Grieving widows are set to take the Government to court over cruel rules that mean they could be deported if they don't hand over nearly £2,500.
In a heartbreaking letter to the Tory immigration minister, three mums whose British partners died said they fear being forced to leave because they can't raise the money. Writing to Robert Jenrick, they said the Home Office's draconian refusal to waive fees for bereaved partners seeking indefinite leave to remain "exacerbate the emotional distress we are already experiencing".
Mum-of-four Christiana, whose British husband died in July after a short cancer battle, told The Mirror she's struggling to feed and clothe her children and has no means to pay. "I don't understand how it's fair," the mother, who earns less than £11 an hour as a healthcare assistant, said. "My husband was British and I've lived in the UK for 17 years. I don't think they understand how the law's being applied and how it's affecting people."
Charity the Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London said many similar cases may also result in legal action. It is supporting two women who are seeking a judicial review after Mr Jenrick insisted a £2,404 fee couldn't be waived.
Responding to pleas, Mr Jenrick wrote in May: "The Home Office believes that those who use and benefit directly from the Migration and Borders system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system and therefore does not offer fee exemptions, waivers or reductions for applications, except in very limited circumstances." In a letter to the Tory minister, the three bereaved mums wrote: "We have all made the UK our home, have worked, paid taxes and paid visa application fees.
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"We have paid into the system and it is not our fault that our husbands have passed away and we now face an uncertain future. Widows and widowers are not just numbers or statistics but individuals who have experienced profound loss and are seeking a lifeline to help us move forward. Applying for a fee waiver when we cannot afford thousands of pounds is not about evading responsibility or seeking preferential treatment; it is a plea for compassion and recognition of the extraordinary circumstance that we find ourselves in."
Nick Beales, of Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London, accused Mr Jenrick of showing a "callous attitude" to bereaved partners. He said: "The Government’s visa fees are prohibitively expensive and pricing grieving widows out of securing permanent immigration status to which they’re entitled is perhaps the most stark example of the harm this causes. This application costs just £491 to process, so the government effectively charges grieving widows five times this price.
"Whilst the government doesn’t monitor how many people are impacted by these fees, we are working with six women who have lost their husbands yet now face an uncertain future in the UK simply because they don’t have thousands of pay to pay the UK government."
Officials say there are currently no plans to reduce or waive fees for bereaved partners of British citizens. A Home Office spokeswoman told The Mirror: “All applications for indefinite leave to remain are carefully considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence provided and in accordance with the Immigration Rules.”
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