Kemi Badenoch Urges Labour to Stand Firm on 10-Year Wait for Permanent UK Residency

Kemi Badenoch Urges Labour to Stand Firm on 10-Year Wait for Permanent UK Residency Kemi Badenoch, the Nigerian-born leader of the UK Conser...

Kemi Badenoch Urges Labour to Stand Firm on 10-Year Wait for Permanent UK Residency

Kemi Badenoch, the Nigerian-born leader of the UK Conservative Party, has called on the Labour government not to dilute its proposal to extend the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five to 10 years, warning that a U-turn would undermine efforts to control immigration and strain public services.

In an open letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, co-signed with Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and shared on social media, Badenoch argued that temporary work visas should not serve as an automatic pathway to permanent settlement in Britain. She offered Conservative support in Parliament to help pass the original, undiluted policy.

“People who come to Britain on temporary work visas should not automatically be able to stay forever,” Badenoch stated. “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 proposal, first advanced by Labour last autumn and echoing earlier Conservative policy announcements, would apply to migrants already in the UK. It could affect approximately two million people who entered on work visas since 2021. Badenoch warned that exempting them would represent a “grave mistake,” noting that five years is too short a period for indefinite settlement rights.

She emphasised that migrants who remain unemployed or in low-paid, low-skilled jobs roles that could potentially be filled by some of Britain’s 9 million economically inactive citizens should leave at the end of their visas rather than transition to permanent residency. Granting ILR too quickly, she added, would open the door to full access to benefits and eventual citizenship, placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers.

Badenoch referenced her own policy shift as party leader in February 2025, when she first advocated doubling the ILR qualifying period and extending the wait for British citizenship. She has apologised for past Conservative governments’ role in high immigration levels, which she said strained public services and community cohesion.

The letter, also copied to Andy Burnham MP ahead of his anticipated role as Prime Minister, positions the issue as a test of Labour’s commitment to border control. “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,” Badenoch wrote.

Reports suggest internal pressure from over 100 Labour MPs may be pushing the government toward exemptions or a softening of the rules. Conservatives have tabled similar measures previously and stand ready to lend votes to secure the change in the national interest.

The move comes amid ongoing debates over UK immigration policy, with the government also consulting on broader settlement rule changes. Critics of the extension argue it could disrupt workers who entered under existing rules, while supporters view it as essential to breaking the “conveyor belt” to permanent residency and citizenship.

Badenoch’s intervention highlights deepening cross-party tensions on immigration as Labour navigates internal divisions and public expectations for tighter controls. 

Family Writers Press International.