UK urged to eliminate ‘Racist’ visa policy

• The UK's 10-year visa route is criticized as "racist" due to its long and costly duration.
• The route requires four renewals, each costing £3,850 ($5,095).
• A 2023 report by the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit.

The UK has faced calls to abolish a 10-year visa route and limit all settlement routes to five years. Analysis revealed that the lengthy and costly visa route predominantly affects people of color, leading to its label as “racist,” according to a report in The Guardian.

Hundreds of thousands of people use the 10-year visa route because they do not qualify for other immigration schemes due to insufficient income or professional qualifications. Many of these individuals work in low-paid jobs, such as cleaning or care work. Other settlement routes in the UK typically take five years. According to freedom of information data obtained by the charity Ramfel, 218,110 people are currently on the 10-year route.

Analysis of Home Office data revealed that, except for one country, all the top 10 nationalities using the 10-year visa route come from predominantly non-white populations. The top five nationalities are Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Ghana, and Bangladesh. Overall, 86 percent of people using this route are from Asian or African countries, while 6 percent are from Europe.

People seeking a visa through the 10-year route must renew their leave to remain with the Home Office every 30 months, resulting in four renewals. Each renewal costs £3,850 ($5,095). Although the Home Office can grant fee waivers, many requests are refused.

A 2023 report on the 10-year route by the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, the Institute for Public Policy Research, and the charity Praxis found that the most common way people cover the fees is by borrowing money. Many individuals end up in debt and struggle to cover basic living costs.

A GMIAU spokesperson said, “These numbers confirm what people on the 10-year route already know: It is a racist policy. People are driven into debt and forced to choose between paying thousands of pounds in visa fees to maintain their legal status and keeping their families fed and warm.”

“Ten years is far too long for anyone to wait to settle. The route must be scrapped. A good place to start would be to cap all routes to settlement at five years.”

Nick Beales, of Ramfel, said: “The 10-year route is an enduring legacy of the hostile environment. Like many other Conservative policies from this period, the racist intent is clear, with African and South Asian nationals far more likely to be placed on this arduous and often brutal route toward securing permanent immigration status.”

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