Women who have insecure immigration status - Practical Help - Domestic Violence Forum - The London borough of Barking and Dagenham.

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Women who have insecure immigration status

It is much more difficult to get a place in a refuge if you are have no income and are not entitled to claim benefits (e.g. you are precluded from claiming benefits because your immigration status means that you have 'no recourse to public funds').

A small number of refuges are willing to take women without recourse to public funds but it is often difficult to get one of these limited places. You can contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline for further information on this (Tel: 0808 2000 247).

Some social services departments are also able to pay the rent (and a basic living allowance) for women without recourse to public funds but this support can be difficult to get. Social Services have clear duties towards all 'children in need' under The Children Act (1989) which means that they have a duty of care towards children made homeless by domestic violence.

However they do not have clear duties towards adults with insecure immigration status unless they can prove that they are 'vulnerable' (e.g. they are pregnant or disabled). This sometimes means that social services are unwilling to help women with insecure immigration status who are fleeing domestic violence even if they have children.

It may be more helpful to get an experienced voluntary sector worker to go with you to social services rather than going there on your own so that they can support you (advocate for you) in asking social services for help. You could contact one of the following specialist agencies for further information and/or support in this area:

Southall Black Sisters - 020 8571 9595

Joint Council on the Welfare of Immigrants - 020 7251 8706

National Domestic Violence Helpline - 0808 2000 247

Newham Asian Women's Project - 020 8472 0528 or 020 8552 5524

Immigration Advisory Service - 020 7967 1200

Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner (OISC) - 020 7211 1500

If you have been sponsored to come to the U.K. by your abusive (ex) partner but have not yet secured long term (indefinite) leave to remain in the UK you should seek specialist legal advice about your circumstances.

If you are able to prove that your relationship has broken down within the two year period of time you are required by the home office to be in the relationship in order to secure your long-term stay, you may yourself be entitled to make a direct application for 'indefinite leave to remain' in the UK. The agencies listed above can give you further advice on this.

If you are currently in an abusive relationship and your leave to remain in the UK is dependent upon that relationship you should try to talk to as many appropriate agencies as possible about the domestic violence in case you end up splitting up due to the violence.

You should consider talking to your G.P. (local doctor) about the violence. This would be confidential unless you asked your G.P. to write a letter to another agency about what has happened. You could also talk to a local refuge worker (this is also confidential) and may wish to involve the police (please see separate section on the criminal justice system for further information about how the police can help). If you have concerns about the safety of your children you can also contact your local social services department.

Please see separate section on children if you would like further information on this.

If you are an asylum seeker and your relationship breaks down there is no provision for a prior 'dependant' of an asylum applicant to be supported separately under the Interim or the Support Regulations. In that situation it appears that you would need to make your own application for asylum.

NB NASS have clear casework instructions to staff on how to respond to reports of domestic violence in connection with a NASS accommodated asylum seeker. This includes a requirement that any accommodation providers (included those sub-contracted) must have clear statements on domestic violence policy and procedure that conform to the requirements of their policy bulletin (agreed by the home office). Accommodation providers must:

give paramount importance to the safety of victims of abuse and their children,
inform residents of local advice and support agencies that can help people who suffer domestic violence,
warn offenders of the possible consequences, including prosecution and loss of their accommodation and support,
maintain emergency response arrangements that are capable of reacting to a crisis situation such as when a victim leaves their home,
consider the needs of children (with reference to policy bulletin on child protection),
install safety and security devices to protect and reassure victims in their
accommodation,
with the consent of the victim, report incidents to NASS investigations team leader
without delay
liaise with local networks and agencies including police, social services, health
services, solicitors, refuges and other voluntary organisations, and be aware of their policies and practices
contribute to case conferences, and arrange for an interpreter to attend if the victim asks for an interpreter.
Ensure that a victim and any children are transferred to alternative accommodation that is safe and secure. The accommodation provider does not require NASS' prior consent in order to transfer a victim and any children to alternative accommodation that is safe and secure for the, when the victim believes they cannot in the interests of their safety return to their previous accommodation. But the provider should report a transfer to NASS without delay for the purpose of the record of how accommodation is allocated.
The provider should inform the victim that the reasonable costs of alternative accommodation can be met by NASS but that for this purpose NASS must be informed of their circumstances and address.
NASS should pay the reasonable costs of alternative accommodation provided or a reasonable contribution towards that cost. Reasonable costs are the income that the manager/landlord of the alternative accommodation can show that they regularly receive from rents/housing benefits and supporting people grant in respect of a resident who is not an asylum seeker, and that are not receivable in respect of a resident who is an asylum seeker.
When the victim's alternative accommodation is found informally with a friend or someone who does not regularly accommodate the victims of domestic violence, then NASS should make a reasonable contribution to any additional costs falling to the person providing the alternative accommodation.

NB For full details of this policy bulletin (Policy Bulletin 70)

Women who have insecure immigration status |

What is my legal status in the UK |

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Barking and Dagenham Domestic Violence Forum