
The University of Manchester UCU strongly condemns the Labour government’s immigration white paper, published on 12th May. The white paper proposes, amongst other changes, to lengthen the pathway to settlement from five to ten years; to raise the salary threshold for skilled worker visas; to shorten the graduate work visa from 2-3 years to 18 months; and to introduce greater surveillance of international students.
Since 2009, successive Labour and Conservative governments have created an increasingly hostile environment for migrant staff and students. This has thrown lives and plans into upheaval whilst fanning the flames of racism and xenophobia. Amidst the increasing precarity of the HE sector at large, migrant students face cripplingly high visa and tuition fees, regular scrutiny of their attendance, restrictions on their ability to work, and separation from their dependents. Migrant staff face heightened scrutiny at work because their visa status is often tied to their employer. Beyond the university, migrants are profiled in a wide range of everyday activities, from opening a bank account to renting a flat. The hostile environment is particularly severe for racially minoritised migrants and those from the global South.
This government, like its predecessors, now proposes to make the UK an even less welcoming, more brutal place for migrant staff and students. In so doing, it has already spread fear and dismay amongst migrants who are uncertain how the new rules might affect their status.
We call for the national UCU to listen to and support migrant staff and students in its public statements and policy, for universities to oppose the hostile environment, and for the government to rescind the immigration white paper.