Young migrants speak out on "terrifying" impact of Home Office fees

by LAUREN CODLING

TWO young Asian migrants have spoken of the impact of paying “soul-destroying” Home Office fees, as it was announced that the immigration health surcharge has doubled earlier this month.

The new charge is just one of the compulsory fees that migrants pay on a regular basis.

Many migrants living in the UK who want to apply for British citizenship must initially pay for four “leave to remain” (LTR) applications, which must be made at precise 30-month intervals, over a period of 10 years.

They are then eligible to apply for “indefinite leave to remain” (ILR), at a current cost of £2,389. After another year, they are eligible to apply for British citizenship.

However, the fees have increased significantly. The cost of keeping LTR in the UK up to date and lawful has increased 238 per cent since 2014. Currently, the overall cost of fees for each LTR application is £2,033. This includes the newly doubled £1,000 NHS surcharge.

Arkam Babar and Tashi Tahir, both 22 and originally from Pakistan, have been negatively affected by the high fees.

The pair, who are members of Just for Kids Law’s Let Us Learn campaign, which helps young migrants who are affected by the charges, said the fees have impacted their everyday lives.

Babar, who lives in east London with his family (who already pay towards the NHS as taxpayers), arrived in the UK as a 10 year-old. He claimed the latest increase has made him unable to “concentrate on plans for [his] future”.

“At this stage, you should be thinking about potentially saving up for a mortgage or travel plans, but for us, we think about saving up for status and citizenship,” he told Eastern Eye. “It is always at the back of your mind.”

Tahir and her mother fled their native country when she was eight years old, claiming refugee status in the UK. As her mother is disabled and unable to work, Tahir must raise funds for both her and her mother’s regular LTR applications.

The Glasgow-based student said she is “disappointed” by the government and believes it failed to consider the impact the fees can have on young migrants.

“I’ve been in this country for 15 years now, and I have always felt British,” Tahir told Eastern Eye. “I don’t even feel I’m from Pakistan, but they’re not taking our concerns seriously. I feel so let down, like the government is against us.”

Babar, a geography student at Kings College London, has applied four times for LTR. However, his last cycle was refused after the Home Office said the application was invalid.

Forced to fight against the decision in court, he claimed that representatives for the Home Office failed to appear as he appealed his case.

Although Babar won the case, he is worried that his previous applications will be rejected.

As the LTR applications need to be made continuously over a 10-year period, he is afraid that his previous rejection will have an impact on the process going forward.

“I’m still going to apply for ILR, but if I lose it, it could be discounted because of what [the Home Office] did,” he said.

The process has not been straight-forward for Tahir either.

The last time she and her mother renewed their LTR application, the Home Office took 14 months to process the documents. Although these kinds of delays are not unusual, the Home Office claims it should usually take no longer than six months.

During the 14 months, Tahir did not have access to her passport or any official paperwork which could verify her identity.

That meant she was unable to apply for jobs or travel outside the country.

“I couldn’t get any work at all simply because I didn’t have any identification that said I was allowed to,” she recalled.

“If I didn’t have my mum to live with, I wouldn’t been able to support myself. I would probably have been homeless and on the street.”

Now in her final year at the University of St Andrews, Tahir wants to do a fast-track renewal so she can apply for jobs after graduation. However, this will cost her hundreds of pounds extra.

“There is always that fear,” she noted. “It is a lot of money that I have to save.”

Both Babar and Tahir went to university on scholarships, but admitted that a lot of the money goes toward paying the Home Office fees. Although Babar is not currently working, he has previously held down two jobs to finance the fees.

His father worked seven days a week to help raise money for each member of the family

to go through the process.

Tahir has a part-time job and picks up as many shifts as she can, although she admits juggling her job and university work can be difficult.

Both claimed the costs and application process have impacted their mental health, as well as their university work.

Babar said he has suffered from stress and has had to ask tutors for extra support so he can focus on the procedure.

And if migrants want legal advice to help fill in the 61-page form, there are additional fees.

“I try not think about it too much, but it does clash with your normal life,” he said.

Tahir, who expects to become an official British citizen by the time she is 30, described the fees as “soul-destroying”.

She has also suffered with mental health problems, claiming she deals with daily anxiety and stress.

“It is a constant worry... what if I can’t get the money? I could end up being here illegally because I can’t afford a crazy amount of money that no average householder can afford. I could become at risk of deportation,” she said.

“I could go back to Pakistan – a country I haven’t been to in 15 years and one that is not safe for me to be in. It is terrifying.”

Last year, the government was criticised after it emerged that members of the so-called Windrush generation were forced to leave after the Home Office failed to keep records of those granted LTR, meaning it became difficult for the individuals to prove they resided in Britain legally.

Babar and Tahir agree that the “spiralling” fees could lead to another Windrush-style scandal.

“Every day we live with the fear that we could become illegal and deported,” Tahir said. “We consider ourselves in fear of that and that could make a new Windrush generation happen.”

Babar said although they are considered “temporary” migrants by the government, he does not relate to this label.

“I have no other home but Britain,” he said. “I’ve made friends here, studied here, grown up here. It is a piece of paper separating me from the people I grew up with. It is hard that our own home won’t accept us.”

In November, more than 30 members of the Let Us Learn campaign wrote to immigration minister Caroline Nokes to raise concerns of the increasing fees.

In response, Nokes said the Home Office took the issue “seriously”.

“Changes to the current charging structure are difficult to bring about for individual groups,” she wrote. “That said, I can assure you that we are actively considering whether changes may be made...to the application process to make it easier to apply.”

In response to Eastern Eye, a Home Office spokesperson said they considered several factors, including cost, when it came to processing applications.

“However, we keep all visa, immigration and nationality fees under review and as the immigration minister has previously stated, we are reviewing child citizenship fees,” the spokesperson said.