- The Conservative Party proposes 40,000 removals a year, up from fewer than 6,000.
- The plan would deport foreign nationals convicted of offences beyond minor violations and impose a lifetime return bar.
- The government removed 5,962 foreign offenders in the year to June 2026, its highest rate since 2017.
The Conservative Party has proposed automatic deportation for foreign nationals convicted of crimes beyond the most minor offences, setting a goal of 40,000 removals a year. The plan would lift the annual total from under 6,000, the party said.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp fronted the policy. “We must deport all foreign criminals – it's that simple,” he said. He also said: “We will take deportations from under 6,000 a year to 40,000.”
The party says more than 21,000 serious foreign offenders who should already have been removed are living in British communities. It has framed the proposal as a response to what it considers gaps in enforcement.
The proposed rule would reach beyond offences that lead to long prison terms. It would apply to convictions other than the most minor violations, with several everyday breaches carved out.
The plan exempts minor violations but would impose a lifetime return bar
The Conservatives list parking tickets, littering, dog fouling and failing to have a TV licence as examples of offences that would not trigger removal. People deported under the policy would face a lifetime bar on returning to the UK.
There would be one route back. The Home Secretary could give permission for an individual to return, according to the proposal.
A separate measure would affect some dual nationals. Those who have lived in the UK for less than 15 years and receive a prison sentence of more than five years could lose British citizenship.
The party says it would withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings to remove legal barriers to deportation. The proposal ties both withdrawals to its plan for wider removals.
Government figures show both removals and a large custody population
The government says foreign nationals who receive a UK prison sentence are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity. A government spokesperson said: “Nearly 10,000 foreign criminals including murderers and rapists have been removed since the last election.”
Separate figures capture the number of foreign nationals in custody, not the number eligible for deportation. There were 10,134 in custody on 30 June 2026, including 3,283 held on remand and therefore not eligible for deportation.
In the year to June 2026, the government sent back 5,962 foreign offenders. That was the highest rate since 2017.
The figures set out different parts of the system: annual removals, people in custody and those on remand. They do not describe the same group or measure the same point in the process.
The parties are also arguing over sanctions and the timing of removals
Kemi Badenoch was identified as the Conservative leader behind the announcement. Reform UK criticized the party, accusing it of copying its policies.
The Conservative package also links removals to pressure on countries that refuse to accept their nationals. Its proposed measures include visa sanctions and aid cuts against those countries.
The government has a separate timetable for changing when some removals can happen. From 2027, changes are set to allow some foreign offenders serving determinate sentences to be deported immediately after sentencing.
The most serious offenders would remain in prison for a substantial period before removal under that approach. The Conservatives’ proposal, by contrast, sets out a broader test based on conviction for an offence beyond the most minor violations.
