Immigration is more than just asylum
Leah Cowling, Legal Education Officer at Right to Remain @_leahcowling
Some of the observations referenced in this article were drawn from shadowing an immigration drop-in session at Praxis, on an icy morning in March 2023.
Right to Remain is perhaps best known for its Toolkit, an online guide through the UK’s labyrinthine immigration and asylum systems. Within this, the Right to Remain Toolkit is best known for its work on demystifying the asylum process: from information about how to prepare for a substantive interview, to explaining asylum support entitlement and its interaction with the right to work.
More broadly, in the migration justice sector, there is a preponderance of resources on asylum and refugee experiences. This focus is evidenced too in the mainstream media, where the recent focus on small boat crossings has served to whip up anti-migrant sentiment, acting in two-step with this government’s introduction of draconian laws to criminalise those arriving in search of safety. Our Legal Education Officer, Yumna, has written about the so-called ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ in a previous Medium post, which you can read here.
Often absent from the mainstream discourse on migration in the UK is an appreciation of the true textured plurality of migrant experiences. There are those who have been living and working here for 20 years, seeking to regularise their legal status in a country which is their home. There are those who have been British for as long as they can remember, who are threatened with detention and removal to a country they do not know. There are parents and partners of British citizens, who must make frequent visa renewal applications for their right to stay. There are mixed status families in which the ability to access a British passport is a privilege bestowed on some but not others. There are those who have settled in the UK from European countries, whose children’s British nationality has been subject to question. There are those who are undocumented, often unknowingly and at great personal cost. Then there are the many, many people, whose immigration status means they are unable to access foundational welfare services, such as childcare, homelessness assistance, and universal credit.
What these insights into the reality of the many different migrant experiences serves to remind us is that immigration is more than just asylum. This is a simple observation, but it is central to understanding the future of Right to Remain’s legal education and campaigning work. It is also central to understanding the nature of the challenges we face. The migrant justice sector must consider the experiences and the needs of the people who find themselves in other parts of the non-asylum immigration labyrinth. In order to do so, we must understand the obstacles faced by people in this group, and how we can work collectively to dismantle them.
The effects of stigma
One of the most fundamental barriers faced by people with insecure and complex immigration statuses is stigma. As pointed out in this article by Fatou Jinadu at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, there are barriers to talking openly about your immigration status; it is seen as a ‘taboo subject’, and ‘a ‘hush-hush’ business’. This reluctance to ‘out’ oneself can discourage people from seeking legal advice that they need. It also contributes to separating people from their communities, and breeds a culture of secrecy, misinformation and confusion.
We understand that for many, a person’s immigration status will be a private matter, which they do not feel comfortable sharing with others. We also understand that for others, sharing the challenges they face with their immigration status with others will be a natural instinct.
What seems likely, is that the stigma felt by many is a by-product, if not a creation of the hostile environment, which has served as a nexus by which to remind migrant communities of their classification as ‘second-class citizens’. But we resist this system, and our language here matters. We will repeat statements and amplify the voices of those who speak openly about their immigration status. We will create spaces where people can talk openly about their experiences. We will say clearly: your immigration status does not change who you are.
This observation of the stigma which is attached to having complex and/or insecure immigration status was also made in conversation with Fidelis Chebe of Migrant Action. Fidelis spoke of the importance of encouraging conversations about immigration within the community — not least because of the importance of having a long term plan through a system which is designed to dampen your spirit. Practically speaking, having the right conversations at the right time could be the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful fee waiver application for a visa renewal application.
This astute observation by Fatou and Fidelis goes to the heart of the importance of public legal education and community organising to tackle stigma. It is through open dialogue, free, accessible and action-orientated resources that Right to Remain can support people going through these systems. Through workshops such as our popular ‘Knowledge is Power’ sessions, we can help build confidence in understanding and navigating the system. We are in the early stages of expanding the workshops we have on offer to include workshops on evidence gathering for fee waivers, and how to think long-term about your immigration status in the UK.
Economic hardship and NRPF
Another barrier faced by so many people is economic hardship, caused by their immigration status. Many routes to settlement, such as the 10 year route, are ruinously expensive. The entire process costs about £13,000 per person. Many do not realise they are eligible for a fee waiver for the applications, meaning that they may be forced into debt. Some will pay private solicitors to help them complete a fee waiver application for them, when perhaps with the correct guidance they would have been able to complete the application themselves. Others have reported losing their job while they are waiting for a Home Office decision on a visa renewal, as the infamous ‘3C leave’ and the ‘Employer’s Checking Service’ fail to protect their livelihoods.
The negative economic effects of these systems are not felt equally. A comprehensive report by Praxis, the Institute for Public Policy Research and Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit showed that the hardships of the 10 year route are predominately felt by women, parents, caregivers as well as Black, South Asian people and those from commonwealth countries. You can read the full report here.
Many on the 10 year route, and many with other forms of temporary status in the UK are also subject to a No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition. NRPF is an immigration condition which limits access to foundational welfare benefits. It is estimated that around 1.31 million people are affected by this visa condition in the UK. The NRPF condition causes hardship and greatly increases the risk of destitution for people in this group.
For those who are working while navigating these immigration systems, there is also widespread employment injustice. As the boundaries between secure and insecure immigration status continues to become increasingly blurred, people are forced into exploitative workplaces. Employers capitalise on this insecurity by not issuing contracts, holiday or sick pay. Research by the University of Bristol demonstrates that the UK’s immigration policy has created an environment which is conducive to labour exploitation, and that Brexit has intensified this and increased the number of people affected. What this means is that more and more people will be pushed into economic hardship and employment injustice, whether they are arriving on a worker’s visa, or if they have been here for almost 20 years.
Our mission
Last year, at the end of June 2022, 166,085 people claimed asylum in the UK. Also last year, around 170,000 people were on the 10 year route to settlement. This is just one of the non-asylum routes to settlement in the UK, and represents just a fraction of the population who are navigating the UK’s immigration system.
We have a responsibility to expand our focus beyond asylum to reach people with various forms of immigration statutes, as well as those who are currently undocumented. In doing so we will repeat our message that #NoOneIsIllegal, and that your immigration status does not change who you are. If we do not recognise the variety of migrant experiences in the UK, we risk our work failing to meet the needs of the people who need it.