In late May 2020, the Home Office softened its policy on when migrants who are in the UK with family visas might be able to access state benefits.
The change came about following the successful challenge in R (W, A Child By His Litigation Friend J) v SSHD & Anor [2020] EWHC 1299, in which the Hight Court found the Home Office’s policy on when ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (“NRPF”) conditions would be imposed on migrants, under paragraph GEN 1.11A of Appendix FM, to be unlawful.
NRPF is a condition imposed on most migrants when they are granted visas preventing them from claiming benefits. In R (W, A Child etc.), the Court held that the Home Office’s policy did not adequately identify that it was under a legal obligation not to impose NRPF conditions on those migrants who are not yet suffering inhuman and degrading treatment without recourse to public funds but will imminently suffer that treatment if the they cannot access state benefits. The Court concluded that the deficiencies it identified could be remedied if the Home Office made amendments to its policy.
That is now what the Home Office has done. The new policy states:
“The position in Appendix FM
…In all cases where an applicant has been granted leave, or is seeking leave, under the family or private life routes the NRPF condition must be lifted or not imposed if an applicant is destitute or is at risk of imminent destitution without recourse to public funds.”
The policy continues:
“It is good practice to check before concluding consideration of an application where a specific request has been made for access to public funds that the risk of imminent destitution has been properly addressed.”
So, what does this mean in practice? Well, put simply, it means that migrants with family visas who have NRPF conditions attached to their visas or who apply for new visas and who are able to show that they are at risk of imminent destitution (rather than currently being destitute) can request that the Home Office lift or, in the case of a fresh application, not impose a NRPF condition on them. At a time when the UK is facing a huge economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is, at least, some welcome news.
Indeed, it might explain why, in Q2 of 2020, the number of applications made for NRPF conditions to be lifted from visas shot up to 5,665 from 843 in Q1 of 2020 (and, by way of further comparison, from 914 in Q2 of 2019). Of the 2,870 such applications decided in Q2 of 2020, 2,565 were granted (a success rate of 89%).
At Elaahi & Co Solicitors, we specialise in understanding complex legal rules and providing you with clear, straightforward advice on how they apply to your case. If you need advice on how the change in policy on NRPF conditions might affect you, contact our expert team of immigration lawyers a call on 020 3930 3831. We are here to help you.
