Home Office Horrors: A Glasgow Day of Action Against Visa Fees Increase

Home Office Horrors: A Glasgow Day of Action Against Visa Fees Increase

Could your family afford to live here if you had to pay £10.000 every two and a half years?

From 4 October,a number of immigration and nationality fees in the UK increased by at least 15%. This extortionate rise leaves an increasing number of individuals and families at risk of being undocumented, and in some cases, deported to their home country.

Our teams at Migrant Voice across the UK have set out to campaign against unjust visa fees, through raising awareness and spreading the message to those who may be unaware. It is essential we do so, in order to provide fairer immigration fees and laws. Thousands are impacted by this increase, on a mental, social and physical level.

Fatima from India has provided us with her thoughts and experience on the absurdly high visa fees: ‘By the time I will have indefinite leave to remain in the UK I will have paid over £12 000’. Fatima adds that ‘migrants are subject to endless absurdities by the hostile immigration system in the UK’.

At Migrant Voice, our Glasgow team spent a few weeks working on aspects of the campaign. A network meeting took place on the 12th of October, where representatives of charity organisations, lawyers, and community members met to discuss this increasing concern. Speakers highlighted how high visa fees create a hostile environment for migrants, as well as distrust towards the immigration system and feelings of insecurity.

In preparation for the day of action, we held a banner making session in which our members came up with slogans such as ‘Could you afford to live here?’, ‘Migrant nurses make the NHS’ and ‘Stop profiting off migrants’.

On 31 October, Halloween, the day of the campaign, our team set off to Kelvin Way for street outreach action. We aimed to raise awareness of the visa fees increase and its impact on people’s lives among the general public.

We held banners made by our members, and we wore Halloween costumes. We handed out leaflets and board-game-inspired ‘chance cards’ with scenarios many migrant families will face as a result of this unjust visa fees increase.

We also talked to passers-by and recorded short interviews. One of our interviewees was a Glasgow City Councillor Graham Campbell who came to support the campaign. Anne Duncan recorded interviews with our group for Radio Awaz. In this way, the voices of our members speaking up against the visa fees increase will be heard all over Glasgow.

Our day of campaigning in Glasgow ended with a Halloween-themed ceilidh. Our ceilidh, which involved traditional music from around the world, was an effective way to raise awareness of our campaign and celebrate the power of solidarity in these difficult times. Halloween decorations and campaign banners on walls reminded everyone that the visa fees increase could make people’s lives ressemble a horror movie. The mix of Scottish, Iranian, Kurdish, and Polish music reflected the spirit of international solidarity.

The event was attended by native Scots as well as migrants who’ve made Scotland their home, many of them directly affected by the changes in visa fees. They represent all age groups, speak a multitude of languages, and have different experiences with the immigration and visa system. Coming together through music and dance, they showed the strength of a diverse community uniting for a common cause and voicing their opinion.

Our Halloween ceilidh demonstrated that migrants and non-migrants alike are campaigning against the increase of visa fees in order to create a fairer and better chance at living in the United Kingdom for all.

If you too believe in this cause, join our campiagn and sign this petition