Farage Says Reform Would Revoke UK Citizenships Granted Under New Mahmood Immigration Rules

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says that if his party wins power, it would review and potentially revoke citizenships granted under a new immigration policy unveiled Monday by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, targeting migrants he considers a net drain on Britain’s economy.

Mahmood’s announcement followed pressure from left-wing members of the governing Labour Party. Mahmood had previously been seen as a hawk on immigration who acknowledged the strain mass migration placed on public resources, but her new rules loosen the path to citizenship for several categories of migrants.

Under the policy, most immigrants will have to wait ten years, rather than five, before applying for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), Britain’s permanent residency status that lets foreigners live, work and study in the country without time limits. Migrants with ILR can typically apply for citizenship within a year.

Mahmood said applicants for ILR must have a clean criminal record, must not be on welfare, must not owe the government tax or healthcare debts, and must pass an English-language test.

“This is the foundation of settlement. The non-negotiable expectations that I make of anyone who seeks to live here permanently,” Mahmood said.

The ten-year wait does not apply to everyone, however. Migrants earning more than £125,141 a year will only need to wait three years, while those in skilled public-sector jobs — including doctors, nurses and teachers — will only need to wait five years before applying for permanent residency. That carve-out comes despite findings from the Migration Advisory Committee that the shorter wait would cost British taxpayers billions in healthcare and welfare spending.

Mahmood’s own ministry has estimated that the roughly 117,000 care workers expected to gain permanent residency between 2026 and 2030 under the prior rules would cost the country £4.2 billion over their lifetimes — rising to £9.5 billion once the relatives they are permitted to bring into the country are factored in.

Farage, responding Monday evening, said a Reform UK government would review every citizenship granted under the new scheme and strip those deemed a net negative for the country.

“Normal countries don’t give out work visas, allow you to bring dependents, automatically give you Indefinite Leave to Remain, and then one year later citizenship. We are uniquely stupid in doing this, and we’ve been uniquely stupid in doing this for far too many years,” Farage said.

“Our position is very, very clear: Anybody under this scheme that’s been opened today, and I believe today is just the opening of the door, anybody that goes through to ILR and citizenship under this scheme, we will review each and every single one of those citizenships if they are granted. This goes against the grain of everything that British citizenship is supposed to have meant over the centuries, and will go through each and every one and analyse whether there are benefit to the British economy.”

Farage has separately pledged that a Reform government would abolish the ILR system altogether, replacing it with an American-style work visa that would need renewal every five years rather than granting permanent residency.

Reform has estimated that migrants who arrived in Britain between 2020 and 2024 — a group the party refers to as the “Boriswave” — will cost taxpayers a net £622.5 billion ($849 billion) by 2085. The party has also proposed barring all foreign nationals living in Britain from receiving welfare benefits; Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick has estimated that change would save £21 billion ($28.5 billion) by 2029.

Critics of Mahmood’s new rules warn they could encourage further migration, both legal and illegal. Migration Watch UK chairman Alp Mehmet said in a statement: “This weak and pusillanimous reaction does a disservice to British taxpayers and rides roughshod over the clear wishes of the public. Ms Mahmood clearly has no stomach for a fight with the open-borders zealots in her party, who appear to include the Prime Minister. Taken together, these announcements could lead to immigration on an even greater scale than the Boriswave.”