Nigel Farage vows to ban all foreign nationals from claiming benefits

Nigel Farage will ban all foreign nationals from claiming any form of welfare if he wins the next election, the Daily Express can exclusively reveal. The Reform leader will warn at a press conference tomorrow that the UK is turning into a "food bank for the World" as the benefits bill continues to spiral out of control.

And he will confirm that only UK citizens will be able to claim state handouts if Reform wins the next election. Foreign nationals who successfully apply to become a UK citizen would then get the same rights, the Daily Express understands. But Mr Farage is expected to increase the threshold to obtain a British passport, possibly by linking it to their income, meaning far fewer are likely to gain citizenship. This, he will argue, will save taxpayers £230 billion.

Migrants will also have to wait seven years to apply to become a UK citizen, up from the current six years. If a foreign national is married to a Brit, they can apply after five years, when they are also eligible to apply for indefinite leave to remain. But they must be granted ILR before they are allowed benefits.

Nigel Farage will say at a press conference in London: "Welfare will end for everyone that is not a UK citizen, we will close the loopholes. Reform will ensure that welfare is for UK citizens only.

"We are cleaning up the mess of Boris Johnson. The Boriswave will bankrupt us.

"Reform will deal with Boriswave, the biggest betrayal of voters trust in modern times."

Research by the Centre for Policy Studies revealed over two million visas were issued to migrants between January 2021 and June 2024.

This has led to warnings that as many as 800,000 could apply for indefinite leave to remain - and get access to benefits, the NHS and social homes - after they have lived in the UK for five years.

The first of this cohort - dubbed the Boris Wave - could apply for indefinite leave to remain from January.

Estimates have suggested this could cost taxpayers around £200bn over the course of their lifetimes.

Labour has vowed to force migrants to wait 10 years before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

But those who contribute more to society could earn settlement sooner.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives have declared migrants will have to live in the UK for 10 years, earning at least £38,700 before they can be given indefinite leave to remain.

Kemi Badenoch has also stressed anyone who claims benefits cannot get settlement rights.

And Mr Farage will today insist only UK citizens can claim welfare, including social housing.

This is a significantly tougher stance than the Conservatives and Labour, who have until now focussed on indefinite leave to remain.

Reform will point to Britain's spiralling benefits bill, with welfare payments costing £266bn last year.

Mr Farage's party said that included £9bn in Universal Credit payments to foreign nationals.

Foreign nationals account for one in five unemployed people.

And figures compiled by the Department for Work and Pensions revealed the number of people receiving handouts after being given settlement rights has doubled in three years.

A staggering 211,090 migrants given indefinite leave to remain received Universal Credit in August, up from 153,648 a year ago, new figures showed.

It also represents a 120% increase from the 95,612 in April 2022.

Another 770,379 European migrants are claiming Universal Credit, up from 644,847 in April 2022, after being allowed to stay under the EU Settlement Scheme.

Reform will on Monday accuse the Tories and Labour of fuelling the crisis.

Left-wing Labour MPs are fighting proposed changes to settlement rights, claiming it could anger Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian and Bangladeshi voters.

A group of politicians warned that proposals to change qualification rules for indefinite leave to remain from five years to 10 years would be "cruel" and "punitive".

They urged new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to ditch the plans because they could be punished at the ballot box.

Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy said: "It would be simply unfair and frankly cruel to apply an extension to the ILR pathway retrospectively, and it would significantly impact those already on the pathway, as well as their families, employers and communities.

"We have to start being frank that the pursuit of net migration targets has undermined our economy and our public services and created a hostile environment in our communities. Changing immigration rules in this way will undo the work that has been done so far to repair our NHS. I urge the Government to reconsider.

"In this country, Commonwealth nationals on any length of visa can register to vote in both local and national elections, and I expect that they and their British national family members and friends will have views on these issues. We should take note of that."

Net migration hit a staggering 906,000 in the year to June 2023, amid an influx of foreign students, a spike in non-EU workers, particularly in the health and social care sectors and the introduction of the Ukraine and Hong Kong refugee visa schemes, Office for National Statistics figures revealed.

Tighter controls introduced by the Conservatives on overseas workers and foreign students led to a fall of 435,000 to 431,000, from 866,000 in the year to December 2023.

The Tories in 2023 banned overseas care workers and foreign students from bringing their family members with them to the UK.

The salary threshold for skilled workers was also increased to £38,700.

The Tories and Labour have turned Britain into a food bank for the world at the expense of our own people.

Instead of supporting Brits, successive governments have instead spent billions supporting migrants.

There are no better examples than the most recent 'Boriswave', where former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, despite his tough rhetoric on immigration, betrayed the electorate and welcomed record numbers of migrants into this country.

Around 3.8 million new people arrived into Britain on long-term visas, and estimates suggest that at least 800,00 will be granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR), giving them unfettered access to Britain's welfare system to the tune of £234 billion to the public purse.

Around half of these will never be in work, taking from their host country and contributing nothing in return.

The welfare system is already bloated. Of the staggering £266 billion we spend on welfare, £9 billion went to foreign nationals. Every 1 in 6 people on Universal Credit is a foreign national.

This complete con of our system must end. Only Reform will address this head on by slashing the welfare bill. The plan we have announced today, which will save British taxpayers £230 billion, is just the beginning.