In her first significant policy announcement as Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch announced that migrants on work visas who claim benefits will not be allowed to settle in the UK permanently.
Badenoch suggested extending the time frame from five to ten years before migrants may apply for indefinite permission to remain, which opens the door to British citizenship.
According to her plan, immigrants who have a criminal record, have applied for social housing or benefits, or have both would not be allowed permanent status.
According to the Tory leader, “only those who have demonstrated a real commitment to the UK should be granted citizenship and permanent residency.”
“Very little to no evidence that citizenship acts as a pull factor for people choosing to come to the UK,” according to Downing Street.
The prime minister’s official spokesman added: “The issue facing the UK is the record high levels of migration that have been seen over recent years and that’s why the government is focussed on tackling the root causes behind those numbers with measures that make a difference.”
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) gives people the right to live, work and study in the UK.
It is usually possible for someone to apply for ILR if they have worked in the UK for five years, although it can be two or three years if they came to UK on particular visas.
A person can currently apply for British citizenship, 12 months after they have been granted indefinite leave to remain.
The Conservatives say migrants should only be able to apply for British citizenship after having ILR for 15 years.
The party wants the government to adopt the changes, backdated to 2021, by amending its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill due to be debated in Parliament next week.
Migrants in the UK on visas, illegally or seeking asylum are usually not able to claim welfare benefits and social housing.
This is a visa condition known as no recourse to public funds, which prevents access to state-funded welfare.
The Migration Observatory reports that around 2,500 migrants were successful in applying to have the requirement lifted in 2021 and 2022.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, told the BBC that “we don’t want to give them indefinite leave to remain if someone has consistently claimed benefits and not worked over a period of time.”
According to him, the Tory plans would require migrants who claim ILR to demonstrate that they were a net contributor to the economy in order to be granted British citizenship.
They would therefore need to demonstrate that their pay and tax payments exceeded the expenses they incurred for the state.
Speaking to the BBC, Badenoch said the current rules had created a “conveyor belt” to citizenship for those who had just arrived in the country.
She argued too many people were getting citizenship through this route and that was “creating a strain on public services”.
“We need to make sure that people coming here have a real, meaningful connection to the UK, so no criminal records, they should be net contributors to the economy, not relying on benefits but people who care about our country and our communities.”
She said she believed the policy would bring numbers down but would not say by how much.
Last year, shortly after becoming Conservative leader, Badenoch said her party had got it “wrong” on immigration during its time in government, which saw net migration rise to a record high of 906,000.
She has said there should be a hard cap on migrant numbers but declined to say what it should be set at, arguing it would depend on the situation at any given time.
Asked if she was panicking because of the rising popularity of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, Badenoch said her party “needed to rebuild trust with the public” and that it was natural for the public to look to “the protest party”.
Badenoch has made a point of saying she would not be unveiling detailed policies for some time, talking instead about values.
But she said it makes sense for the Conservatives to set out an alternative approach to immigration now because the government was bringing forward an immigration bill next week.
The Conservatives plan to table an amendment to the bill.
Conservative MPs are concerned about the rise of Reform UK, which takes a hard line on immigration.
That is one of the reasons Badenoch feels she needs to come out so strongly on an issue which concerns so many Conservative voters now.
