Dr Anna Tuckett responded to the Home Affairs Committee Inquiry into Routes to Settlement. Her evidence focussed on the negative impacts of migrants holding temporary and insecure statuses for extended periods of time.
Drawing on her research into migrants’ navigation of Italian immigration law and bureaucracy, and on immigration advice services in the UK, with a particular focus on informal citizenship classes which prepare applicants for the Life in the UK test, highlights of her evidence are:
- Longer routes and stricter requirements for settlement result in migrants holding temporary and insecure statuses for a prolonged period of time.
- Longer routes and stricter requirements will have detrimental financial consequences for migrant households.
- Temporary and insecure legal status leads to reduced social and career mobility for migrants.
- Immigration regimes with temporary permit systems lead to increased numbers of “undocumented” migrants.
See Dr Tuckett’s full evidence submission here (published by the committee in January 2026)