UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Britain will consider tightening the rules on how immigrants can settle permanently in the country by requiring applicants to prove their benefit to society, demonstrate advanced English proficiency, and have a record of voluntary work.

This plan is the government’s latest effort to curb the rising popularity of the populist British Reform Party, which has led the debate on immigration and forced the Labour Party under Prime Minister Keir Starmer to toughen its policies.

Currently, most immigrants can apply for “Indefinite Leave to Remain” after five years of living in the UK, a status that grants them the right to live permanently in the country.

In her first speech as Home Secretary at the Labour Party conference, Braverman will say the government is considering changes so that people qualify for this status only if they pay National Insurance contributions, have a clean criminal record, and do not claim benefits.

She will also say, according to excerpts of her speech released by the Labour Party, that the government is considering allowing eligibility only if people can speak English at an advanced level and have a record of volunteering in their communities. Consultations on the proposals will be held later this year.

Ending Indefinite Leave to Remain

The anti-immigration British Reform Party led by Nigel Farage, who tops opinion polls, said last week it is considering scrapping “Indefinite Leave to Remain” and replacing it with a renewable five-year work visa.

Starmer accused the Reform Party on Sunday of planning to implement a “racist policy” of mass deportations that would lead to “divisions in the country.”

Immigration has long been one of the most important issues for voters in the UK. Controlling the number of arrivals was a key factor in the 2016 vote for the country to leave the European Union. However, net immigration reached record levels after Britain left the bloc.