Radical Restrictions to Settlement Would Be Unjust and Dehumanising

 A Tulia Group CIC Statement – CEO Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya

On 20 November 2025, the Home Secretary published a consultation proposing severe restrictions to routes to settlement for migrants and refugees.

The proposals include:

1. Stricter mandatory requirements for settlement

• Raising the English language requirement from B1 to B2,

• Introducing minimum earnings thresholds that many frontline workers cannot meet.

2. Extending the qualifying period to settlement

• Doubling the standard route from 5 years to 10 years,

• Introducing a 20-year route for refugees,

• Allowing further extension based on earnings or “economic contribution,”

• And most worryingly, adding extra years for anyone who has ever accessed public funds even when that access was lawful or due to vulnerability.

3. Targeting carers with even harsher delays

• Carers in roles below RQF Level 6 mainly social care workers could face up to 15 additional years before they qualify for settlement.

• This is despite the fact that care workers were invited to the UK to fill urgent shortages during and after COVID-19.

Statement from Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya, CEO of Tulia Group CIC

“To move the finish line on settlement now is a direct blow to the migrants and carers who have held this nation together through crisis, through pandemic, and through chronic shortages. These proposals are not about fairness or integration. They are about creating a permanent underclass of people whose lives are tied to insecurity, employer-dependence, and fear.”

“For a mother, a student, a care worker, or a refugee rebuilding their life, ten to twenty years is not policy. It is a lifetime. It is children growing up without certainty, families unable to plan, and workers who serve this country daily being told they are still not worthy of belonging.”

“Punishing people for becoming ill, for escaping persecution, or for needing temporary support is not justice. Extending settlement for carers the very people Britain begged to come after COVID is not gratitude. It is a betrayal.”

Why This Matters

Migrants and carers are not statistics. They are:

• The hands that lift our elderly out of bed,

• The support for our NHS,

• The workers stabilising homes, hospitals, and communities,

• Refugees who survived trauma and are rebuilding from zero.

To extend their insecurity for 10, 15, or even 20 years is socially harmful, economically irrational, and morally indefensible.

What Needs to Happen

1. These proposals must be challenged

Community organisations, leaders, carers, and migrants must raise their voices. Silence will be seen as consent.

2. Migrants and carers must prepare evidence now

• Keep records of employment, tax, training, and community contribution.

• Document any vulnerabilities, safeguarding issues, or exploitation.

• Keep copies of every visa, payslip, CoS, and employer communication.

3. Contact your MP immediately

Ask them to oppose extending settlement timelines and to defend a fair, humane migration system.

4. Stand in solidarity

Join networks, speak up, and support organisations advocating for migrants, carers, and refugees.

5. Tulia will continue to support and advise

We remain committed to providing:

• Clear immigration guidance,

• Advocacy support,

• Social justice messaging,

• And a safe space for migrant voices

For more ways to join this movement and to be more involved please visit Hands of Justice .