Ilona Pinter, spoke to EU Reports, highlight the “huge financial pressures” faced by migrants- including thousands of pounds in Home Office fees and the Immigration Health surcharge 

She noted that extending routes to settlement could have serious consequences for children, saying that families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) cannot access child-specific benefits such as Child Benefit, Scottish Child Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Child Disability Payment, or most childcare support. 

Migrant households in these situations are particularly vulnerable during periods of hardship, including redundancy, illness, or bereavement. Changes to the eligibility criteria for ILR could therefore affect the development and well-being of children in migrant households. 

“Children with foreign-born parents are already more likely to face poverty, including deep poverty, than their peers — part of this is because of ‘no recourse to public funds’ restrictions,” said Dr Pinter. 

“Extending the routes to settlement for more children will mean that more are prevented from accessing this vital support and will remain in poverty,” she added. 

Find out more from the EU Reports article.