A punishing process': Experiences of people on the 10-year route to settlement

Article

Around 170,000 people are estimated to have permission to remain in the UK on a ’10-year route to settlement’ - a pathway that requires them to accrue 10 years of continuous lawful residence before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain.

While on this immigration route, individuals face a number of challenges. In this report, we take stock of the impacts of the 10-year route policy on people’s lives. Findings are drawn from a survey of over 300 people who are either on or have been on the route, as well as in-depth interviews with people on the route.

Taken as a whole, it is evident from our research that there are detrimental impacts resulting from the design of the 10-year route to settlement on people who have made, and wish to continue making, their lives in the UK.

As an overarching recommendation, we suggest that the 10-year route policy should be reviewed as part of a wider independent review of the immigration system to better understand the effects of the route on individuals on the basis of race, gender, age and disability, as well as its impact on wider society – including on other local and central government policy objectives (such as wider integration, belonging and social cohesion goals) and budgets.

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