Migrant Action

Empowerment Advocacy Justice

‘I won’t be defined by my immigration status’

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In our latest blog post, we discuss how Migrant Action have helped individuals during the COVID19 pandemic, and how they have successfully been able to get back in to further education.

I first contacted  Migrant Action in 2019 and received a warm welcome by all. Migrant Action kept in contact with me and supported me with issues regarding university and immigration requirements. 

During these unprecedented times, Migrant Action supported me and my family with food parcels and food vouchers during the COVID19 pandemic and continued to advise and support me which helped improve my mental well-being. 

I have also participated in the Migrant Action leadership programme which has helped me identify my weaknesses and embrace them positively, and turn them into strengths. I have been able to expand my networking skills which have developed my confidence, which would not have been possible without this course. 

After being out of education for nearly three years now, I applied for a scholarship which will allow me to start studying again. Migrant Action assured me that this will enhance my confidence and deepen my faith that education will further my development. 

I did however encounter some difficulty with the Home Office, who stated that I could not study despite holding a sanctuary scholarship. In a country like the UK, it is a basic human right to be able to study and further my education. With the help of organisations like Migrant Action and my solicitor Richard Burgon MP, the decision that I could not study was overturned and I was finally able to return to my studying and start a new chapter in my life.

I don’t want to be defined by my immigration status. Migrant action has inspired me not to give up and to face challenges head-on with a smile. I will always rise above the challenges I face in society, and I will dream big, and be thankful for the support from Migrant Action.

No children left behind this summer: an update on the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative

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As we approach September, two volunteers involved in Migrant Action’s educational support project reflect on their experiences of e-tutoring over the summer

The closures of schools as part of the government’s Covid-19 lockdown measures raised concerns that school closures would disproportionate adversely impact the futures of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Such children are more likely to attend schools that are unable to offer supplementary online schooling, may be unable to afford textbooks or access internet learning tools. The risk that children from disadvantaged backgrounds fall behind in learning poses potentially long-lasting impacts on their educational and future job prospects.

As a grassroots organisation, Migrant Action witnessed daily the impact of the lockdown and school closures play out in the lives of children and families. In response, it set up the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative to provide educational resources and learning and befriending support to children and young people. Overall, the No Child Left Behind initiative aimed to prevent children falling behind in their school work and long term development thereby help reduce the widening inequalities in our society.

Here, two volunteers who participated in the initiative, Carys Milbourn and Abi Spring, elaborate on the work they have been undertaking throughout the summer. Migrant Action recognise the fantastic work undertaken by our volunteers involved in this initiative and we are immensely proud of their achievements.

Carys

Over lockdown I started tutoring children from two families, my role between the two families varied as I supported one family with Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Maths and the other with A-level choices and discussing options for university. I was able to come up with a surprisingly engaging way of learning Maths by using online games with one family which has helped consolidate and refresh what they have already learnt, whilst also teaching some new skills. With my other family I have provided a friendly face and someone new to talk to as I definitely feel that for young people lockdown is extremely challenging, particularly when you are used to seeing friends every day in school. I have really enjoyed giving guidance on how I got into university and what I have learnt from my past experience doing A Levels. I think that it’s been difficult to adapt to a new way of communicating and teaching online but it has also taught me a lot along the way. A highlight of tutoring has been seeing the children gain confidence every week whilst talking to me and also in their Maths ability. I think that this project has shown that in times of hardship, uncertainty and fear, community is more important than ever. Although social distancing has made contact difficult, online communication has enabled greater conversation and community bonds to grow as people support each other through these strange and hard circumstances. 

Abi

I was approached to participate in the No Child Left Behind initiative and was more than happy to join in: working with young people has always been something I have enjoyed, and it felt good to feel like I was contributing positively to the community whilst stuck at home in lockdown! I have been conducting weekly Zoom sessions with two children of Key Stage 1 level and helping them with both Maths and English. During our first lesson, I found out that the children had been given workbooks to study with (this is another arm of the No Child Left Behind strategy). I made the decision to purchase the same books that the children were using, in order to help me structure sessions and decide what activities we would work through ahead of time. It has taken a while to adapt to tutoring via the internet- I am a visual learner, so I like to explain things by writing them- but this method does not translate well to a webcam format and resulted in me holding up pieces of paper which was not the clearest way to communicate! However, once I discovered the potential of the ‘share screen’ option on Zoom, I realised that applications like Paint could be used just like a virtual whiteboard, and this has really helped me. A personal highlight of this experience has been seeing the children engaging enthusiastically with the work, as it’s clear they’re both really keen to learn. I look forward to our sessions every week- it also gives me a good excuse to avoid working on my dissertation! I hope the children feel like they have found the lessons useful and gained something from this experience, as I do. 

Service user feedback

“Carys was very nice and engaging with me, I found out that we had quite a bit in common and I felt less shy talking to her as the chats went on. She’s also very smart and helpful and funny. I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I’d like it to continue.”

“Abi has been fantastic and the kids look forward to the next session with excitement, it has made a great difference, thanks a lot.”

“The laptop has helped us significantly, allowing us to be able to get through work and research comfortably as we don’t have to look on our smaller phone screens, and has also given us the leisure of not having to take turns watching things like Youtube and Netflix on our TV since we now have a second device to watch these things on. We appreciate this gift you have given to us.”

Covid-19 relief: ‘No Child Left Behind’

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Covid-19 has revealed the staggering inequality in our society reflected. According to research carried out by Sky news, during the lockdown, 43% of children from disadvantaged backgrounds study for 1 hour a day compared to 14% from more affluent backgrounds and 4% of children attending private schools.

Nearly two in three (64%) of secondary pupils in state schools from the richest households are offered some form of active help, compared with 47% from the poorest fifth of families, the study suggests. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-52701850

82% of secondary school pupils attending private school are offered active help, with 79% being provided with online classes.  https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/BN288-Learning-during-the-lockdown-1.pdf

The most deprived communities have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and the government’s lockdown measures including school closures. The experiences and impact of the lockdown will vary largely based on the child’s environment and the opportunities available to them.

While children from ‘better off’ backgrounds have access to online learning resources, equipment, school and parental support as well as a convenient learning environment, those who are poor and less well off lack these ‘privileges’ therefore disadvantaged in this ‘forced’ home learning environment. Covid-19 has exacerbated an entrenched tier education system whereby children from better-off families are racing faster to the top while those from poorer backgrounds are ‘left behind’ as they race to the bottom.

Through these interventions, Migrant Action is helping to prevent and transform inequalities and promoting social justice.

Transforming Inequalities

  • Migrant Action has supported some migrant families with IT equipment to help children access vital online learning resources including doing school home work.
  • Children has also received some study material (books, toys and pencils) to assist learning and development during lockdown
  • Migrant Action student volunteers have facilitated virtual interactive learning with children and their parents.  These sessions also provide opportunities for informal conversations which help to reduce isolation and loneliness especially for new arrivals in Leeds who could feel ‘cut-off’ from society. 
  • Our online family learning support provides a great opportunity for family bonding during these challenging times but also give the volunteers the opportunity to directly engage with migrants and share experiences. As such, the scheme has a broader outcome of mediating social and cultural integration.

Service-user feedback

  • “you have made her day, she is so pleased she doesn’t have to share my laptop with me” — Anonymous
  • “Thanks Migrant Action for the books, the kids are very happy today and very busy now [with the books]” — Anonymous

“The Right Thing To Do”; In light of the global pandemic, have the Conservatives finally learnt the true value of migrants to the UK?

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Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of migrant key workers, who make up 20% of the NHS workforce. The NHS surcharge is paid by migrants from outside the EEA, or anyone applying for a visa lasting for more than 6 months, which demands a yearly sum of £400 per person to use the health service. Boris Johnson initially rejected appeals to exclude migrant Covid-19 NHS workers from paying. However, on the 26th April, it was announced the surcharge was  ‘under review’ and since, it has been agreed that those covered by the one-year free visa extension will be exempt from the charge. Furthermore, Health Secretary Priti Patel announced a Coronavirus (COVID-19) bereavement scheme to support the dependants of workers who have lost their lives due to the virus- controversially excluding many lower-paid NHS roles. Following backlash, the UK government has since made a U-turn by extending the provision of the scheme to cover all families of migrant social care workers, including hospital cleaners and porters. For some, the extension comes  too late, with NHS staff fearful of losing their jobs as a result of visa complications.

Summary of U-Turns: 

March 2020: Home Office announces an automatic renewal of visas for NHS overseas workers (limited to doctors, paramedics and nurses).

April 2020: Home Secretary Priti Patel confirms families and dependants of all NHS workers who have tragically lost their lives to the virus will be granted indefinite leave to remain.

  • Extends scheme to midwives, radiographers, and some social care workers
  • Those covered by the visa extension will now be exempt from the NHS surcharge
  • Applies to all visas expiring between 31 March – October 2020

The broader significance of this:

Despite these changes being a positive step by the government, they have highlighted the hostility inherent within the government’s immigration policies on the one hand and the  importance of public scrutiny of these policies on the other. It also exposes the political economy of the government’s charging regimes whereby revenue extraction override compassion and humanity. It took immense pressure from the public, the Labour party and even Conservative MP’s for the government to lift the immigration health surcharge. 

The fact it has taken a global pandemic and public outrage to shift government policy is indicative of the potency of public advocacy, however it is important that these are not reactive measures and short term gains but should translate into lasting policy changes. This also highlights the hypocrisy of the new skills-based migration system, which will further reduce low-wage and low-skilled EU migrants access to the UK. However, recognising the  human value of migrants should not be dependent on their utility in a time of crisis.

‘Strengthening hands’: Responding to the Covid-19 Emergency

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The pandemic is a major test: not just to Migrant Action’s capacity to respond in complex ‘emergencies’- but Covid-19 also profoundly challenges our organisational ‘thinking’ and strategic direction. So, how does our organisation effectively meet the current crisis needs whilst building a resilient infrastructure for sustainably responding to emergencies and futures of vulnerable migrants? 

Building partnerships and collaboration is central to the organisation’s ethos, development and service delivery. Working with a cross section of agencies has been essential in providing crisis assistance to vulnerable migrants who have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19 with most people encountering joblessness, destitution, loneliness & isolation especially for new arrivals, mental instability, insecure immigration status, poverty exacerbated due to having no recourse to public funds etc.

Meeting this complex and wide ranging emergency and long term needs in a continually changing immigration landscape requires a more systemic approach to our collaboration. As a grassroots organisation that is rooted in community mobilising and resilience, Migrant Action is adopting and developing its ‘Strengthening hands’ partnership model. 

We are developing partnerships with small community based organisations often ‘invisible’ and led by people with lived experience of migration supporting migrants in the community. Through sharing our limited resources (financial, knowledge, expertise, access etc) we empower and enable these organisations to provide crisis assistance to vulnerable migrants that are outside the reach of Migrant Action. Through our Strengthening-hands partners in Leeds and Barnsley, we have enhanced crisis assistance provision for vulnerable migrants.

‘Strengthening Hands’ is not only an effective Covid-19 response; it represents a significant strategic shift for Migrant Action in terms of our collaboration, capacity and resilience and leadership. Whilst providing immediate and short crisis assistance, the organisation recognises the urgency for systemic and sustainable responses to the complex migration challenges.

We are committed to ‘Strengthening-hands’ and envision the model partnerships becoming a lived experience-led and grassroots network that will empower leadership in small organisations, enhance service delivery and resilience, enable access to development and growth oriented opportunities, ensure effective emergency crisis response and long term support for vulnerable migrants.

Migrant Action articulates its purpose better through working together and building a strong platform for actualising migrant rights, justice and transformative social change.

Extortionate immigration Fees for migrants: Unfair & Inhumane

Extortionate immigration Fees for migrants: Unfair & Inhumane

In the last decade, we have witnessed the exponential rise in the fees and charges attached to immigration applications for visas (permission to come or remain in the UK) made by migrants to the Home Office. Migrants and their families are crumbling under the burden of these fees & charges as some are forced into making precarious choices in order to afford the fees/charges.  In February 2021, the court of appeal ruled that the immigration fees for child citizenship applications were ‘illegal’. £1,000 fees for child citizenship are illegal, appeals court rules | The Independent

At Migrant Action, we are seeing increasing levels of hardship and precarious living amongst migrants. Often, they have no recourse to public funds and in low wage jobs hence struggle to afford not just the legal fees but worse still, the extortionate immigration fees & NHS surcharges.  One mother stated ‘we had to make a choice between heating and saving up for our application’.  During the Covid-19 pandemic, our ‘Access to Justice’ scheme funded by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, enabled us to support vulnerable migrants/ families impacted by Covid-19 to secure legal advice and assistance with immigration applications which involved fee waiver applications.

While our ‘Access to Justice’ offers a short term solution and makes a big difference to the lives of a few migrants, the charging of extortionate visa fees, NHS surcharges and other immigration related fees are widely viewed as punitive, unfair and represents an injustice in the immigration system.  A change in the immigration fee charging system is necessary and would offer fairness and equity allowing most migrants avert the throes of poverty, destitution and precarious living. 

Migrant Voice has been working with numerous organisations across the migration sector as well as organisations outside of the sector such as trade unions to ensure that we have a full understanding of the impact of extortionate Visa Fees on Migrants across the UK – this Includes Migrant Action. Migrant Action is delighted to be involved in this campaign against extortionate visa fees seeking system change.

See more below about the campaign.

Join the campaign against extortionate visa fees

Migrant Voice is leading a campaign against extortionate immigration fees, which are having a devastating impact on many of our migrant members and their families.

Most visa fees have risen exponentially in the last decade, while the NHS surcharge and the extortionate cost of appointments and other associated costs add hundreds of pounds to each application. For example a family of four on the 10 year route to settlement can expect to pay in excess of £40,000.  Our campaign wants to change this. We want to see all fees reduced to admin costs for adults, free for children.

Over the last months we have been listening to affected migrants and their families and gathering information from other organisations working on related issues to help shape our campaign. Through focus groups, a survey, and ongoing meetings we are developing the campaign’s strategy and plan, its priority areas, activities and recommendations. We continue to gather evidence of the impact extortionate visa fees is having and how this has been exacerbated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stephanie, 48, from Nigeria is one of those who wants the campaign to succeed. She is working as a healthcare assistant and has two children. She estimates she has spent close to £15,000 in visa fees to date. Her visa must be renewed every 2.5 years and at each visa renewal she must pay around £2,500 in fees, plus the £1,560 NHS surcharge.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A decade ago, fees in this country were more affordable. We believe it’s wrong for the government to continue to make a profit from migrants paying to stay in the UK,with some fees charged up to ten times the actual cost.

The costs are so high that they have a direct impact on Stephanie’s family finances: she says, “When it is time for you to renew you are looking everywhere for money. You have no money to save, for school, rent, car insurance. My son is finishing college and I want him to go into further education but that is hard, financially.” Because her visa is still temporary, she has No Recourse to Public Funds.

The costs to migrants aren’t just financial – many families suffer mental and physical health problems, with some families sacrificing food, heating and electricity to make sure they can make their payments to the Home Office when the time comes.

Stephanie works as much as she can to make ends meet, often giving up family time or sick leave. Still, she sometimes must borrow money from other people. “I work six days a week in order for me to pay for everything and it’s still not enough, I still have debt … I don’t have time with my kids because I have to work so much. There is no time to sit down with family or take them out.”

She says that her life is reduced to working in order to pay for her visa. “I don’t feel heard by the government; they don’t know what I am going through. We are human too. I want to be heard.”

Migrant Voice are currently running a survey online to collect information and experiences from people like Stephanie on their interaction with the UK Visas and immigration system and the impact it has had on them and their families. We would be grateful for anyone affected who could complete this survey, it should only take 15 minutes. Please also share it amongst your own networks to make sure we hear from those affected:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MV_Visa_Fees_Survey.

Migrant Voice are also conducting interviews with migrants and their families who have been affected by the extortionate cost of Visas in the UK. If anyone would like to participate in these interviews, or would like to know more about the campaign please contact our Campaigns Organiser Cameron Ball: campaigns@migrantvoice.org

Please join us in raising awareness of these issues. You can get involved in several ways by sharing your experiences, taking part in shaping the campaign, take part in our network meetings, training, and lobby activities, share the link to our survey and spread awareness of our campaign with people who are affected, collaborate with us on this and inter-related issues.

Migrant Voice is a migrant-led organisation working with migrants from all around the world with all kinds of status. We develop the media skills and confidence of migrants with the aim of strengthening their voices in the media and civil society in order to counter xenophobia and build support for our rights. We have offices and networks in London, the West Midlands and Glasgow.