The events of the past month have shown Britain at its best, with the public pushing the government to be more welcoming to Ukrainians fleeing war. We should also be welcoming to people already in our communities, some of whom don’t have documentation.
Of all the immigrants in the UK, only a minority of them do not have documentation.
People become undocumented for a variety of reasons, such as escaping violent partners. Most have lived here for over half a decade and in that time they have built lives in the UK.
Despite this, they are unable to live within the rules-based system, and cannot pay taxes or contribute to British society with dignity.
By regularising a group of these undocumented residents who fit within strict criteria, we can rebuild post-Covid and deliver on the government’s commitments to border security, fill the UK’s skills gap, and reduce violence against women and girls.
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As the Nationality and Borders Bill undergoes legislative scrutiny, we must seize this moment to clear the decks and restore order to our broken immigration system.
Through a regularisation, the government can address its priorities with a renewed focus: freeing up time, funding and energy to pursue casework and discern those who truly do not have a claim to stay in the UK.
Furthermore, deporting undocumented people is expensive and resource heavy, costing the taxpayer £15,000 for every person the Home Office returns.
Regularising undocumented people who meet a strict criteria is critical to delivering on the government’s ambition to make the immigration system fairer and more effective, by allowing the Home Office to refocus limited time and resources.
There is a misconception that regularisations encourage people to come to the UK illegally, in the belief that if they can evade the law for long enough, they will be granted amnesty.
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However, regularisations have a proven track record of decreasing the number of irregular migrants entering the UK. In 2003 and between 2007 and 2011, the Home Office ran case resolution exercises to clear legacy cases.
In both cases, asylum applications fell by over 20 per cent in the following years, indicating that regularisations do not increase the pull factors to come to the UK. In fact, as we have seen from Ukraine, it is desperation and seeking security that pushes people to leave their homes and come to the UK.
Secondly, regularisations can help boost the economy and fill the skills gap. With over one million job vacancies in the UK, businesses are reporting hiring challenges, led by shortfalls in critical sectors such as health and social care.
Research has found that the number of available workers plunged in June 2021 at the fastest rate since 1998 - the social care sector alone has a vacancy rate that is over twice the UK average.
To tackle these labour shortages, there is no better time to implement an earned regularisation so that we can optimise the labour that is available and employ the skills of people that are already living in the UK.
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Enabling these people to transition into stable, tax-paying work is critical to addressing our skills shortage, which costs employers £6.33 billion a year, and at the heart of building a stronger economy.
Finally, regularisations can support the most vulnerable in our communities. The government’s violence against women and girls strategy recognises that migrant women are at an increased risk of victimisation. This is unfortunately true.
Violence against women is a frighteningly common experience among undocumented women in the UK. Our members share a common story: “The first time I was physically abused by my ex-partner, I asked my ten-year old son to call the police.
My partner said to him: “you call the police, and all of us will be deported. So we didn’t call the police. And I, as an undocumented person, endured endless abuse, for fear that if I called the police they would share my details with the Home Office.”
By regularising a group of undocumented residents who fit within a strict criteria, we can empower the women most vulnerable to violence to seek safety, report perpetrators and deliver justice. Earned regularisations are a means to an end.
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Regularising people who have lived in the UK for an extended period of time and who speak English, have references and without a criminal record will allow the government to take the reins on protecting our borders, helping businesses increase productivity by filling the skills gap, and supporting the most vulnerable in our communities.
The prime minister himself supported regularisation, describing it as “the humane thing to do, the economically rational thing to do and it means taking back control.” Now is a better time than ever.
Matthew Bolton is executive director of Citizens UK