The Destitution Cycle
The people who come to Praxis are often forced into needless destitution and crisis by the UK immigration system. Every time someone makes an application for leave to enter or remain in the UK, a fee must be paid to the Home Office. This can often apply to people who were born in the UK, or have lived their whole lives here.
On average people pay £2,600 every two and a half years to renew their visa. While many people are in work and able to save to pay these fees, this process traps those who are struggling. Without leave, people are not able to work, access healthcare, rent property or hold a bank account. They are also immediately cut off from accessing the support they would need to navigate this crisis, including universal credit, housing benefit and state pension.
Francisca and Chloe are immigration advisers at Praxis. For years they have been supporting people to access the guidance, advice and support they need to leave destitution and crisis. Today they talk to us about the devastating impact of immigration policies and the Home Office fees that push people into poverty.
Francisca: Since the beginning of the pandemic I have mostly supported single mothers and children who needed help to renew their visas. This is a process that many people must go through every two and a half years. Each time, they have to pay very high fees, including the Immigration Health Surcharge. As a result, for a family of four it can cost more than ten thousand pounds for each round of applications; how can a single mother possibly save that amount?
There is a way to apply for a fee waiver, but to qualify for it, an applicant needs to prove that they can’t afford to pay the fee. I recently helped a woman who had to extend visas for herself and her children. Since she had money in her bank account which she had saved for her children’s education, she didn’t qualify for a fee waiver. The money for her children’s future had to be used to cover the Home Office fees, so her family could retain their legal status in the UK. The children’s education fund got back to zero.
“If people can’t get the right support they need to renew their visa, they lose everything: work, their homes, everything.”
Fortunately, we were able to provide her with free, specialist support to renew her visa. Because of cuts to Legal Aid, there is almost no support available, and these are complex applications – not the kind of thing you can do on your own. If people can’t get the support they need to renew their visa, they risk losing everything: work, their homes, everything.
When you lose your visa and become undocumented, it’s incredibly difficult to rebuild your life as there is almost no support available. And even when families are entitled to support for their children they are often afraid to access it, as fear of being detained and forcibly removed from the UK overrides everything else. For example, families living in poverty may not ask for support from their local authority or for Free School Meals from their school, because they are terrified of these agencies sharing data with the Home Office.
When people don’t have papers, they often rely on friends and family to survive. During the pandemic, we saw the informal arrangements that kept people off the streets collapse. We’ve had cases where people ended up on the streets for the first time after years of being accommodated by friends. They had lost everything, and on top of that were terrified that with nowhere to go, they were unable to protect themselves from the virus.
Chloe: When someone ends up on the streets, it’s incredibly difficult for them to find a way out. The immigration system is complex and people need expert support to understand their legal situation and find long-term pathways out of homelessness. Not all local authorities are equipped to give this advice and accessing support often comes down to who you speak to at the council, on what day, at what time. And when you live on the streets, what are the chances of success when you’re trying to make calls with 15% battery on your phone while it’s raining? If you don’t have someone advocating on your behalf it can be very difficult - if not impossible - to get support.
“A gentleman I supported recently had to immediately start saving £200 a month just so he could renew his visa when it was due again. ”
Many people I support have been sleeping rough for a very long time, and have lost hope. Many have tried to resolve their immigration status in the past, with no success, and have become resigned to living without leave to remain and in a situation of destitution.
As Francisca mentioned, those who do get leave to remain, often have to renew it every two and a half years. A gentleman I supported recently had to immediately start saving £200 a month just so he could renew his visa. How can you be expected to save that kind of money when you are just getting off the streets? And then the cycle begins again - the moment they miss the deadline by 24 hours that’s it, it’s over, they’ve lost everything again.
Francisca and Chloe are part of our advice team. Thanks to the generous support of funders, Praxis runs an open access advice service which provides legal advice to support people to navigate the immigration system and leave crisis. We support individuals and families in need to understand their options and access the immigration, housing and benefits support they need to live in safety.
At Praxis we work to ensure that everyone can live in safety and dignity, no matter where they were born. If you would like to know how to get involved sign up to our newsletter today.