivals, we will freeze the issuance of visas for countries including Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan.
“We will not consider lifting these bans until they comply and take back their citizens who are in our country illegally. Because borders are not simply lines drawn on a map, they define a country. They are the perimeter of our national economy, the boundaries of our security and the guardians of our culture.”
How does this compare to Labour policy?
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has already threatened to suspend visas for countries that do not agree to migrant return deals.
Last September, she said that “cutting visas” was on the table for “countries that do not play ball”. Sir Keir Starmer has also said he favours a “much more transactional” approach on visas.
In December, Mahmood announced visa restrictions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after the country failed to agree to the return of illegal migrants and foreign offenders.
Along with the DRC ban, the Home Office had also criticised Angola and Namibia, accusing the three African countries of “unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes”.
Earlier this month, Mahmood declared victory by announcing that the three countries had agreed to co-operate on returns. The Home Secretary said: “My message is clear, if foreign governments refuse to accept the return of their citizens, then they will face consequences.”
Reform’s approach of pre-emptively announcing six targets for visa bans is arguably more aggressive than Labour’s stance.
It is also noticeable that of the six countries on Reform’s list, at least five are majority Muslim (there are no reliable figures on religious affiliation for Eritrea, but it is estimated to be split roughly 50/50 between Muslims and Christians).
Targeting Pakistan would also be a big move because it is one of the largest sources of visa applications to the UK. In the year to September 2025, a total of 92,984 visa applications were granted to Pakistani nationals – the fifth largest figure of any country, (the DRC, Namibia and Angola did not appear in the top 20).
What about the European Convention on Human Rights?
Reform has pledged to immediately withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and derogate from “every international treaty that has been used to frustrate the deportation of those who have no right to be here”.
In contrast, Labour has said they will reform how the ECHR works in UK courts, while remaining within the convention. Mahmood has promised to legislate to reform how Article 8 – the right to family and private life – is interpreted, and to work with other ECHR members to restrict the scope of Article 3, which protects against inhuman and degrading treatment.
Are Reform’s policies similar to Trump’s
Many of Reform’s policies also appear comparable to US measures under Donald Trump. At the start of this year, the American President introduced an indefinite pause on visa-processing from 75 countries.
Reform is also promising a “UK Deportation Command” which critics have likened to America’s controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Taking questions from journalists on Monday, Yusuf said such a Deportation Command would not lead to scenes similar to those which have unfolded in Minnesota, where two people were shot dead during a crackdown by ICE and Border Patrol.
Yusuf said that “thankfully” Britain did not have comparable levels of gun ownership to the US and therefore he did not envisage deportation officials carrying weapons.
“This notion that we’re going to have the same issues that have come sharply into focus internationally as a result of Trump’s ICE programme is just not true,” he aruged.
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