New joint report by the Institute for Public Policy Research and Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think-tank and Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) last week published a practical new resource about supporting residents in the North West region who are on the 10-year route to settlement and who are experiencing challenges as a result.
You can download the 34-page report here.
As the report explains, the 10-year route to settlement is an immigration pathway for people who have permission to remain in the UK on human rights grounds, due to having immediate family in the UK or long-term ties to the country. Around 170,000 people across the UK are estimated to be on the route.
Many individuals and families experience significant hardships as a result of being on the 10-year route. An adult on the route will be liable to pay over £18,000 in fees before they can settle indefinitely in the UK.
GMIAU and IPPR noted: "While it provides a much-needed route for people who might not otherwise be able to meet the requirements of the immigration rules, it does so at great expense to the individuals and families who are on it. The excessive length of the route, coupled with its high cost, means that people who are committed to making their lives in the UK are forced into precarious circumstances for long periods, leaving them vulnerable to losing their legal immigration status and potentially homeless."
The report sets out a comprehensive outline of the support needs of people on the route, covering the 'no recourse to public funds' policy, the importance of immigration advice, and issues related to children, employment, housing, and healthcare.
While the report is primarily intended to be a practical resource for local authority workers in the North West, it contains plenty of useful, general information about the detrimental impacts of the 10-year route and how they can be mitigated.
GMIAU and IPPR highlight the importance of immigration advice for those on the route, whilst also noting the cost of advice due to a lack of legal aid and the dwindling number of providers of immigration legal advice. GMIAU, for example, is currently the only not-for-profit in the North West region with an active immigration legal aid contract.
On the importance of legal advice, GMIAU and IPPR stated: "The consequences of navigating the 10-year route without legal help can be extreme – and in the worst-case scenario, can lead people to 'fall off' the 10-year route, leaving them without a legal immigration status. This is a real possibility for people on the 10-year route, because of the need to renew their limited leave to remain every two and a half years over the course of a decade. … Help from a solicitor or immigration caseworker will mean a better chance of success in applications for leave to remain … Refusals can also be challenged if needed. While people can complete these applications on their own, each one is complex and difficult, requiring a lot of evidence, and is more likely to succeed with good legal advice."