Do you want to know the answers to the survey questions? Scroll down to the bottom to find out how many you got right!
The Issue
Over 330,000 children and young people who came to the UK as children have a precarious immigration status. Most young people who regularise their status on the basis that they have grown up here and have strong ties to the UK are put on a ten-year route to settlement and receive ‘leave to remain’.
The young people on the 10-year route to settlement have to pay visa fees of up to £2,593 every two and a half years to maintain their immigration status. These costs, which are regularly increased, are acting as a barrier to regularisation and to integration of young people who are British in all but paperwork. Those on this long path to settlement who are unable to afford this enormous fee are pushed into irregular status and find themselves unable to work and therefore contribute to society.
Including the final Indefinite Leave to Remain application, this route requires five applications currently costing a total of £12,771 for each individual before they will have secure, permanent status.
If a young person can’t afford the fees their entire immigration application is rejected and they lose their legal status alongside their right to work, rent and study, and further integration is hampered. In addition, any residence to date is invalidated and they must accrue another ten full years continuous residence to apply for permanent status.
The young people on the 10-year route to settlement have to pay visa fees of up to £2,593 every two and a half years to maintain their immigration status.
Case Study - Natasha
Natasha came to the UK from Nigeria at the age of 7. Natasha was granted Limited Leave to Remain (LLR) when she was 18. When it came to renewing her visa her family couldn’t afford to renew the high fees and Natasha fell out of legal status. Unable to work Natasha became homeless. Living in the shadows of society it was only when she was 26 she was able to raise enough money from family friends to apply for LLR again and restart the ten year route again.
She must then renew this status every 30 months over a ten-year period. She will be 36 before she can apply for settlement and 37 years old when she can finally apply for citizenship.
The solution – A five-year route
We believe that there should be a shorter, five-year route to permanent status, for young people and children who have lived in the UK for more than half their lives ensuring stability for all children and young people with strong ties to the UK.
A shorter route to permanent status would ensure that children and young people who have grown up and been educated in this country are able to fully integrate both financially and socially, alongside the benefit of permanent residence. It would reduce the risk of them falling back out of the system if they are unable to raise the funds for application and legal fees and would ease the burden on the Home Office in processing these applications.
About We Belong
We Belong is an innovative new organisation led by young people who migrated to the UK, as children. Our vision is to see young migrants living in the UK being treated equally and fairly in the country they call home. Our focus is on removing the barriers preventing full integration for migrants, so that we can contribute fully to British society.
Survey Answers:
1. Which TWO of the following were British inventions?
a. Television b. Jet engine c. Personal computer d. Diesel Engine?
Answer: Television and Jet engine
2. True or False: the Scottish Parliament can pass legislation for Scotland on all matters.
Answer: False
3. What is the height (in feet) of the London Eye?
a. 440 feet, b. 443 feet, c. 350 feet, d. 353 feet
Answer: b. 443 feet
4. How many children and young people live in the UK with insecure immigration status? (no status/precarious status)
a. 332,000, b. 200,000, c. 390,000, d. 280,000
Answer: a. 332,000,
5. How much does the average young person on the 10-year route to citizenship spend on immigration applications before they are granted British citizenship?
a. £1330, b. £2560, c. £14101, d. £12,771
Answer: c. £14101
6. What is the average residence period of a young person on the 10-year route in the UK before they are granted British citizenship?
a. 10 years, b. 20 years, c. 5 years, d. 7 years
Answer: b. 20 years
