Migrant Voice launches report on the impact of extortionate visa costs

Migrant Voice launches report on the impact of extortionate visa costs

Today, Wednesday 27 April, we are launching our report on the impact of visa costs and the visa application process on migrants’ lives.

Our research shows that extortionate visa fees are causing extreme hardship to hundreds of thousands of migrants in the UK, affecting almost every aspect of their lives: from hunger and health, with one respondent saying: “I can’t feed my kids due to the visa fees and borrowing money”, to vulnerability at work, from strained relationships to mental distress.

At the report launch this evening in the Houses of Parliament, we will describe the findings of our research, while legal and policy experts will talk about on how we can create a fairer visa and immigration system, and many migrants will share their first-hand experiences of the impact of having to pay these extortionate visa fees.

Two-thirds of those surveyed or interviewed said the costs had forced them into debt, with debts of £30,000 reported.

The report says “95% of respondents told us they had extremely negative feelings about their situation”, ‘Living hell’, ‘terrible’, ‘hopeless, ‘mental torture’ and ‘ruined life’ were among the words used.

Migrant Voice Director Nazek Ramadan said, “We welcome migrants to this country because we need their skills, services and enterprise. Then we impose extortionate fees - amounting to more than seven times the actual cost of a visa - that have a destructive impact on their lives. Now migrants themselves have talked about the realities of this impact - and it’s devastating. This must change.”

We are calling for:

• Reducing visa fees to administrative costs for adults, while abolishing them for children
• Abolishing the Immigration Health Surcharge
• Cutting the time needed for permanent settlement from 10 years to five
• Speeding up and improving the Home Office decision-making process and communication with visa applicants
• Introduce a quicker, simpler, less stressful visa application process

We are campaigning for a fairer immigration system by advocating for removing extortionate visa costs. Follow our social media to stay up to date with the launch this evening and with our campaign going forward. 

+ Read the full report here: Destroying hopes, dreams and lives: How the UK visa costs and process impact migrants' lives