Leader of the United Kingdom Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said migrants who come to Britain on temporary work visas but fail to make a significant contribution to the country’s economy should be required to return to their home countries instead of being allowed to remain permanently.
Badenoch made the remarks while urging the Labour government not to abandon its earlier proposal to increase the qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) from five years to 10 years.
She also pledged that the Conservative Party would support the government’s original immigration proposal in Parliament if it is introduced without changes.
In a post on social media on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, Badenoch said, “People who come to Britain on temporary work visas should not automatically be able to stay forever.”
She added, “This Labour government was right to make that harder. Now their MPs want them to u-turn.”
According to her, “Conservatives will back Labour’s original plan to help get it through Parliament.”
In a letter dated Monday, July 13, 2026, addressed to the Home Secretary and jointly signed by Badenoch and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, the Conservative Party recalled that Labour had announced plans last autumn to extend the qualifying period for ILR to 10 years, including for migrants already living in the UK.
The opposition said it had supported the proposal from the beginning and had previously introduced similar measures before Parliament.
However, Badenoch said she was concerned by reports that the government was considering exempting about two million immigrants who entered Britain on work visas between 2021 and now from the proposed changes.
The letter stated, “We are concerned to read reports today that following pressure from Labour MPs anticipating a new direction from an incoming Prime Minister, you are now considering u-turning on previous commitments and exempting approximately two million immigrants who entered the country on work visas from 2021 to today from the changes.”
Describing such a move as a serious mistake, Badenoch argued that allowing migrants to qualify for permanent settlement after just five years was too generous.
She wrote, “This is a grave mistake. As Conservatives learned to our cost, five years is too short a time to obtain the indefinite right to remain in the UK.”
Badenoch argued that many migrants covered by the proposal work in low-paid and low-skilled jobs that could instead be filled by unemployed British citizens.
The letter stated, “Many of these immigrants are working in low wage, low skilled jobs which could be done by some of the 9 million economically inactive British citizens.”
She further argued that migrants who fail to make a meaningful economic contribution over a 10-year period should not be allowed to remain in Britain permanently.
According to the letter, “Individuals who are not making a significant economic contribution over a ten-year period should not be allowed to stay indefinitely. Those not working, or working in low paid jobs, should be required to go home at the end of their temporary work visa.”
Badenoch also warned that granting ILR to more recent migrants would increase the number of people entitled to claim state benefits.
She said that even if access to welfare benefits was delayed, recipients of ILR could become eligible for British citizenship after one year, making it difficult to limit access to public funds.
The letter added, “A u-turn on ILR would unleash huge increases in benefits claims by recent arrivals which hard-pressed taxpayers cannot afford to fund.”
The Conservative leader also argued that the government has the legal authority to change the rules governing permanent settlement, including for migrants who are already in Britain.
The letter stated, “The government is perfectly entitled to decide at any time the rules on indefinite rights of settlement, including in relation to those here already. No one who has come here on a temporary work visa should have the automatic right to stay forever and changing the rules to extend the qualification period and add conditions for new applications does not constitute a retrospective change.”
Badenoch and Philp said they had also copied the letter to Andy Burnham in anticipation of his becoming Prime Minister.
They further offered the Conservative Party’s support if the Labour government introduces its original immigration proposals without dilution through either the Immigration Rules or the Immigration and Asylum Bill.
The letter concluded, “Whether or not you stand by your own proposals is a test of whether the Labour Party is serious about controlling our borders or not.”
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