Today, the government published its White Paper titled "Restoring Control to the Immigration System." We understand that you may have concerns about the proposed changes, particularly around how they could affect children and young people with insecure immigration status.
In this blog post, we have outlined several key areas we flagged during our initial review of the paper, highlighting the potential impact on children, young people, and those on long routes to settlement.
Please rest assured that our team is actively reviewing the White Paper in detail and working hard to seek urgent clarification from officials on how these proposals will be implemented and what they will mean in practice. We are committed to ensuring your voices are heard and your rights are protected.
Key Areas that may Impact Children and Young People:
Routes to Settlement
The government aims to introduce a points-based system, which will increase the time it takes for applicants to get settlement to ten years.
Like us, you may be wondering, ‘Will this impact you as a young person currently on a private life route, or if you are applying for settlement in the near future?'
Based on the white paper, the government has stated the following: ‘Whilst we develop and implement the new ‘Earned Settlement’ model, we will make further changes to settlement rules in the near term. These include:
• Ensuring children who have been in the UK for some time, turn 18 and discover they do not have status, are fully supported and able to regularise their status and settle. This will also include a clear pathway for those children in care and care leavers.’
We are slightly reassured that the changes to the settlement routes for children and young people we secured in 2022 will remain unaffected by the changes mentioned in the White Paper. We will continue to engage with the Home Office and Stakeholders to get ABSOLUTE clarity.
Changes to Life in the UK test and Home Office Fees
The government has stated:
‘We will also conduct a refresh of the Life in the UK test and how it operates. Finally, we will consider measures to reduce the financial barriers to young adults who have lived here through their childhood, from accessing British nationality.’
We welcome the government's recognition of the financial challenges young adults face when trying to obtain citizenship. This aligns with the goals of our Out of the Loop campaign, which calls for the introduction of fee waivers to ensure a fairer and more accessible system.
Moving forward, We Belong will continue to engage with the Home Office and key stakeholders to understand the government's plans for removing financial barriers. We will also seek clarity on the timeline for changes to the Life in the UK test, as these reforms will directly affect settlement and citizenship applications.
As always, we are here for you.
We will continue to monitor developments closely and keep you informed every step of the way. We hope to create a series of online sessions with our Senior Immigration Solicitor and will provide updates via our newsletter and social media channels.
If you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out at info@webelong.org.uk
-The We Belong team