Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, has called on the Labour government to stick with its plan requiring temporary work visa holders to wait 10 years before securing indefinite leave to remain. She posted the demand on X on Monday alongside a letter to the Home Secretary, warning against Labour MPs trying to weaken the immigration reforms.
"People who come to Britain on temporary work visas should not automatically be able to stay forever," Badenoch wrote. "This Labour government was right to make that harder.
Now their MPs want them to U-turn. Conservatives will back Labour's original plan to help get it through Parliament."
The letter, co-signed by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, targeted reports that the government planned to exempt around two million migrants who entered the UK on work visas since 2021 from the new rules. Badenoch branded the reported exemption "a grave mistake," arguing Britain had already paid the price for allowing migrants permanent settlement too quickly.
"As Conservatives learned to our cost, five years is too short a time to obtain the indefinite right to remain in the UK," the letter stated. Badenoch believes the 10-year threshold reflects the proper balance between welcoming workers and protecting public services.
She argued that many migrants currently stuck in low-paid, low-skilled jobs could be replaced by economically inactive British citizens if the government created more employment opportunities. Those who don't make meaningful economic contributions over a decade should go home when their temporary visas expire, she insisted.
"Individuals who are not making a significant economic contribution over a ten-year period should not be allowed to stay indefinitely," Badenoch wrote. "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 cautioned that granting indefinite leave after just five years strains Britain's welfare system because recipients become eligible for benefits and can later claim citizenship. She stressed that moving to a 10-year qualifying period wouldn't amount to retrospective rule changes since temporary work visas don't guarantee permanent residence.
"The government is perfectly entitled to decide at any time the rules on indefinite rights of settlement, including in relation to those here already," she said. The Conservative leader offered cross-party backing for Labour's immigration proposals if introduced without watering down.
"If you table the proposals set out last autumn in undiluted form, either in the Immigration Rules or as part of the Immigration and Asylum Bill, we will support them," the letter said. Badenoch warned that Labour's approach to these reforms would reveal whether the party genuinely intends to control immigration and strengthen UK borders.
