Hundreds of thousands of Romanians, in danger of being expelled from the United Kingdom. Without threatening to raise their status behind Brexit: “to apply for visas”
British politician Nigel Farage, led by opinion polls, promised that a government will introduce a stricter system for permanent residence in the UK, which could lead to hundreds of thousands who have legally migrated, notes The Guardian.
British politician Nigel Farage is at the forefront of opinion polls in the UK. Photo: Archive
Farage wants complete elimination of permanent residence
Farage said that permanent residence will be completely eliminated. People who have worked and lived legally in the UK for five years will have to apply for visas again. Currently, after a year on permanent residence status, people can apply for citizenship, but each stage involves considerable taxes.
The increase of legal immigration under the conservative governments, starting with Boris Johnson, has partially due to refugee programs in Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.
At a tense press conference, Farage had to clarify the details of his plan, refusing to answer the questions about the costs and who will be affected. The proposals were criticized by Downing Street and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
“Thousands of Londoners have permanent residence. They have legal rights and contribute enormously to our city. The threat with deportation of those who live and work legally here is unacceptable.”said the mayor of London.
Farage claimed that his politics would save 234 billion pounds, citing a report of the Center for Politics Studies, but his team acknowledged that the figures could be underestimated and that the report was withdrawn due to the methodology disputes.
Zia Yusuf, the chief of policies of “Reform UK”, said that the real number of people who would apply for permanent residence in the coming years could exceed 800,000, given that many post-Brexit immigrants come from non-EU countries. Yusuf compared the probability that French, Swedish or Finnish citizens apply for permanent residence with those in India, Afghanistan or Pakistan, emphasizing the obvious difference.
Farage did not clarify if the measure will apply to Ukrainian and Hongkozi refugees. He also claimed that over 50% of those who are to become eligible for permanent residence “They do not work, they have not worked and they will most likely never work.”
The new rules for visas and citizenship and impact on Romanians
Instead of permanent residence, “Reform UK” will force English non-citizens to apply for high salary visas-estimated at about 60,000 pounds per year, compared to 41,700 pounds for qualified worker visa. Visas will not allow access to social benefits and will require the knowledge of English at advanced level and strict restrictions for family members they can bring to the country.
Those who apply for citizenship will have to wait at least seven years, prove a fluent level of English and give up the citizenship of other countries.
Harsh critics from Labor's part and Rachel Reeves' statements
Keir Starmer and his spokesman criticized the plan by calling it “Unrealistic, non -transparent and dividing“A Labor spokesman said that only 16% of immigrants with permanent residence receive benefits, most of them being EU citizens with” Settled “status, guaranteed by the Brexit agreement.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in an interview that “Reform UK” plans “They have no real basis” and that the figures presented by the fault have “Picat” already. She added that the Labour government reduces illegal migration, sends home without the right of residence and concludes international agreements to manage refugee flows, criticizing the simplistic and unfounded “Reform UK” measures.
How many Romanians could be affected
Until December 31, 2023, 166,430 Romanians received the status of “settled“By I Settlement Schemes. In addition, until March 31, 2025, about 401,750 Romanians have a status”pre-seetld“, Which means that the total number of Romanians who could be affected by the elimination of permanent residence is over 500,000 people. This figure includes only those who came through official EU programs. There are no permanent residence through work, family or other paths.
George Simion participated in the London's anti-immigration protest
George Simion participated on Saturday, September 13, in the protest of the extreme right, anti-immigration, held in central London, where he gave a speech with other international political leaders and activists.
George Simion was present in London at the largest festival dedicated to freedom of expression, sends gold in a press release.
“For Charlie Kirk, for freedom of expression, for the friendship between nations – today in London!” wrote George Simion in a Facebook post.
