MIGRANTS should have to stay here for ten years before they can become a UK citizen, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said yesterday.

She called citizenship a privilege rather than a right and said those seeking it must show a “real commitment”.

And she wants ministers to double the current time period by amending legislation currently before Parliament.

Ms Badenoch said: “The pace has been too quick and the numbers coming too high.

“We need to slow down the track for citizenship.”

Her proposals would also mean claimants would not be allowed to have received benefits or relied on social housing while here on a work visa.

The Home Office is rolling back rules introduced under the Tories which, in effect, meant small boat arrivals could never become UK citizens.

The Tories said at the weekend that removing deterrents such as the Rwanda deportation scheme was a “total capitulation”.

A poll released last night shows 56 per cent of Brits say the government’s immigration policy isn’t strict enough with only 14 per cent saying it’s “about right”, according to YouGov.

Ms Badenoch has already committed to bringing in a strict numerical cap on migration numbers.