The UK’s immigration system needs to change to protect women.

Eleanor Baldwin is a features writer for the Immigration Advice Service; an organisation of UK, US and Ireland immigration lawyers.

As part and parcel of the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ policy, No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) has severely ramped up in the last decade, inflicting a profound impact that can lead to destitution for thousands of vulnerable migrant families. The Children’s Society reports that around 142,000 children are in households with NRPF as up to 1 million law-abiding and mostly working migrant adults are affected.

Although Boris Johnson shockingly appeared to be unaware of the scheme's existence, one study by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford and the Institute for Public Policy Research predicts that over 100,000 of those barred from receiving public funds may face unemployment as a result of the crisis. Yet the policy has long plunged migrant women and their children into financial hardship – an aspect to which many researchers looking into the adverse affect of NRPF can often miss.

The hardship faced by so many migrant women affected by NRPF can be exemplified by the case of an eight-year-old boy who had endured extreme poverty his whole life. The boy’s mother arrived in the UK over 10 years ago, yet as a carer on a low-wage, the prohibition on benefits has forced the mother and child into street homelessness. And the case is not the only of its kind: 6 in 10 families who request Section 17 support from their local authorities to help children in need are denied with reports of councils even threatening to take away applicant’s children.

Migrant women are often facing the brunt of this blanket denial. Women are not only more likely to become single parents than men, but they also make up the majority of unemployed people with NRPF. Of those applying to have NRPF lifted, 85% are single mothers according to a study by Unity Project, in which the majority of the 66 people surveyed (90%) were women and children who could not afford to eat a hot and nutritious meal for at least one day.

Further to this, migrant women are also more likely to endure domestic violence, yet the majority cannot cannot access support services as a consequence of NRPF. Since often bed spaces are funded by welfare support, migrant victims of abuse are often turned away from a safe space to sleep. As for pregnant migrant women, the Unity Project found in its report Access Denied that expectant mothers were staying in work significantly longer before and even after the birth. Even with Statutory Maternity Pay afforded by their employer, migrant pregant women have little financial support – and with the cost of a newborn baby to attend to, the maximum allowance of maternity pay is not enough.

For undocumented migrant women or women who have had their asylum claim rejected, pregnancy can be extraordinarly difficult. Without legal papers to remain in the UK, undocumented people are prohibited from public funds, barred from entering employment and cannot even rent a property. Yet in the event of pregnancy, antenatal and postnatal care appointments can cost upwards of £7,000. As such, pregnant undocumented women have even refused to attend hospital checkups or seek medical attention for serious pregnancy complications. Whatever the Home Office’s reasoning for rejecting a pregnant woman’s claim for Refugee Status, it cannot be justified that an unborn child must be put in grave jeopardy.

But the strife doesn’t end there. Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery is sadly all too common in the UK, but once again, women and children are most likely to face this severe form of exploitation: 2 in 3 survivors are women and 1 in 4 are children. And still, victims cannot access public funds and instead rely on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for financial aid. However, similarly to the majority of cases requiring council support, victims are turned away. As many as 752 people were refused NRM aid between 2015-2017, marking them at increased risk of trafficking and slavery once again.

As for survivors of domestic violence, the Domestic Abuse (DA) bill has long been scrutinised for failing to address many of the issues faced by migrant women. Those on a UK Spouse Visa often fear that leaving may breach their visa conditions and, due to NRPF, are often financially dependent on their abuser. Women’s Aid has even noted that women are enduring abuse for the five year period to meet the Indefinite Leave to Remain requirements – the form of settlement that grants independent status and, crucially, lifts the NRPF ban. To add insult to injury, women burdened with NRPF are increasingly turned away from vital shelters and support networks as public funds normally covers the cost of a refuge bed space.

Influenced by the case of this eight year old boy, the Home Office has revised guidance on NRPF and has removed the benefits ban for those who are ‘at risk of becoming destitute’. However, requesting the removal of the ban is strenuous and long-winded, as the complications around Section 17 and NRM has shown, and applicants must re-request a removal of the ban each time their visa is renewed.

In addition, the applicant must prove that they face ‘imminent destitution’ every time, which is at odds with the fact visa renewals can cost thousands upon thousands of pounds. Still, the changes are only applicable to those granted Leave to Remain under the parent category, leaving the majority of migrant women bereft of support. Waiting for tax-paying families/individuals to be on the brink of destitution before providing some degree of aid is flatly unjust. Lifting NRPF entirely seems the most appropriate way to resolve the issue as then migrants can apply for funds in the same way that Britons can as they await full British Citizenship rights.

Evidently life is made incredibly challenging by the NRPF scheme. Any sense of support from the government in the face of the pandemic completely overlooks the situation of so many vulnerable migrants. The denial of free access to the NHS as well as other funds and benefits makes tough times even tougher. The new guidelines released this May means that the Government is content to wait for vulnerable people to be on the verge of absolute poverty before lending a helping hand. At its core, the policy serves only to ensure vulnerable children and women face poverty and deprivation. The policy makes a mockery of the nation and until it is eradicated we cannot be proud to call the UK our home.