Immigrants should face tougher hurdles for citizenship, says Badenoch

Immigrants should person to hold astatine slightest 15 years earlier they go eligible for British citizenship, the Conservatives person said.

Arguing that citizenship should lone spell to radical who person shown “a existent commitment” to Britain, Tory person Kemi Badenoch urged the Government to marque it harder for immigrants to unafraid imperishable residency oregon a UK passport.

Mrs Badenoch said: “The Conservative Party is nether caller leadership. We’re going to archer the hard truths astir immigration.

“The gait of migration has been excessively speedy and the numbers coming excessively precocious for meaningful integration. We request to dilatory down the way for citizenship. A UK passport should beryllium a privilege not an automatic right.”

As good arsenic calling for the magnitude of clip immigrants indispensable unrecorded successful the UK earlier they are eligible for indefinite permission to stay (ILR) to beryllium doubled from 5 years to 10, the Conservatives said those with ILR should person to hold 5 years alternatively than 1 earlier they could use for citizenship.

The Conservatives besides called for caller conditions to beryllium imposed connected anyone applying for ILR.

This would see applicants having to amusement they had ne'er claimed benefits oregon utilized societal housing, had nary transgression record, and would beryllium a “net contributor” to the UK economy.

Most enactment visas travel with a “no recourse to nationalist funds” condition, preventing immigrants with those visas from claiming benefits oregon utilizing societal housing, and successful galore cases a transgression grounds volition hold oregon forestall idiosyncratic receiving ILR.

Many of the things they (the Conservatives) are saying already beryllium oregon are the reversal of policies they introduced themselves successful caller years, a motion of however chaotic they are

Home Office curate Dame Angela Eagle

In an interrogation with the BBC, Mrs Badenoch declined to enactment a fig connected however overmuch her connection would chopped migration by, saying lone it was “the close happening to do”.

The announcement, successful which the enactment besides called for tighter restrictions connected who was eligible for ILR, comes arsenic the Conservatives effort to rebuild their enactment with a pugnacious connection connected immigration.

It besides comes arsenic Parliament prepares to statement the Government’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill adjacent week, which the Conservatives said should beryllium amended to see their proposals.

Dame Angela Eagle, the curate for borderline security, said the Conservatives had “lost power of our borders” during their 14 years successful power.

She said: “After 14 years of shameful Tory nonaccomplishment nary 1 volition instrumentality earnestly thing they assertion oregon committedness now.

“Many of the things they are saying already beryllium oregon are the reversal of policies they introduced themselves successful caller years, a motion of however chaotic they are.

“They had 14 years to get a grip of the strategy and alternatively they created chaos which Labour is present clearing up.”