On 11th March, hundreds of people from all four nations of the UK united in Parliament for the Mass Lobby for Migrant Rights. From grassroots migrant-led groups to union leaders, the call to MPs was loud and clear: stop the disastrous earned settlement plans. These plans double the standard wait time for settlement and introduce conditions that could see people waiting for up to 30 years to settle in the place they already call home.
We've spoken to our MPs. Now it's time for Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to listen.
Sign the open letter to the Home Secretary and tell her to scrap the earned settlement plans. They will tank our economy, divide our communities, and erode our civil rights.
You can sign as an individual or as a representative of an organisation. Read the full letter below.
Dear Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood,
We're writing to you as a coalition of individuals and organisations advocating for the rights of migrants and refugees.
On 11th March 2026, we came together in Parliament for the Mass Lobby for Migrant Rights. Hundreds of people representing all four nations in the UK and from all walks of life spoke to their MPs about the earned settlement proposals. These proposals represent the biggest overhaul to the immigration system in a generation.
We write to you today to reiterate our call in Parliament: stop the earned settlement plans.
Click here to read more.If they are applied as outlined, they would damage the economy and our already fragile public services. Evidence from the existing 10-year route settlement shows clearly that long, costly and complex pathways to settlement drive financial hardship. According to IPPR, around 300,000 children already in the UK could be forced to wait 10 years for settled status under the new rules. Given that, the proposals are in direct conflict with the Government’s growth agenda as well as the goals to reduce homelessness and child poverty.
The changes would destabilise the lives of over a million people already living here and punish low-paid workers who are already contributing to our communities. To apply these retrospectively to people who have built a life here goes against a cornerstone of justice, namely the legal principle of legitimate expectation of legal rules. To punish people now with longer routes to settlement for accessing welfare support in the past is cruel and grossly unfair. This betrayal was raised again and again in the Westminster Hall debate about the earned settlement changes where almost 50 Labour MPs openly opposed the plans.
The policies will disproportionately impact lower-income households and those unable to work. This means they will likely have a discriminatory impact on people of colour, women, people with caring responsibilities, people with disabilities, children, and anyone with a mental or physical health condition.
We ask that you:
Act urgently and publish an assessment of the impact on individuals, communities and the economy.
Commit to halt further implementation of these proposals and give elected representatives the opportunity to properly scrutinise them.
Drop all retrospective elements of the proposals.
At a time when far-right hostility and violence is rising across the UK, policies that single out and stigmatise migrant communities risk deepening division rather than strengthening the social cohesion our communities urgently need. From faith leaders and human rights groups to NHS workers and union leaders, we’re united in our opposition to these plans. They would harm our neighbours, our workplaces, and our society as a whole. This is not the kind of country we want to be. We request that the Home Office engages with us and our serious concerns shared by constituents across the UK. We look forward to receiving your response.
Yours sincerely,
The Undersigned