Call to Allies: Complete the ‘Earned Settlement’ Consultation

Urgent call out to allies: Check in on your friends, colleagues and communities, and complete the Government consultation on ‘earned settlement’ today.

Over the last year, we’ve seen relentless attacks on our communities. Since the Immigration White Paper announcement in May 2025, the Government has attempted to exclude people who have built their lives here. From citizenship  changes to the misleadingly titled ‘good character guidance’, and an increase in  the salary thresholds for thousands of skilled workers – who now risk being unable to renew their work visas – to  the Prime Minister’s now-infamous ‘Island of Strangers’ speech, it’s clear in the Government’s eyes we are not welcome and do not belong. 

Now, the Government has put forward further proposals to introduce an ‘earned settlement’ model. These proposals are rooted in cruelty. They would create more uncertainty for all migrants, including refugees, and would further extend the waiting time or limit access to settlement. The change could come as soon as April this year. 

These proposals have left members of our Network feeling incredibly distressed, anxious and isolated. We need your support to make our voices heard, challenge the proposals, and let migrant communities know they are not alone.

How can you help?

1. Complete the Government Consultation (Deadline 12th February): This is an online survey – most of it is multiple choice, with a few short answer questions. You can complete it here and if you want some help, you can check out our consultation response.
2. Share the consultation with your Networks: Whether that’s in group chats, or with colleagues, family or friends. It’s a public consultation which means it’s something everyone can get involved in. So, why not organise a lunch and learn or a group call to fill it out together.
3. Check in on those around you: Not only do these changes promise increased hardship, the underlying purpose of the proposals is to tell migrants that they are not welcome and do not (and maybe will not ever) belong. These impact almost everyone who is not yet a citizen.  That could be your colleagues,  health workers, teachers at your children’s school, neighbours and community members.
4. Join the Not a Stranger campaign: Not a Stranger is a migrant-led campaigning group established in June 2025 in response to the UK Government’s Immigration White Paper (IWP) proposal. Find out more and join the campaign here.

We are engaging with the consultation as we think it’s important to make our voices heard, register opposition to the proposals, and because we have been asked to by community members. Some groups are exploring legal challenges, and we think the consultation data could be useful for this. 

We are very aware of the limitations of the Government consultation. For example, many questions ask you to accept a framework which we fundamentally reject. A framework that suggests settlement should be ‘earned’ or that some groups should be exempted from longer routes – a proposal that would give others preferential treatment over others. We believe that the idea of ‘earned settlement’ is classist and racist. It’s ultimately an attempt to appease the far-right rather than challenge anti-migrant racism.  

There are limited opportunities to offer meaningful feedback, and many of the questions are outright confusing. Given the time between the end of this consultation (12 Feb), and the start of possible implementation in April, we also have reservations about how deeply the Government intends to listen and learn from these responses. We urge you to continue to engage with this topic beyond filling out this consultation.