Less than one in five respondents to the Home Office's consultation on tougher immigration rules were British citizens, according to official figures released on November 2, 2026.
More than 200,000 individuals submitted their views on policy changes regarding indefinite leave to remain, which grants the right to live in the UK. Of these respondents, an "astonishing" 73 percent were current visa holders, the Home Office figures show. The department also acknowledged that the 18 percent of respondents who identified as British "may include spouses and family members of visa holders."
The consultation also revealed a demographic leaning towards ethnic minority respondents. Approximately 51 percent identified as Asian or British Asian, while 19 percent identified as White and 12 percent as Black or Black British. Three percent identified as mixed or multiple ethnic groups.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticized the findings, stating that "migrants with a vested interest in weakening a proposed immigration crackdown 'unsurprisingly said they wanted laxer rules.'" He further commented that the "only shocking thing was that Shabana Mahmood backtracked because 'immigrants replying to her consultation asked her to.'"
The Centre for Migration Control think tank expressed concern, saying, "Our immigration policy is now being decided by those who are not even citizens of this country."