Call For Action- Email Your MP, Support Syrians Trapped Under ILR Scheme

Please contact your MP in support of Syrian refugees whose ILR applications (Indefinite Leave to Remain) – normally decided within six months – have been suspended for over 16 months.

Affected Syrian families face difficulties proving their status, generating share codes, changing jobs, progressing in higher education, travelling for study or work, renting accommodation, obtaining mortgages, and planning family life. Their concerns are heightened by the current instability in Syria and the wider Middle East.

Contact your MP using the below template.

You can find your MP here: https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

 

Email Subject: Vulnerable Syrians Trapped Under ILR Scheme

[Your full name]

[Your full address]

[Postcode]

[Date]

 

Dear [MP name],

I am writing to you as your constituent to ask for your urgent assistance regarding the prolonged delays affecting Syrian refugees who have applied for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the Settlement Protection route.

I am supporting this matter because it is directly affecting individuals within my local community who are awaiting decisions on their ILR applications and are facing ongoing uncertainty, and I am deeply concerned by what now appears to be a wider pattern affecting many Syrian applicants across the UK.

A large number of Syrian refugees completed five years of refugee status and then applied for Settlement Protection, expecting their applications to be decided through the normal route within six months. However, many have instead faced long delays (up to 2 years), during which they may receive a formal letter from the Home Office indicating that it is considering reviewing or withdrawing their refugee status and inviting them to respond (NOI), repeated requests for evidence, and in some cases, lengthy interviews focused on whether Syria is now supposedly safe for return. At the same time, Syrians who came through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement VPR (as opposed to those who claimed asylum after entering the UK) have begun receiving ILR, which gives rise to clear concerns regarding unequal and inconsistent treatment.

This prolonged uncertainty is causing real harm. It affects family life, mental wellbeing, employment, travel, housing stability, and the ability to plan for the future.

With the above, I would be very grateful if you could please:

1. Write to Minister Alex Norris in support of a collective request submitted by 306 affected Syrians on 9 April 2026 to meet with him, and urge him to accept the meeting request (copy of meeting request is included in Annex I below, signatures have been omitted for data protection);
2. Write to the Home Office seeking clarification on why Syrian Settlement Protection applications continue to face such prolonged delays, as well as whether there is a policy difference for reviewing Syrian VPR cases versus other Syrian refugee cases;
3. Submit a written Parliamentary question regarding the current handling, delays, and policy approach to Syrian SET P / ILR applications.

I would be grateful for any assistance you can provide and for any updates you receive from the Home Office.

Yours sincerely,

[Your full name]

[Your full address]

 

Annex I: Copy of meeting request submitted to Minister Alex Norris on 9 April 2026 through the Syrian British Consortium and Rethink Rebuild Society, signed by 306 affected Syrians (signatures have been omitted for data protection purposes):

9 April 2026

Dear Alex Norris MP,

We hope this message finds you well.

We, the undersigned, are writing to request an urgent meeting with yourself to discuss the situation of Syrian refugees in the United Kingdom who have applied for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and have been affected by the suspension of decisions following the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024.

This suspension has effectively placed our lives on hold, creating difficulties in proving our status, generating share codes, changing jobs, progressing in higher education, travelling for study or work, renting accommodation, obtaining mortgages, planning family life, and/or managing the anxiety caused by repeated uncertainty over our future.

While developments in Syria are ongoing, the country remains unstable and faces a long and uncertain path toward recovery and reconstruction. Returning is neither viable nor safe for us.

We have found in the United Kingdom a safe home and a refuge. We are committed to continuing our lives here, contributing positively to British society, and building a stable future for ourselves and our families.

We look forward to meeting with you to discuss these issues in greater depth, and to obtain greater clarity regarding the steps that will be taken towards resolving our pending applications in a fair and timely manner.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Signed: