The leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has opposed automatic permanent residency for Nigerians and other migrants on temporary work visas, insisting that only those who make significant economic contributions should be allowed to settle permanently in Britain.
Badenoch stated that migrants on temporary work visas should not have an automatic pathway to indefinite leave to remain (ILR), arguing that those in low-paid or low-skilled jobs should return to their home countries when their visas expire.
In a letter dated June 13 and addressed to the UK Home Secretary, Badenoch criticised reports that the Labour government was considering exempting about two million migrants who arrived on work visas between 2021 and 2026 from a proposed 10-year qualifying period for permanent residency.
She warned that reversing the policy would undermine efforts to tighten immigration controls.
“We are concerned that the government is considering exempting approximately two million immigrants who entered the country on work visas from 2021 to today from the changes,” she said.
According to her, the previous five-year qualification period for ILR was inadequate, arguing that it allowed migrants to obtain permanent residency too quickly.
Badenoch maintained that many temporary migrants were employed in low-wage, low-skilled jobs that could be filled by millions of economically inactive British citizens.
She argued that only migrants who demonstrate substantial economic contributions over a 10-year period should qualify for permanent residency.
“Those not working, or working in low-paid jobs, should be required to go home at the end of their temporary work visa,” she said.
The Conservative leader also expressed concerns that granting ILR would entitle migrants to welfare benefits and provide a pathway to British citizenship after one year.
She warned that easing residency requirements could place additional financial pressure on taxpayers.
“There is currently no provision in the Immigration and Asylum Bill or existing powers to vary the welfare entitlements of people with ILR. A U-turn on ILR would unleash huge increases in benefits claims by recent arrivals, which hard-pressed taxpayers cannot afford to fund,” she said.
Badenoch insisted that the UK government had the legal authority to change settlement rules for temporary visa holders, stressing that extending the qualifying period did not amount to retrospective legislation.
Her comments, however, triggered mixed reactions on social media platform X.
While some users backed her position as a necessary immigration control measure, others accused her of shifting the goalposts for migrants who had complied with existing rules.
One user, identified as Oluomoofderby, argued that a five-year period without access to public benefits offered a fair balance between rewarding migrants’ tax contributions and maintaining immigration controls.
Another user, @DHKRULLAH, criticised Badenoch’s position, saying it contradicted her own migration background and unfairly altered the expectations of migrants who had followed the rules.
A third user, @SamW4reform, questioned why the policy was not implemented while the Conservatives were in government.
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