Planned actions against visa fee increases

Planned actions against visa fee increases

The government’s proposed punishing increases to already extortionate visa and settlement charges was the reason for our national online meeting on 8 August, 2023.

We started out in solidarity, anger and determination to do something and left with actions and ideas including a new day of action.

Migrant Voice Director, Nazek Ramadan, introduced the meeting explaining that Migrant Voice has already been campaigning for a couple of years against the extortionate visa fees that many migrants are already paying. But now we face an enormous, unjust, increase - in the middle of a cost of living crisis. She said that migrants who are already paying huge amounts in fees, as well as taxes, are being penalised and #PayingForInequality, instead of our contributions being recognised. The government is pitting people against each other in claiming that this is how it will pay for public sector pay rises.

Nazek said that we can’t just sit back and do nothing. “This is why we are here today to…speak about the impact of this on us and the implications… and most importantly, what can we do to challenge it to resist it. We must do something together.“

The meeting then heard from experts and activists, and discussed what actions we can take to stop this injustice.

Speakers Mauricio Cruz, Programme Manager at IRMO - Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation, Luisa Pineda, Welfare Support and Advocacy Officer Southeast and East Asian Centre CIC (SEEAC), Alexandra Bulat, Co-Director of the Migrant Democracy Project, Barbra Tanyanyiwa, acting Co-Chairperson from Pan African Workers Union all shared their views and experiences from their communities and organisations, and the implications for this on communities, including further impoverishing and disenfranchising migrants, while dividing communities. Another guest speaker, Juliana Lobo, a Brazilian national living in UK, explained about the petition she has launched, which has gained more than 13,000 signatures calling for a halt to plans to increase visa fees. Our last speaker, Zoe Bantleman, Legal Director; ILPA (Immigration Law Practitioners Association) shared some of her suggestions for actions that we can still take to put a stop to this proposal.

This was followed by a discussion of what we can do next to take action against this proposed increase, both as part of Migrant Voice’s campaign and beyond in all our communities.

Participants shared a number of important contributions, sharing the impact of the existing fees and visa routes on their lives, and the devastating impact these increases would have. 

Among the calls to action were:

• Engagement with unions
• Letter writing and engagement with MPs
• Raising the issue through Home Office oral questions in Parliament
• Local groups to get support in communities, and from local authorities
• Contacting international organisations, such as the international labour organisation
• Flagging the discriminatory and racist elements of the proposal to raise awareness.
• Write to, and engage with, secondary legislation committee about impact of fees
• Planning and implementing the proposed National Day of Action
• Increase public awareness beyond our own communities by talking about the issues in an educational manner
• Highlighting the value migrants bring to the UK, which would be lost, and the increased issues which pushing more into destitution will bring, to appeal to practical side of the treasury.

We were delighted with overwhelming support for the proposed Migrant Voice National Day of Action, to be planned for October. This will bring together organisations and individuals across the country to organise activities locally under one combined banner, to raise awareness of the issue.

Migrant Voice is compiling a list of those participants who are interested, and resources for the day. We will be arranging planning and training meetings ahead of the action day, with dates and further information to be confirmed shortly.

You can follow all the updates through our mailing list, or email campaigns@migrantvoice.org to register your interest in taking part.