They aren't 'migrants'. They are just children.

Imagine doing everything right for years. Working hard. Raising your children. Paying thousands in Home Office visa fees. Struggling most days but knowing that after 10 years your immigration status will finally be made permanent.
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Counting down the days until you finally reach the 10-year mark you were promised. You tell your kids, “Once we get there, things will be stable.” You hold onto that finish line. And then, just as you reach 9k of a 10k race, someone shouts from the sidelines: it’s 20k now. Keep running.

That is what the Government’s new “earned settlement” model does to families on the existing 10-year route. The Government’s proposed changes will punish people who have relied on public funds by extending their route to settlement. For many families on the 10-year route, that means an extra decade with temporary immigration status.

At present, people on this route must complete four consecutive 30-month visas before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain. Each renewal costs £3,908.50 per adult and £3,261 per child. One mistake or missed deadline can reset the 10-year clock.

It is already a punishing process. Families plan their lives around reaching that 10-year mark. The Government is now moving the goalposts.

RAMFEL surveyed 68 parents on the 10-year route, raising 134 children between them. Over half of those children are British citizens. All of the parents who took part were from West African, Caribbean or South Asian backgrounds, reflecting the wider reality that 86% of people on this route are from Asian or African countries. The impact of these proposals will not fall evenly, racialised families will bear the brunt.

The Government frames this as an issue of contribution. We need to challenge the narrative behind this. Accessing public funds is not an indication of failure. It is how our social security system works. People pay into it. People rely on it when they need it. That is the deal. To turn that into a punishment for migrant families creates a two-tier system where the same act, claiming support during financial hardship, carries radically different consequences depending on your immigration status.

Parents told us they need financial support to keep a roof over their children’s heads, to keep the heating on, to buy food and clothing. However, almost 90% of parents said they would feel forced to give up public funds to avoid extending their route to settlement. Not because they no longer need the support, but because they fear the immigration consequences of accepting it.

When asked what would happen if they stopped receiving support, parents were clear. Their children would lose stable housing. They would miss out on school trips and extra-curricular activities that support learning and belonging. Some would go without enough food, heating or electricity. Clothes and shoes would become harder to afford. Social activities, birthday celebrations and small moments of normal childhood would disappear.

 “You're not punishing me. You are doing this to the children. And it breaks my heart. What is it that makes these kids different? British kids will be on the street. They will be homeless. We haven't killed, we haven't destroyed, we haven't stolen, neither did our children. My question is, why are we being made to suffer this way? They don't care about us, and we've accepted our fate, but I refuse to accept this fate that my children will go through this. I refuse to accept it.”

The Government stated its commitment to reduce child poverty last year. They seemingly recognised that children who grow up in poverty face worse health, education and employment outcomes. Nearly 40% of children in poverty have parents born abroad. A serious child poverty strategy cannot exclude them.

Let us be clear. This policy is racist and classist. It will disproportionately impact Black and Brown children. It punishes low income. It creates a two-tier system where wealth accelerates settlement and poverty delays it.

Long-term temporary status restricts social mobility across generations. Parents will remain stuck in insecure work and unable to upskill themselves, paying thousands in Home Office fees every 30 months instead of saving for their children’s futures. Young people won’t be eligible for student finance or mortgages, finding themselves unable to put down roots and build their careers.

There is no public interest in pushing children into poverty to make a political point about contribution. There is no fairness in breaking a promise made to families who have played by the rules and waited years to settle.

Children did not design this immigration system. They did not choose their parents’ status. They are British citizens, growing up here, going to school here and building their futures here. They are the next generation who will work in our hospitals, teach in our schools, start businesses and lead this country. We have a responsibility to protect children. That responsibility must mean all children.