Your Rights

You have the right to protest#

Everyone in the UK (including migrants with leave to remain) has the legal right to protest, attend demonstrations, join trade unions, and express political opinions. That right is protected by the Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law.[1]

Article 10: Freedom of Expression

You have the right to hold opinions and share them freely, including speaking at public meetings, posting political views on social media, sharing images from protests, and taking part in campaigns.

Article 11: Freedom of Assembly and Association

You have the right to gather with others for a common purpose: marches, vigils and demonstrations, joining campaign groups and trade unions, and organising collectively.

The UK's obligations in international law extend the same freedom of assembly and association to migrant workers, including the right to join a trade union.[14]

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These rights have limits#

Articles 10 and 11 are qualified rights: they can be restricted by law. Any restriction must be:

written into law

necessary in a democratic society

proportionate to what it's trying to achieve[2]

Restrictions are allowed to protect national security, public safety, public order, health, or other people's rights. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 significantly extended police powers at protests and created new offences. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 added more, and its protest provisions came into force on 29 June 2026. The practical effect is more grounds for arrest, for people of any background.[3]

Those powers are directed at the effect a protest can have on people who are not taking part. The Public Order Act 2023 defines serious disruption by reference to physical obstruction of people's day-to-day activities, including journeys, and to disruption of access to essential goods and services such as food, water, energy, transport and health services.[24]

Since June 2026 a senior officer must also take account of the cumulative disruption caused by other protests in the same area, whether already held or still to come, and even where those protests have different organisers and different people attending. A protest that would not on its own reach the threshold can therefore attract conditions because of what else has been happening nearby.[26]

The qualification also works in the other direction. For offences carrying a defence of lawful excuse, such as obstruction of the highway, the Supreme Court has held that a court must consider whether convicting would be a proportionate interference with Articles 10 and 11. That does not apply to every protest offence, but where it does, taking part in a protest is capable of amounting to a lawful excuse.[25]

What this means at an actual protest is covered in 'What Can Happen at a Protest'.

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Why it matters more if you have leave to remain#

If a British citizen is arrested at a protest and not charged, a criminal record can affect their job, but it cannot affect their right to stay in the UK, because they do not need permission to be here.

For people with leave to remain, the same events reach further:

• Accepting a caution is an admission of guilt. It counts against visa renewals and ILR applications
• A conviction can lead to a refusal of settlement or citizenship on good character grounds
• A prison sentence of 12 months or more triggers automatic deportation proceedings[4]

These things do not happen automatically in every case, but they are real possibilities.

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Being asked to prove your status#

You may be asked to prove your status, at a police station or later by the Home Office. Not having your documents to hand is not the same as not having status, but it can cause delay. Keep copies of your visa or share code, your passport and any Home Office correspondence somewhere you can reach quickly, including from your phone.

What each of these means in practice is covered in 'How It Affects Your Immigration Status'.