Overview

• Nigel Farage unveiled plans to abolish ILR, rescind existing settled status for many, and replace it with stricter five‑year visas that require higher salaries, advanced English and tighter rules on dependants, with no access to most benefits or some services.
• Reform said EU citizens with settled status would be exempt from the changes to benefits and ILR, though its policy chief signalled a push to reopen talks with the EU on welfare rights.
• The party continues to claim lifetime savings of roughly £230–£234 billion despite the Centre for Policy Studies stating the estimate should no longer be used after OBR data changes.
• Estimates of those affected vary, with Reform citing around 800,000 eligible for ILR in the next few years and earlier briefings referencing millions, while Farage argued the true numbers and savings would be higher.
• Senior figures from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats condemned the plan as unworkable and risky for families and key services, and Reform left key details such as the new salary threshold to be set later while confirming no change to existing UK citizenships.