UK’s ‘Hostile Immigration Policy’ Put Indians at Stake

The Indians living in the United Kingdom are the latest victims of the reforms introduced with the country’s tough immigration policy. A large number of high-skilled South Asian professionals, mainly Indians and Pakistani, have been denied the ‘Indefinite Leave to Remain’, ILR, and threatened with deportation. The UK government is certifying them as ‘illegal immigrants’, who failed to produce proper documentation and made several errors in the tax-filing system due to the amendments made in the UK’s immigration policy.  Not only South Asians but the Windrush generation has also been facing crisis and hardship after the hostile immigration policy. The victims allege it to be merely an implausible excuse behind deportation; the real objective is to meet the target of the new ambitious immigration policy by the Theresa May government, which is receiving widespread criticism due to the treatment of the immigrants of the Windrush generation, and other Commonwealth nations. In the series deportation of the Caribbean, she had to tender an apology to the Caribbean leaders. Post-Brexit, Britain is trying to maintain amicable relations with the other Commonwealth nations, but this recent furor is haunting the May government.

All About the Protest

Many high-skilled South Asian professionals, including doctors, businessmen, and entrepreneurs, are protesting against the rejection of their application for Indefinite Remain to Leave. They gathered outside the UK parliament with slogans and posters demanding their applications to get accepted. Men and women wore T-shirts jotted with slogans demanding justice. They call it Windrush 2.0.

According to a British Consultancy site, Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is the expression confirming that there is no time limit to the period you can stay in the UK. When a person wins ILR, they have the right to live and work in the UK, without any restriction. They may also leave and enter the UK, without restriction. Indefinite Leave to Remain or Permanent Residence is granted on the basis that a person is settled in the UK. Indefinite Leave to Remain is the stepping stone to British Citizenship. It also entitles the ILR beneficiaries to enjoy the government healthcare services and avails benefits like a common citizen of Britain. ILR is given to those who are well-settled in the UK for more than a decade or decades, a Tier-1 resident, Tier-2 resident, Tier-1 exceptional talent, Tier-1 entrepreneur and others. The ILR can be lost to a person if he/she leaves the UK for periods longer than 2 years, normally be deemed as no longer present and settled in the UK. This might lead to one’s Indefinite Leave to Remain being revoked. It is also possible to lose one’s ILR should you commit an offense serious enough to have you deported from the UK.

Since the error in tax-filing appears to be a petty excuse as being put under ‘offence’ by the British Home Office, the victims are facing the fear of deportation and the rejection of the right to work.

Hardship For The Victims

Many of high-skilled professionals are forced to quit their job and denied basic healthcare facilities and other government benefits and perks in the UK. In fact, the entire story was unfolded after The Guardian wrote the members of the Windrush generation are denied legal healthcare facilities over the charges of illegal immigration in the UK.

The South Asian professionals want to stay in the UK as the land was the primary source of their livelihood for them for decades. Protestors believe that if they are denied ILR and deported on the charges of illegal immigration, it will be difficult to get a job back in the deporting country. They will face issues to travel to any other countries after the UK ban them. The ground to refusal was defamation of character and would prevent them getting a visa to travel to any other country in future. Their applications of ILR were turned down by the UK government under section 322(5) of the immigration rules.

Who are the Windrush Generation?

According to the historical accounts, the Windrush generation refers to the immigrants invited to the UK between 1948 and 1971, after World War II, from different parts of Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, and Barbados. Oxford Migration Observatory data reflects that an estimated 57,000 non-U.K nationals arrived in Britain before 1971, including 13,000 from India. However, the number of affected people is yet not confirmed. They were sailed to the UK in a ship named, HMT Windrush later changed to MV Empire Windrush.