Radical plan for 'Deportation Bill' emerges in bid to end borders crisis

Migrants claiming benefits or earning too little will be ordered to leave Britain to end "the crisis at our borders", the Tories have declared.

The Home Office, under the Conservatives, will be given new powers to revoke migrants' leave to remain if they become a "burden".

And all illegal migrants will be "automatically deported", under the new proposals.

The Tories are trying to regain control of the narrative on immigration after a drubbing at the ballot box on Thursday, following years of record high levels of net migration.

And the party on Tuesday night unveiled plans for a "Deportation Bill" which will "end abuse, enforce the law and put British interests first".

The Human Rights Act will be disapplied in all immigration cases, the Tories declared, barring foreign criminals from making spurious human rights claims. A binding annual cap on migrant numbers would also be introduced.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: "For months, this Labour government has turned a blind eye to the crisis at our borders, as small boat crossings have increased.

"The Conservatives are today introducing the Deportation Bill - a bold, pragmatic and deliverable plan to take back control of our borders and restore public confidence in our immigration system. If Labour can't or won't act, we will introduce a Bill and Labour MPs can vote against it.

"Labour and Reform are both complicit in the trade of empty slogans and hollow promises. Our plan can be enacted now to get immigration back under control."

Under a future Tory Government, the Home Office will be given powers to deport all foreign criminals. This will close "loopholes" and end the "excuses", with party officials adding "if you break the law here, you go".

Countries that refuse to take back foreign criminals or failed asylum seekers will be slapped with visa sanctions. Migrants will also be told they have to live in the UK for 10 years, earning at least £38,700 before they can be given indefinite leave to remain.

And, in a significant hardening of policy, the Home Office will be given powers to "remove those who have become a burden to the UK, including those reliant on benefits or falling below income thresholds".

The policy blitz comes after a round of local elections in which the Conservatives lost more than 600 councillors along with control of all 15 local authorities the party held going into Thursday's poll.

Many of the Conservatives' losses came at the hands of Reform UK, which won more than 600 council seats and took control of 10 local authorities. Labour is also scrambling to convince voters they can slash record levels of legal migration and end the Channel migrant crisis.

Statisticians at the Office for National Statistics have predicted net migration will settle at 340,000 per year from 2028. But this could be higher, with current levels soaring at 728,000. This is down from a record high of 906,000 in June 2023.

The Home Office, under Labour, will restrict work and study visa applications from Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans, to prevent migrants overstaying and claiming asylum.

Migrants will be denied visas if they fit the profile of someone who will arrive in the UK and subsequently claim asylum. Officials will also examine bank statements to check asylum seekers actually need taxpayer-funded accommodation.

The new plans are expected to be in the Government's Immigration White Paper, set to be published next week.

Ministers hope the changes will slash net migration from 728,000. Foreign graduates will also be forced to take graduate-level jobs, which will be based on skill levels rather than salary, or they will be ordered to leave.

Some 40,000 asylum claims were lodged by people who had held a UK visa, 37 per cent of the total last year.

Of the 40,000, 16,000 were students, 11,500 had a work visa, 9,500 had a visitor visa and the remaining 7 per cent had other forms of leave.

But some have warned the Home Office that they must commit to scrapping the graduate route to avoid an influx of asylum claims.

Sacha Wooldridge, Partner and Head of Immigration at Birketts LLP: "It is unlikely the Home Office would be able to implement blanket visa restrictions based on nationality of the applicant without incurring substantial legal challenge.

"The Home Office is more likely to use existing far-reaching powers to interrogate the genuineness of the applications received or use security concerns of certain demographics of applicants to justify refusals.

"This is something that we are already seeing day to day in Home Office decision making and evidenced by the notable increase in visa refusals and licence revocations in 2025.

"Anecdotally, increases in asylum/human rights claims from student and work visa holders may be an unintended consequence of the tightening of the visa rules - where a recent combination of visa cost increases and higher salary thresholds for work visas have left many unable to qualify for a legal route to remain here.

"Instead of returning to their home countries, asylum and human rights claims may be being used as a misguided method to buy time for applicants to stay in the UK.

"Misinformation online has led some individuals to believe that this is a legitimate means of making a 'holding application' - however people are unaware that if they apply for asylum or become illegal overstayers that they can't later switch in to a legal visa route and ultimately will find themselves stuck in the system and adding to the asylum backlog until their cases are decided.

"There is a risk that without additional intervention, removal or restriction of the Graduate visa route could lead to a further rise in such claims from student applicants."