Claim: Reform UK would scrap Indefinite Leave to Remain for non-EU migrants
⚠️ Verdict: Misleading / Unclear feasibility
Summary: In late October 2025, Nigel Farage told supporters that a future Reform UK government would remove Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from non-EU migrants. The proposal attracted widespread criticism from immigration lawyers and policy experts, who said such a policy would be legally and politically impossible without breaching the rights of millions of settled residents. ILR is a permanent immigration status that allows people to live and work in the UK indefinitely; it is not a temporary visa that can simply be withdrawn.
What Farage said
Speaking at a Reform UK rally in early October, Nigel Farage said the party would “scrap Indefinite Leave to Remain for all non-EU nationals” as part of what he called a “complete reset of immigration policy.” He argued that existing residents should be “re-assessed” to determine whether they contribute economically and “share British values.” The comments were first reported by Yahoo News UK on 24 October 2025.
Farage did not publish a written policy document or legal outline. The statement was made off-the-cuff during a campaign speech, but it was subsequently echoed on Reform UK’s official social-media accounts.
What Indefinite Leave to Remain actually means
Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is the UK’s term for permanent residence, granted to non-UK citizens after a qualifying period—usually five years of lawful residence. Holders can work, study and access public services without time limits. They lose ILR only if they leave the UK for more than two years, commit serious criminal offences, or obtained it fraudulently.
ILR has existed since the 1971 Immigration Act and underpins several more recent schemes, including the EU Settlement Scheme and refugee resettlement routes. It is a cornerstone of UK immigration law, providing stability for long-term residents and their families.
Why experts say the claim is unrealistic
Immigration lawyers told Yahoo News UK that abolishing ILR or revoking it from those who already hold it would require retrospective legislation and would almost certainly breach Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects family and private life. It would also contradict existing Home Office policy, which explicitly recognises ILR as a permanent status.
Experts at the Migration Observatory and the Institute for Government noted that removing ILR would create immediate legal challenges and international criticism, potentially undermining trade agreements and the UK’s international reputation. They said it was “implausible and constitutionally problematic.”
Political and public response
The proposal drew criticism from across the political spectrum. Senior Conservatives dismissed it as “performative populism,” while the Labour Party called it “an attack on settled migrant families.” Several refugee and migrant rights groups described the comments as “dangerous rhetoric” designed to appeal to anti-immigration sentiment rather than workable governance.
Supporters of Reform UK said Farage was drawing attention to perceived inequalities between non-EU migrants and Commonwealth citizens. However, no concrete plan or costed proposal has been released to explain how ILR could be legally rescinded or replaced.
Analysis
Reform UK’s suggestion to “scrap” ILR conflates permanent settlement with temporary visas. Unlike points-based work visas, ILR represents the end of an immigration process; it grants near-citizenship rights short of voting in general elections. Revoking it en masse would violate long-standing legal principles of fairness, proportionality and legitimate expectation.
In practice, such a policy could only apply to future applicants—and even then, any attempt to remove the route to ILR would require major amendments to the Immigration Rules, primary legislation, and potential judicial review. The claim therefore exaggerates what any future government could realistically achieve.
Verdict
⚠️ Misleading. Reform UK’s promise to abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain misrepresents how UK immigration law works. The proposal would not be legally viable for existing residents and has not been supported by any detailed plan. While the party may seek to tighten future settlement rules, the suggestion that ILR could simply be “scrapped” is inaccurate.