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Michael Gove will offer free British citizenship to three million eligible EU nationals if he becomes Prime Minister.
The environment secretary, who launched his Tory leadership bid over the weekend, will waive the £1,330 fee to EU nationals living in the UK at the time of the 2016 referendum, Sky News reports.
The Home Office’s settled status scheme, which says EU citizens must prove they have lived in the UK for five years to be eligible for British nationality, would also be changed to a registration scheme.
It is believed there are around three million people who this would apply to once they have been a British resident for five years.
Sky News quotes a source close to Mr Gove as saying the Tory leadership hopeful is “ready to unite the country”, adding that the proposals are “simply the right thing to do”.
“Michael Gove is ready to unite the country,” the source said. “Guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals here and in the UK through a declaratory scheme and making a generous offer of citizenship to those lawfully here at the time of the referendum is a first step in that direction.
“This is simply the right thing to do – honouring the promise of Vote Leave that EU nationals studying, working and living in the UK were welcome to stay. Michael Gove led that campaign and now he’s ready to deliver Brexit.”
The proposals, which will be officially unveiled next week, are a victory for MP Alberto Costa, who has been campaigning for the post-Brexit rights of EU citizens for months.
Writing on Twitter on Monday night, the Tory MP wrote: “Spoken to Michael Gove and am delighted he will guarantee EU nationals’ rights with a declaratory scheme and offer them fee-free British citizenship. This is the morally right thing to do and will help heal our nation.”
“He has my full support to be our next Prime Minister.”
Mr Gove’s policy pitch comes after he insisted on Saturday that he has “evolved” as a politician since saying he was incapable of being Prime Minister.
He said he is now ready for the top job and claimed he had gained more experience since remarking he was incapable of being Tory leader.
He told BBC Radio 4 podcast, Political Thinking with Nick Robinson: “I’ve changed my mind. In those three years I have been through a variety of experiences.
“I led, some people may lament this, but I led the campaign to leave the European Union and that involved going up head to head with David Cameron and others in the debate formats that we had.
“And being tested during that campaign, having had time to reflect when I was on the backbenches and then coming back into government.
“I think that I’ve evolved as a politician, but, obviously, we’ll see in the course of the next few days and weeks who people think has what it takes.”
Meanwhile, other Tory leadership contenders scrambled to make Brexit pledges after the Conservatives suffered a humiliating night in the European elections.
The Tories secured just four seats and 9.1% of the vote – their worst ever national election share – while the Brexit Party and Liberal Democrats triumphed.
After the party was dealt a hammer blow, Home Secretary Sajid Javid officially launched his bid to be next Tory leader on Monday by pledging to deliver Brexit as a priority.
In a video, he said: “My message is simple: it’s time to rebuild trust, to find unity and to create new opportunities for our country. As last night’s results made all too clear we must get on and deliver Brexit to ensure there’s renewed trust in our democracy.”
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Conservatives were facing “existential risk” unless they break the impasse.
Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said voters had delivered a message that “unless we get on and actually leave the EU they will rightly kick us out at the next election”.
While, Andrea Leadsom, who quit as leader of the Commons, said the nation should “never have been fighting these elections” and said she had a “three-step plan” to deliver Brexit.
