Freddy, not his real name, arrived the UK illegally in 2017. He has shared how he lives “under the radar” as the UK tightens its borders with the Illegal Migration Act and the Rwanda law.
The terms “undocumented”, “irregular” and “illegal ” are used interchangeably to refer to people arriving in the UK without proper documentation by small boats, planes or lorries, people who hold a valid visa and stayed after it expired – the so-called “visa overstayers”– and asylum seekers who remained in the UK after their petition was refused.
Freddy entered the UK in a lorry with only the clothes he was wearing, his phone and some money.
He attempted the journey into the UK twice. On the first occasion, he was caught by immigration officers when a dog sniffed him and other migrants hiding in a lorry. He was sent to Spain.
From there, he payed a smuggler 10-11 thousand pounds to travel to France and cross into the UK under a lorry. He was successful.
How do irregular migrants get healthcare, accommodation or a job?
The UK Government warns that migrants entering the country illegally could be forced into slavery, trafficking or dangerous situations. They may also have problems with healthcare, renting accommodation or getting a job.
“Hopefully I’m never going to feel sick. I mean, you can go [to the hospital], but you need to fake your name and the date of birth. You just give a name of someone who got a visa”. Freddy says that hospitals usually don’t ask for ID, but there’s always a risk of getting caught.
For accommodation, Freddy says there are landlords willing to provide housing even though it’s a criminal offence to rent property to an undocumented migrant.
He sees the issues with the situation. “People abuse. Once they know that you don’t have papers, they’re going to knock on the door at any moment and they’re going to say: ‘Okay, the rent is up’. They are just going to do it to get money from you”.
Freddy says he’s helped friends leave their apartments in the middle of the night because landlords asked for much higher rent or immediate eviction.
“You can go [to the hospital], but you need to fake your name and the date of birth. You just give a name of someone who got a visa.”
– Freddy
“And about the jobs, you might find some jobs [on the] black” (getting payed in cash and without declaring it to tax authorities). Freddy works in construction and says some employers will take advantage of undocumented migrants. “They’re gonna say like: ‘Well, I’m helping you, so you can work for £110, and £20 pound can be, for me’. As a paying the favour, basically”.
But he’s not afraid of not getting any money for his work because his friends help him find jobs with employers known for paying irregular migrants. “Sometimes [it] even happens [that] people don’t pay you, but even they are kind of scared. I can call the police and say that this guy has the people [working on the black], he’s going to have issues more than me”.
In February 2024, the fines for employers hiring undocumented workers increased from £15,000 to £45,000 per worker. And migrants who are discovered working without proper documentation can be sentenced to up to six months in prison and sent back to their country of nationality or origin.
Why didn’t Freddy come to the UK legally?
“Everybody says: ‘You can go and apply for a visa, a skilled [worker] visa. You need to [have finished] university. You need to have a good job back home”, says Freddy. He didn’t go to university because he had to work for ‘surviving’.
Freddy couldn’t seek asylum either. His home homeland is considered a ‘safe European country’ by the UK government.
Anna Gavala from the Migrant Right’s Network says that migrants who don’t qualify for legal and safe routes into the UK are pushed to take unsafe ones: “For someone to put their life at risk, to come to the UK, it means that they had no choice but to do that. There’s a number of things that people are escaping from. It could be persecution, economic instability, conflict, colonial legacies, lack of opportunity, lack of an ability to survive and live a full life.”
“For someone to put their life at risk, to come to the UK, it means that they had no choice but to do that.”
– Anna Gavala, Migrant Right’s Network
Freddy came to the UK for a “better life, supporting family, helping back home”, because –he says– the situation in his country is “terrible”.
Christine, not her real name, is Freddy’s partner and a visa holder in the UK. She came to the UK for similar reasons, and sees how having a visa can change things.
“I’m doing a career, and I’m wondering, like, he wants to grow up as well, on [his] job. You don’t want to see your partner stuck. So that’s the thing that keeps you, sometimes, a little bit stuck as well. Because you are growing up, but the partner is not.”
Christine says she knows how much Freddy would like to specialise himself on architecture or design, but he will not be able to because of his status.
Stop the boats: UK’s fight on illegal migration
Robert McNeil, deputy director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, says that “a large number of irregular arrivals in the UK are not going to be recorded at all because they will happen in a clandestine manner. There’s been a particular shift in the UK towards a focus on small boat arrivals because they’re visible.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to ‘stop the boats’. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP)
To stop irregular crossings into the UK, the government implemented the Illegal Migration Act 2023. It came into effect on the 20th of July.
Since then, undocumented migrants arriving in the UK can no longer seek asylum in the country. Instead, migrants will be sent to a safe country that will consider their asylum claims. The only safe country identified for now is Rwanda.
The Rwanda Bill, which declares the African nation a safe country to send asylum seekers to, was approved by parliament on 22 April. It received royal assent and became law on 25 April.
Migrants crossing from France to the UK after the British government approved the Rwanda bill to deport migrants that enter illegally to the African nation. (Prefecture Maritime du Nord et de la Manche via AP)
Philip Nathan, an immigration barrister, says the UK’s law has raised concerns internationally, for example, at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“UNHCR and others all said [that] Rwanda’s judicial system is not robust enough. It’s very much controlled by central government, and they are not very good at determining asylum claims. Invariably, people do get refused asylum and do get removed to their country of origin, where they may well be at risk. The asylum process in Rwanda inadequate.”
The UK’s Supreme Court also ruled the plan unlawful last November.
The UK Government answered the Supreme Court’s concerns and assured that Rwanda is a safe country, and that the nation will take measures to reinforce its asylum system. The UK Government said it would make sure that migrants sent to Rwanda who don’t get refugee status or humanitarian protection, will still have to stay there permanently.
Will people intensify their efforts to enter the UK through unsafe routes as a result of the Rwanda law?
“It motivates irregularity, yeah” –says Robert McNeil, from the Migration Observatory in Oxford– “which potentially then creates risks of exploitation and other major problems. Migration is a thing that has always happened. It happens as a response to crises, commonly. It’s not in itself a fundamental crisis.”
Mr McNeil says that people find ways over restrictions and find ways to enter the country, “because at the end of the day, the choices that people have if they are relentlessly bad in the places from which they are starting are going to mean that the choices that people are going to make are always going to be to try to find a better option for themselves. And trying to stop people doing that isn’t going to isn’t going to achieve much other than just to reinforce cruelty and unpleasantness.”
“Migration is a thing that has always happened. It happens as a response to crises, commonly. It’s not in itself a fundamental crisis.” –Robert McNeil, Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Migrants might opt to live under the radar, just as Freddy does, and await an opportunity to legalise their status in the country.
Philip Nathan, immigration barrister, says that irregular migrants can obtain documentation after 20 years of living in the UK: “If you’ve had any criminal offending or anything like that, then you’ll be excluded on what they call ‘suitability criteria’. But if you effectively keep your nose clean for those 20 years, you’re then able to regularise your position in the UK. But it means living 20 years under the radar in very difficult circumstances”.
Freddy has been living in the UK for six years. He sees his future in the UK and has no intentions of going back to his country of origin. This means that under current legislation, he must keep living under the radar for the next 14 years before he can obtain documentation.
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Standfirst
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HeadlineWhat’s it like to live as an undocumented migrant in the UK?
Short HeadlineLife as an undocumented migrant in the UK
StandfirstAs the UK enforces stronger policies against illegal migration, will people intensify their efforts to enter the UK through unsafe routes?
Freddy, not his real name, arrived the UK illegally in 2017. He has shared how he lives “under the radar” as the UK tightens its borders with the Illegal Migration Act and the Rwanda law.
The terms “undocumented”, “irregular” and “illegal ” are used interchangeably to refer to people arriving in the UK without proper documentation by small boats, planes or lorries, people who hold a valid visa and stayed after it expired – the so-called “visa overstayers”– and asylum seekers who remained in the UK after their petition was refused.
Freddy entered the UK in a lorry with only the clothes he was wearing, his phone and some money.
He attempted the journey into the UK twice. On the first occasion, he was caught by immigration officers when a dog sniffed him and other migrants hiding in a lorry. He was sent to Spain.
From there, he payed a smuggler 10-11 thousand pounds to travel to France and cross into the UK under a lorry. He was successful.
How do irregular migrants get healthcare, accommodation or a job?
The UK Government warns that migrants entering the country illegally could be forced into slavery, trafficking or dangerous situations. They may also have problems with healthcare, renting accommodation or getting a job.
“Hopefully I’m never going to feel sick. I mean, you can go [to the hospital], but you need to fake your name and the date of birth. You just give a name of someone who got a visa”. Freddy says that hospitals usually don’t ask for ID, but there’s always a risk of getting caught.
For accommodation, Freddy says there are landlords willing to provide housing even though it’s a criminal offence to rent property to an undocumented migrant.
He sees the issues with the situation. “People abuse. Once they know that you don’t have papers, they’re going to knock on the door at any moment and they’re going to say: ‘Okay, the rent is up’. They are just going to do it to get money from you”.
Freddy says he’s helped friends leave their apartments in the middle of the night because landlords asked for much higher rent or immediate eviction.
“You can go [to the hospital], but you need to fake your name and the date of birth. You just give a name of someone who got a visa.”
– Freddy
“And about the jobs, you might find some jobs [on the] black” (getting payed in cash and without declaring it to tax authorities). Freddy works in construction and says some employers will take advantage of undocumented migrants. “They’re gonna say like: ‘Well, I’m helping you, so you can work for £110, and £20 pound can be, for me’. As a paying the favour, basically”.
But he’s not afraid of not getting any money for his work because his friends help him find jobs with employers known for paying irregular migrants. “Sometimes [it] even happens [that] people don’t pay you, but even they are kind of scared. I can call the police and say that this guy has the people [working on the black], he’s going to have issues more than me”.
In February 2024, the fines for employers hiring undocumented workers increased from £15,000 to £45,000 per worker. And migrants who are discovered working without proper documentation can be sentenced to up to six months in prison and sent back to their country of nationality or origin.
Why didn’t Freddy come to the UK legally?
“Everybody says: ‘You can go and apply for a visa, a skilled [worker] visa. You need to [have finished] university. You need to have a good job back home”, says Freddy. He didn’t go to university because he had to work for ‘surviving’.
Freddy couldn’t seek asylum either. His home homeland is considered a ‘safe European country’ by the UK government.
Anna Gavala from the Migrant Right’s Network says that migrants who don’t qualify for legal and safe routes into the UK are pushed to take unsafe ones: “For someone to put their life at risk, to come to the UK, it means that they had no choice but to do that. There’s a number of things that people are escaping from. It could be persecution, economic instability, conflict, colonial legacies, lack of opportunity, lack of an ability to survive and live a full life.”
“For someone to put their life at risk, to come to the UK, it means that they had no choice but to do that.”
– Anna Gavala, Migrant Right’s Network
Freddy came to the UK for a “better life, supporting family, helping back home”, because –he says– the situation in his country is “terrible”.
Christine, not her real name, is Freddy’s partner and a visa holder in the UK. She came to the UK for similar reasons, and sees how having a visa can change things.
“I’m doing a career, and I’m wondering, like, he wants to grow up as well, on [his] job. You don’t want to see your partner stuck. So that’s the thing that keeps you, sometimes, a little bit stuck as well. Because you are growing up, but the partner is not.”
Christine says she knows how much Freddy would like to specialise himself on architecture or design, but he will not be able to because of his status.
Stop the boats: UK’s fight on illegal migration
Robert McNeil, deputy director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, says that “a large number of irregular arrivals in the UK are not going to be recorded at all because they will happen in a clandestine manner. There’s been a particular shift in the UK towards a focus on small boat arrivals because they’re visible.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to ‘stop the boats’. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP)
To stop irregular crossings into the UK, the government implemented the Illegal Migration Act 2023. It came into effect on the 20th of July.
Since then, undocumented migrants arriving in the UK can no longer seek asylum in the country. Instead, migrants will be sent to a safe country that will consider their asylum claims. The only safe country identified for now is Rwanda.
The Rwanda Bill, which declares the African nation a safe country to send asylum seekers to, was approved by parliament on 22 April. It received royal assent and became law on 25 April.
Migrants crossing from France to the UK after the British government approved the Rwanda bill to deport migrants that enter illegally to the African nation. (Prefecture Maritime du Nord et de la Manche via AP)
Philip Nathan, an immigration barrister, says the UK’s law has raised concerns internationally, for example, at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“UNHCR and others all said [that] Rwanda’s judicial system is not robust enough. It’s very much controlled by central government, and they are not very good at determining asylum claims. Invariably, people do get refused asylum and do get removed to their country of origin, where they may well be at risk. The asylum process in Rwanda inadequate.”
The UK’s Supreme Court also ruled the plan unlawful last November.
The UK Government answered the Supreme Court’s concerns and assured that Rwanda is a safe country, and that the nation will take measures to reinforce its asylum system. The UK Government said it would make sure that migrants sent to Rwanda who don’t get refugee status or humanitarian protection, will still have to stay there permanently.
Will people intensify their efforts to enter the UK through unsafe routes as a result of the Rwanda law?
“It motivates irregularity, yeah” –says Robert McNeil, from the Migration Observatory in Oxford– “which potentially then creates risks of exploitation and other major problems. Migration is a thing that has always happened. It happens as a response to crises, commonly. It’s not in itself a fundamental crisis.”
Mr McNeil says that people find ways over restrictions and find ways to enter the country, “because at the end of the day, the choices that people have if they are relentlessly bad in the places from which they are starting are going to mean that the choices that people are going to make are always going to be to try to find a better option for themselves. And trying to stop people doing that isn’t going to isn’t going to achieve much other than just to reinforce cruelty and unpleasantness.”
“Migration is a thing that has always happened. It happens as a response to crises, commonly. It’s not in itself a fundamental crisis.” –Robert McNeil, Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Migrants might opt to live under the radar, just as Freddy does, and await an opportunity to legalise their status in the country.
Philip Nathan, immigration barrister, says that irregular migrants can obtain documentation after 20 years of living in the UK: “If you’ve had any criminal offending or anything like that, then you’ll be excluded on what they call ‘suitability criteria’. But if you effectively keep your nose clean for those 20 years, you’re then able to regularise your position in the UK. But it means living 20 years under the radar in very difficult circumstances”.
Freddy has been living in the UK for six years. He sees his future in the UK and has no intentions of going back to his country of origin. This means that under current legislation, he must keep living under the radar for the next 14 years before he can obtain documentation.
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