Why We Need a Fee Waiver for Indefinite Leave to Remain Applications

For many of us, the cost of securing Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is simply out of reach. At £3,029 per person, it is a price most families already struggling with the rising cost of living simply just cannot afford.

Many of us on the 10-year route are single parents, working long hours in low-paying jobs, doing everything we can to support our families. We can’t access higher education to re-train for better opportunities due to ineligibility for student finance, and we are often misrepresented in the media and as a result we get cut off from public support. For us, life is already a daily struggle.

Most people on the 10-year route are here because of deep roots in the UK. We have children, families, and community ties. Many of our children are British citizens. And yet, the system keeps us in a constant state of uncertainty. It feels like we are being punished for trying to stay with our British families.

We have done everything that has been asked of us, lived here for a decade, paid taxes, contributed to our communities. But still, we are forced to renew our visas over and over, not because we are ineligible for ILR, but because we simply cannot afford the fee. This leaves many of our families stuck in limbo, unable to plan for the future, sinking deeper into poverty and mental stress.

Imagine surviving ten years of instability, financial hardship, mental health strain, and fear of being priced out of the renewal cost each year, only to face yet another barrier of securing permanent status after finishing the 10-year route. It does not feel fair. For most of us, the 10-year route feels more like a sentence than a pathway to settlement.

A fee waiver for ILR would change everything. It would offer families the chance to finally build a secure and stable life in the UK. It would allow parents to, access higher education, find better jobs and give their children the future they deserve.
We already have fee waivers for other immigration applications for those who cannot afford them. Extending this support to ILR applicants on the 10-year route would not only change lives, it would reduce pressure on the Home Office and help more people contribute fully to the UK economy.

Those of us on the 10-year route are not outsiders, we are your neighbours, your carers, your shopkeepers, your friends, your family. We are already part of this country; we have deep roots in the UK. All we ask is the chance to live here with dignity, without being priced out of a secure future not just for ourselves, but for our children as well.

This is why RAMFEL has this week started a survey on the cost of ILR applications in the UK to gain a deeper understanding of peoples’ experiences regarding the settlement fees. Our aim is to explore how these costs affect those eligible for settlement but are priced out from attaining settlement and also understand the general public’s views on these extortionate fees. We are requesting you to please take our short survey and share your views on this.
​

Click here if you are on the 10-year route

Click here if you are part of the general public

Author

Yvonne Atieno, Lived Experience Coordinator at RAMFEL