British - to be or not to be?

A hypocritical and racist system

Praxis runs peer-led groups where people with lived experience of migration can seek support and campaign to get their voices heard on issues that affect them. The WINGS group is for mothers with young children. In July 2020, they spoke in parliament at the All Party Parliamentary Group on No Recourse to Public Funds, chaired by MP Kate Osamor and organised by Just Fair and Project 17.

Here they speak out in their own words against the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) provision in a series of blogs, denouncing the many ways it impacts them.

WINGS performing at Praxis' Human Rights Day celebration, 2019

You might think you understand what NRPF means, but if you don’t wear the shoes then you can’t know where it hurts. As WINGS members, we are facing irregular immigration status, poverty, poor housing, and destitution; most of us have NRPF. But we support each other through action.

“We are being taxed like everyone else but we have no access to a safety net for our children and our families”

NRPF is a label that discriminates against us. For those of us who have the right to work, we are being taxed but we have no access to benefits to support our children and families. Therefore, we have to work harder, for longer hours than everyone else.

This to us is exploitation. Immigrants are expected to work in the least acceptable working conditions, live in squalid housing, pay our taxes and pay to remain here, but we are not allowed a safety net if we become ill, unable to work or lose our jobs. With NRPF, the UK is also creating the conditions for modern slavery and forced labour.

“We are contributing to the economy so we should be able to benefit from it.”

British nationals are required to pay their taxes and that covers the NHS. Immigrants are required to pay taxes, the Immigration Health Surcharge fees and the application fees for our visas. This means we are paying twice for a system which we have very limited access to: we are allowed to visit the GP and hospital if we are ill, however, we are not allowed free prescription if we need medication. We are contributing to the economy so we should be able to benefit from it. This system is hypocritical and racist.

What’s more, the rising costs of the leave to remain application and Immigration Health Surcharge fees means we have to save over £1,000 per year to pay for our right to be in this country. The Immigration Health Surcharge will increase again by more than 50% this year. This combined with NRPF has a catastrophic effect on families, saving to pay these costs is causing children to live in this first world country in extreme poverty.

The social support that NRPF blocks us from is vast, but the most painful part for us is how it directly affects our children. You can never explain to a child why their parents work so hard and yet they are still entitled to so little.

By WINGS members