Voices for Equality
Settlement is the foundation of stability and security. We demand simple, short and affordable routes to permanent settlement for all UK residents.
Voices for Equality is a group of HMSC visitors. It brings together people of different ages, religions, nationalities and cultural backgrounds, who have come together as one, united in commitment to standing for migrants’ rights, for equality and for change.
We can’t win this fight alone. Sign up to receive updates about our campaign, future actions and ways to get involved and support us.
We believe everyone has the right to a normal, safe, dignified life. However, we face significant challenges in our local communities. Government policy has serious consequences for migrant communities. We are stuck in one place – unable to move forward, access support, participate in society or achieve anything. We are prevented from working and contributing to the economy. Some of us are at retirement age, still fighting to survive. Our physical and mental wellbeing is damaged, and many of us face depression and stigmatisation. As a result, our lives are wasted. We demand a change.
Many people in our community already wait decades for settlement. Long and difficult routes to settlement cause chronic stress, physical and mental deterioration, homelessness, poverty and generational harm. You cannot integrate into a community that treats you as a temporary guest or an unwelcome outsider.
Recent government proposals to make this wait longer and more difficult are classist and racist. They will have serious social and personal impacts – disproportionately affecting disabled people, racialised communities and those on low income or who are out of work. When an immigration system makes it easy to get a temporary visa but difficult to get settlement, it creates an insecure and exploited underclass.