Migrant Workers and Families Mobilise in Westminster Over “Earned Settlement” Plans 

London, 11 March 2026 

Migrant workers, families and campaigners from across the UK will mobilise in Westminster on Wednesday as part of a coordinated day of action challenging the government’s proposed “earned settlement” immigration model. 

The public rally, organised under the banner “Settlement is a Right,” will take place alongside a parliamentary lobby where affected migrants and community organisations will meet MPs inside Parliament.

Organisers say the twin events are designed to ensure that concerns about the policy are heard both inside Parliament and publicly. 

People directly affected by the proposals are travelling from across the UK alongside representatives from migrant, refugee and community organisations to speak with MPs about the potential consequences for their families and communities. 

The government first set out plans for an “earned settlement” system in its May 2025 immigration white paper, later outlining further details in November 2025. The proposals would change the pathway to indefinite leave to remain (settlement) for many migrants already living and working in the UK.

Last week, ministers re-emphasised that the changes would apply retrospectively to people already in the country, many of whom moved to the UK at great personal cost based on existing rules about when they would qualify for settlement.

Campaigners warn the proposals could also expand No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) restrictions, penalise low-paid workers — including many employed in the care sector — and mean some families face settlement routes lasting 20 years or more, and in some cases up to 30 years, as some already do.

According to estimates shared with MPs, the proposals could affect over 1.35 million people, including 300,000 children. Campaigners warn many parents may feel pressured to avoid claiming support they may be eligible for, for fear it could be used against them in settlement decisions.

They warn this could push more families into poverty, with racialised children — including many who are British citizens — among those most likely to be affected because immigration restrictions on their parents block access to basic support.

The lobby inside Parliament will allow migrants and organisations to present evidence and brief MPs directly, while the rally outside will show that migrant communities and their allies are mobilising across the country to defend the principle that settlement is a right, not a privilege or reward. 

The mobilisation also builds momentum toward a National Emergency Demonstration for Migrant Workers’ Rights on 4 May, where migrant rights groups, trade unions and community organisations will call for the proposals to be withdrawn and for an end to policies that undermine migrants’ rights and deepen the hostile environment. 

James Tullet, CEO at Refugee and Migrant Justice:

“The earned settlement model moves the goalposts for families who have spent years doing everything the system asked of them. Parents that have worked, raised their children here and paid thousands in visa fees were promised that after ten years they would finally have stability. Moving the goalposts now will trap families in another decade of temporary status and creates a two-tier system where wealth buys security while hardship delays it. Parents will be forced to choose between settlement or survival. There is no public interest in pushing children into poverty to make a political point about contribution and no fairness in breaking a promise made to families who have played by the rules and waited years to settle.”

Munya Radzi from migrant-led Regularise and the Migrant Workers’ Rights Coalition:
“The government’s ‘earned settlement’ proposals risk deepening the hostile environment that migrant communities have already lived with for years. They would keep people working, paying taxes and paying tens of thousands of pounds in immigration fees for years — even decades — while still being denied the security of settlement. Migrant workers are already part of the fabric of this country — caring for people, building homes, feeding communities, keeping services running and sustaining workplaces across the economy. Yet many are now being told they may need to wait 10, 15, 20 or even 30 years before having the security of settlement in the country they call home.

Keeping people in temporary immigration status for years — and in some cases decades — creates constant uncertainty for individuals and families, and makes it harder to build stable lives. Communities struggle to thrive when people are denied the security and dignity that come with belonging. Migrant communities are expressing something simple and deeply human: if you live here, if you work here, if you raise your family here — you belong here. We belong here. Settlement is a right, not a privilege to be earned after decades of insecurity.”

Concepta Cassar, Migrants' Rights Network:
“People have built their lives here in good faith, only to be told the ground beneath them may shift again. These proposals will trap people in decades of temporary status and deepen the everyday hostilities people already face when trying to work, rent, access services or simply plan for their future. No one should have to navigate a system designed to keep them insecure. Settlement is the basic stability people need to start their lives again in safety and belong. It is not something to be earned through years of precarity. These plans must be withdrawn.”

Patricia, a campaigner at Praxis, said:
“I came to the UK believing that if you worked hard and followed the rules, you could build a stable life. My child has complex needs and I claimed the benefits I was legally entitled to so I could care for him properly. Now I’m being told that because I needed that support, my path to settlement could stretch to 20 years.

We already pay thousands in visa fees every few years, and living with this constant uncertainty makes it impossible to plan for the future. It makes you feel like you don’t really belong - even though my children were born here and this is the only home they know. Families like mine are simply trying to care for our children, but these changes are pushing more of them into poverty.”

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact Nick Beales at nick.b@rmjustice.org.uk