Immigration reform branded “cruel” by Amnesty International

Amnesty International UK has labelled the government’s immigration reforms as “cruel”, “inefficient” and “costly”.

The UK government published “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement: A statement on earned settlement” in November 2025. It sets out proposals to change how our current immigration system works.

Effectively, it would change how migrants who are permitted to become permanent residents are able to do so.

The proposals include:

• Making permanent residency less available to people.
• Increasing the amount of time most people spend in the immigration system before they may apply for permanent residence.
• Reducing that if they have: a higher level of English proficiency, if they are high earners, if they hold senior positions in a public service, or if they have undertaken ‘extensive’ volunteering.
• Increasing that time for people who: arrive on a visitor visa, breach immigration rules, or have ever received public funds.
• Completely remove the option of permanent residency for anyone who has: ever received a criminal conviction, has outstanding litigation, or has NHS, tax, or other government debts.

Children born without citizenship

Amnesty is warning that the proposals will cause many more children to be born in the UK without British citizenship. This is because their parents, although long-time UK residents, will not be British citizens or permanent residents.

Amnesty states:

While the children who grow up here will become entitled to that citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981, that right is not well understood and has over the last few decades become subject to several unjust barriers meaning many children who grow up here are at risk of losing their citizenship rights altogether.

Additionally, the proposals will “undermine integration”. Immigration reforms will make the lives of many migrants far more uncertain, for far longer. This will have substantial financial implications, from having to pay more times for permission to stay, to having to pay the very high migrant health charge more often.

Amnesty adds:

At best, people will be made less welcome and more marginalised. At worst, people will be made more at risk of destitution, homelessness, ill-health, and exploitation.

Amnesty also states:

The proposals are likely to increase pressure on the European Convention on Human Rights by not satisfying those who are antagonistic to both that Convention and migrant rights, while increasing reliance on human rights laws by migrant people seeking to protect themselves against the proposals’ worst consequences. If so, the impact – particularly given the Government is encouraging hostility to migrant people and their rights – is likely to further threaten commitment to the Convention.

The proposals are highly likely to reward and fuel xenophobia and racism, which are a direct response to the government’s hostility towards migrant people.

Of course, this is the exact opposite of what any responsible government should be doing. It risks encouraging even more demand for awful policies, which ultimately, only penalise and demonise migrants even further.

The government needs to take a long, hard look at itself—and ask if it wants to head towards a US-style system, full of fear and hatred, or one where migrants are recognised as being the backbone of any functioning society.

Feature image via UK Government