Living in the shadows

At least 600,000 illegal and irregular migrants are thought to be living an 'underground' subsistence.

Officially they don't exist, yet they work, live and are among us every day.

They are not registered with the health system or pay taxes and if they do work, they are often exploited.

Some may have entered legally through legitimate channels such as student or work visas and have since breached their visa conditions; others may be refused asylum seekers who have not yet returned home.

Renewed calls for an amnesty for these people 'living in limbo' surfaced when Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, commissioned a report which calculated the economic value of these migrants if they were to be regularised.

Who is eligible for the proposed amnesty?

Strangers into Citizens rally in May 2009

The lobby group, Strangers into Citizens believe an amnesty will free thousands of cases backlogged in the system and allow them work legally and contribute through taxes.

They insist that only those who fulfil specific criteria will be eligible for the grant of Indefinite Leave to Remain with a pathway to Citizenship.

Spokesperson Jonny Scott describes those requirements:

Jonny Scott

Mr Scott argues that regardless of the number of refused asylum seekers still here in Britain, they should not be given priority when it comes to awarding citizenship in an amnesty.

“The amnesty should be applied for all people who fall under the criteria of citizenship, rather than under the criteria of how or why they came and managed to remain here.

“If they can prove their worth and abide by those conditions, it's only fair that the playing field should be level,” he said.

'Need for more border control'

UKIP's Member of the European Parliament Trevor Coleman believes an amnesty may be the only answer to the problem but measures need to be put in place so the issue does not manifest again.

Trevor Coleman

"I do appreciate that these people need to be accommodated into this country but we must do something to avoid having to make these decisions again and again.

"Since we joined the European Union we have allowed ourselves to become involved in an open door policy.

"We need to take control of our borders again," he said.

Is it the only practical solution?

Julian Prior

Julian Prior from Opendoor and the Centre for Social Justice admits that although there is a danger of an amnesty undermining the credibility of the whole system, it could be the only practical solution.

“To look at doing an amnesty without solving some of the problems which create a backlog is putting the cart before the horse so we need to solve some of those problems first.  

“At some point, however, pragmatically we need to look at releasing so many people from an underground world and such poverty and destitution,” he said.

Home Office response

The Home Office object to any calls for an amnesty.

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said:

"There will be no amnesty; those here illegally should go home.

"We have a proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those who truly need our help, but to grant an amnesty would create a significant pull factor to the UK and would undermine the asylum system as a whole."