Reform UK Unveils Sweeping Plan to Suspend Asylum System and Restore Border Control

Reform UK has announced one of the most far-reaching immigration policies put forward by a major British political party in decades, pledging to suspend the asylum system for a full parliamentary term and dramatically expand deportation and enforcement powers.

At a press conference in Kent today, Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf set out a package of measures Reform says is designed to restore control of Britain’s borders, remove people living in the country illegally and end what the party describes as an asylum system that has become impossible to police effectively.

The proposal is deliberately radical in scope.

Reform says that upon entering government it would suspend asylum and humanitarian protection applications for five years, void outstanding claims and reject new applications during that period.

The party also says it would abolish the asylum tribunal system while those claims are suspended, review asylum grants made during the previous five years and remove people who entered Britain illegally, overstayed visas or no longer qualified for protection under revised assessments.

Reform argues the existing system has failed

The scale of the asylum system has changed significantly in recent years.

Official Home Office figures show that 93,525 people claimed asylum in the UK in the year ending March 2026. Of those claimants, 62% were adult men.

At the end of March 2026, 97,519 people were receiving asylum support, including more than 20,000 in hotel accommodation.

The Government’s own figures also show that just over half of asylum seekers in the year ending March 2026 arrived through illegal entry routes, while 39% had previously entered the UK on a visa or with another form of leave.

For Reform UK, these figures support its argument that incremental changes are no longer enough.

Farage described the situation today as a national security issue and said the first responsibility of government must be protecting its citizens and knowing who is living within the country.

A five-year pause

The most striking part of Reform’s proposal is its plan to suspend the asylum system entirely for a full parliamentary term.

Under the policy, outstanding asylum applications would be voided and new claims automatically rejected.

People whose claims were no longer recognised would then be expected to leave Britain, either by returning to their country of origin or, where that was not possible, by being transferred to a safe third country.

Farage said:

“We will end the asylum system for five years.”

The party’s argument is that Britain needs a period in which enforcement takes priority over accepting further asylum claims while the existing illegal migration problem is dealt with.

Foreign criminals deported

Reform has also committed to the immediate deportation of foreign nationals convicted of crimes, regardless of sentence length.

That is a significant departure from current arrangements, which generally apply automatic deportation rules to foreign offenders sentenced to at least 12 months in prison, subject to legal exceptions and appeals.

Reform argues that foreign criminals should not continue occupying British prison places where removal is possible and says its policy would both strengthen border enforcement and relieve pressure on overcrowded prisons.

The party says around 10,000 foreign national offenders are currently held in British prisons, representing roughly 12% of the prison population.

A national population audit

Another major element of the plan is a proposed national audit intended to establish how many people are living in Britain illegally.

Reform argues that the absence of a reliable current figure makes effective immigration enforcement extremely difficult.

The party says government departments and public bodies should make far greater use of existing records to identify people without legal status and pass relevant information to immigration enforcement.

The aim, according to Reform, would be to move from a system that often reacts after illegal residence is discovered to one that actively identifies it.

Councils would be brought into enforcement

Reform also wants local councils to take a much larger role.

Housing departments, trading standards, licensing teams and environmental health officers could all be empowered to carry out immigration-status checks where relevant.

Employers hiring people without the legal right to work and landlords knowingly renting to illegal migrants would face much higher penalties.

Crucially, Reform says councils would be allowed to retain the money raised through those fines.

The party argues that this would give councils a direct incentive to invest in enforcement and dramatically increase the number of officials effectively involved in identifying illegal residence.

Pressure on countries refusing returns

One of the weaknesses of successive deportation policies has been the difficulty of returning foreign nationals when their home governments refuse to cooperate.

Reform says it would respond with diplomatic and economic pressure.

Farage has said countries refusing to accept their own nationals could face measures including visa restrictions, flight restrictions, financial sanctions and tariffs.

The principle is straightforward: countries wanting normal relations with Britain would also be expected to accept responsibility for their own citizens.

Review of recent asylum grants

Reform would also review people granted asylum or humanitarian protection during the previous five years.

The party says particular attention would be given to cases involving people who entered Britain illegally, overstayed visas or came from countries that are subsequently considered safe.

There would, however, be distinctions.

Reform says Afghans who directly assisted British Armed Forces would retain protection, while Ukrainians who arrived following Russia’s invasion would not be included in its deportation proposals.

Why Reform says a tougher approach is necessary

The asylum system does grant protection to significant numbers of people judged to face genuine danger.

Home Office figures show that 48,581 people were granted refugee protection or other leave at initial decision in the year ending March 2026. Grant rates vary substantially by nationality; for example, among major nationalities receiving decisions, Sudanese and Eritrean applicants had particularly high grant rates.

That is also why Reform’s proposals would provoke major legal and humanitarian debate.

Critics are likely to argue that suspending asylum applications altogether risks preventing people with genuine protection needs from having their cases considered.

Reform’s counterargument is that the present system has become so overwhelmed and so difficult to enforce that Britain first needs to restore control before any credible long-term system can operate.

A completely different direction

What makes today’s announcement significant is that Reform is no longer proposing simply to process claims faster or reduce hotel use.

It is challenging the basic assumption that the current asylum framework should continue operating while illegal migration is being brought under control.

That distinguishes Reform sharply from both Labour and the Conservatives.

Successive governments have repeatedly promised stronger borders, quicker decisions and faster removals.

Yet the asylum system remains under enormous pressure, tens of thousands of people continue to make claims each year and immigration enforcement remains a major political issue.

Reform’s answer is much more direct: stop accepting new asylum claims temporarily, identify who is here illegally, deport foreign criminals, pressure uncooperative governments and rebuild an immigration system around enforcement first.

Whether every element survives the inevitable legal and political challenges would be fiercely debated.

But nobody could reasonably accuse Reform of avoiding the issue.

The party has set out a clear choice: continue attempting to repair the existing asylum system, or temporarily suspend it and rebuild border enforcement from the ground up.

That is the argument Reform UK is now putting before the country.