Our Manifesto: building a kinder future for refugees and migrants

As we approach the general election, RAMFEL calls for a crucial culture change in our approach to immigration. Current policies are unashamedly cruel, hindering people who have come to the UK from working, learning and ultimately reaching their potential. This is bad for the individuals directly affected, but also for wider society.
 
Our manifesto is a bold call for all political parties to realise that immigration is a positive thing that benefits the UK. We call for the abolition of discriminatory policies, the removal of barriers that exclude rough sleepers, and the implementation of compassionate measures that allow everyone to thrive.
 
It’s time for a fair and humane approach that values every individual in our society.
 
Pledge 1: Scrap the Rwanda Cash for Humans Deal and Repeal the Illegal Migration Act
The outgoing government’s fixation on sending refugees to Rwanda, a country the UK Supreme Court ruled is unsafe, should be a source of national shame. Thankfully the UK public favour a welcoming, flexible and fair asylum system – everything this government has sought to undermine.
 
The next government must scrap the Illegal Migration Act, which effectively banned people from seeking asylum in clear breach of the UK’s international laws, and scrap the inhumane Rwanda deal once and for all. They must then start processing asylum claims again and let these people safely rebuild their lives in the UK.   
 
Pledge 2: Fix the broken family reunion system
Our recently released report, "Safe Routes to Nowhere," outlines several recommendations to fix the broken family reunion system.
The government must simplify the application process by removing the requirement to attend Visa Application Centres in countries where none operate, similar to the approach taken for Ukrainians after Russia's invasion. This could be applied to conflict zones like Sudan, Gaza, and Afghanistan. The definition of "family member" should be expanded to better recognise the family dynamics for those separated by conflict. The government’s focus should shift from refusing to approving family reunion applications. Additionally, investing in Home Office decision-makers is crucial to ensure quicker processing, as existing delays force people to flee and take dangerous journeys. Finally, legal aid for all family reunion applications should be immediately restored, as legal representation is a prerequisite whilst existing rules remain in place.
This will reduce the need for dangerous journeys. Ever more extreme and cruel deterrence measures do not.

Pledge 3: Give Asylum Seekers Permission to Work whilst their claims are processed
Granting asylum seekers, the right to work while awaiting decisions on their claims makes fiscal sense, is popular with the general public and is unquestionably the right thing to do. There is no rational basis for maintaining the ban on asylum seekers working.
Allowing them to work reduces reliance on state support, fills labour shortages in key sectors, and helps maintain their dignity and purpose. Polling shows that 81% of the public support granting asylum seekers the right to work. As our Palestinian client Leila stated, "For someone like me, who was an active member of society and had a job and a professional life, it is unbearable to be forced into unemployment and isolation."

Pledge 4: Introduce Fee Waivers for Indefinite Leave to Remain Applications
Did you know an indefinite leave to remain application costs £2,885? This must be paid up front in-full, and if the person can’t afford it they will be priced out of secure and permanent immigration status even if they otherwise qualify. Those priced out include parents of British children, grieving widows and people who have lived in the UK for decades.
Fee waivers for indefinite leave to remain applications must be introduced. Applications currently cost several times the actual processing cost, preventing people from securing permanent immigration status, which traps them in a cycle of renewing visas and unable to truly establish themselves in the UK. RAMFEL and the Public Interest Law Centre's landmark victory this year will allow bereaved partners the option of a fee waiver, preventing them from paying £3,000 to secure their status whilst grieving the loss of their loved one. This option should be extended to all applicants, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to secure permanent status regardless of their financial situation.

Pledge 5: Allow People on the 10-Year Route to Settlement to Access Higher Education
People on the 10-year route to settlement are currently prevented from attending university, as they are treated as international students, meaning they must pay international fees and cannot access student loans. This is despite the fact many have lived in the UK for decades and/or have clear family ties with British children and spouses. They are not international students, they are clearly British residents and this country is their home, yet they are denied the opportunity to achieve qualifications and improve their future prospects. No one benefits from this.
Whilst the 10-year route remains in place, the next government should grant people on this-route access to student loans and consider them home students. Denying people on this route access to higher education limits their prospects, forcing them into jobs with low wages. Allowing access to student finance would enable them to greatly enhance their employment prospects and better support their families. Investing in education and training for these individuals benefits the UK by increasing the skilled labour force and promoting economic growth, which should always be a priority for any UK Government.

Pledge 6: Reduce the 10-Year Route to 5 Years
Those in the UK on the basis of their family/private life, such as parents of British children, currently must wait 10 years before securing indefinite leave to remain unless they meet stringent (often unrealistic) financial requirements. This is split into 4 separate visas, each 30 months in length, and every time the visa is renewed it costs close to £4,000.00. If a person applies even one day late, the 10-year clock may restart, trapping many people in what is effectively a never-ending cycle of visa renewals.
Simplifying the path to settlement by reducing the 10-year period to 5 years would make a huge difference. This change would decrease the number of visa renewals required, freeing up resources at the Home Office as they would have far less applications to process. People would also secure indefinite leave to remain more swiftly, facilitating stability and aiding their ability to truly settle and thrive in the UK.

Pledge 7: Scrap the Criminal Justice Bill
RAMFEL has already successfully challenged government plans to refuse applications and revoke peoples’ leave to remain due to rough sleeping, yet it seems lessons have not been learned. The next government must abolish the Criminal Justice Bill, which criminalises rough sleeping and begging. This Bill, in its current form, discriminates based on appearance and subjective factors, pushing vulnerable individuals into more dangerous situations. It also particularly threatens refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants.
The Bill will cause a panoply of offences linked to rough sleeping to be criminalised, meaning people who are already vulnerable could lose their immigration status or be denied the ability to regularise it, simply because they’ve been forced into rough sleeping. This is cruel and counterproductive as it will perpetuate the cycle of rough sleeping.
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Pledge 8: Remove Barriers That Prevent Rough Sleepers From Regularising Their Status Such as the 20-Year Threshold for Private Life / Long Residence Rules
Rough sleepers are excluded from regularising and retaining their immigration status due to unaffordable fees, inaccessible procedures, and unreasonable documentation requirements.  A lack of immigration status prevents access to employment and crucial services, driving many into destitution and increasing the risk of rough sleeping.

Currently, undocumented foreign nationals must be in the UK for 20 years before they can regularise their status. This arbitrary timeframe keeps people in immigration limbo and heightens the risk of rough sleeping, whilst serving no purpose.
If the next government is serious about ending rough sleeping, they must remove practical barriers that prevent foreign national rough sleepers from evidencing their status if they already hold status, or regularising their status if they are undocumented. For people in this position, there is often no prospect of them being removed from the UK, often due to logistical issues such as their country of origin being unwilling to issue the relevant documentation. Reducing the threshold from 20 to, for example, 10 years would allow more people to regularise their status, commence working, and avoid rough sleeping. This benefits everyone.