The United States Mission in Nigeria has vowed to deny entry visas to corrupt high-profile Nigerian officials.
At the same time, Reform UK yesterday announced plans to abolish the right of migrants to apply for permanent settlement in the United Kingdom after five years if it wins the next election.
In a post on X, the US Mission stressed that its anti-corruption stance would be enforced without exceptions. It stated: “Fighting corruption knows no borders or limits on accountability. Even when high-profile individuals engage in corruption, they can be barred from receiving U.S. visas.”
Meanwhile, Reform UK unveiled proposals to abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain, a status that allows migrants to live, study, work, and access benefits in the UK permanently. Under the new plan, migrants would have to reapply for visas every five years under tougher rules, including higher salary thresholds and stricter English language requirements.
Reform UK also pledged to stop non-British citizens from accessing welfare benefits, insisting that the move could save £234 billion over several decades.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves dismissed the party’s savings claim, saying it “has no basis in reality” and noted that the government was already considering measures to restrict migrants’ welfare access.
Party leader Nigel Farage said the UK should not act as “the world’s food bank.” Launching the policy, he argued: “It is not for us to provide welfare for people coming in from all over the world.”
Under current UK immigration rules, migrants can apply for permanent residence after five years, which is also a pathway to British citizenship. Reform UK’s new policy would replace this with renewable five-year visas, affecting even hundreds of thousands of migrants already living in the country.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, about 213,666 people with permanent residence status were claiming Universal Credit benefits as of July.
Farage said the policy is aimed at ending what he called the “Boris wave” – about 3.8 million people who entered the UK under looser post-Brexit rules introduced during Boris Johnson’s government.
