Reform UK Proposes Visa Bans and Mass Deportation Agency
Zia Yusuf outlines a radical home affairs overhaul including the creation of a British ICE and the scrapping of indefinite leave to remain
Image: Matt Weston / AI
Callum Smith
Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf has announced a sweeping immigration strategy centered on a total visa ban for six specific nations and the establishment of a mass deportation command.
The command engineers a physical infrastructure to detain 24,000 migrants simultaneously. This capacity functions as the high-velocity engine for a rapid processing and removal pipeline.
Farage projects the plan will result in the deportation of more than 600,000 people during the party's first term. The command targets the removal of 288,000 individuals annually.
Logistics rely on the Royal Air Force for execution. RAF planes will transport 6,000 people per week to countries of origin.
The ECHR prioritizes the rights of criminals over British citizens.
The party calculates the total cost of this deportation programme at £2bn per year. Farage asserts the policy generates £234bn in savings by slashing long-term state expenditures on the average migrant.
A primary legal pillar involves the immediate withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Convention on Human Rights. Yusuf states the ECHR prioritizes the rights of criminals over British citizens.
The strategy terminates Indefinite Leave to Remain status for foreign nationals. A new work visa system replaces it, requiring high salary thresholds and advanced English language proficiency.
Under this framework, any act assisting or encouraging illegal entry becomes a criminal offense. Convictions carry a mandatory prison sentence of up to two years.
Yusuf confirmed that countries refusing to accept their nationals will face immediate and total visa freezes. He stated that return agreements will be secured through these diplomatic and economic pressures.
The proposal extends into the social fabric with a ban on burkas in public spaces. Reform UK also proposed laws to prevent the conversion of churches into mosques or other places of worship.
Amnesty International UK countered the announcement, stating the proposals use migrants as a justification for mass deportations. The organization maintains the UK does not require a British version of ICE.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson Max Wilkinson described the strategy as Trump-inspired plans that would bring chaos to British streets. He stated the proposals threaten the economy, the NHS, and the police.
Labour chairwoman Anna Turley characterized the plan as an attack on settled families. She stated that deporting people who have worked and contributed to the UK is a departure from British values.
These emergency measures are justified because the patience of the British people is exhausted.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp dismissed the announcement as a copy of existing Conservative plans. He stated Reform UK offers nothing new to the current enforcement landscape.
Dr. Dora-Olivia Vicol of the Work Rights Centre stated the proposals are designed to stoke public anger. Minnie Rahman of Praxis added that the policies are xenophobic and intended to spread division.
Andreea Dumitrache of the3million stated that stripping rights from those who have built futures in the UK is unfair. Figures like research manager Kaelynn Narita face direct impact from the removal of ILR.
Labour's Catherine Atkinson noted the current government is already reducing the asylum backlog. She highlighted the recent recovery of £70m from asylum hotel contracts.
Yusuf maintained that these emergency measures are justified because the patience of the British people is exhausted. He stated Reform UK would confront any progressive outrage regarding the implementation.
The plan mandates the immediate seizure of assets from those found to be in the country illegally. These funds would be redirected to the operational costs of the Deportation Command.
The strategy also includes the deployment of specialized maritime units to intercept vessels in the English Channel. These units would operate under the direct authority of the new command structure.
Reform UK officials confirmed that the implementation of these policies would begin within the first 100 days of taking office. The party has begun identifying specific sites for the expanded detention facilities.