Press Release: Grieving women force government to stop charging them thousands of pounds to stay in the UK

After a protracted legal battle, the government has finally agreed to introduce a fee waiver for its bereaved partner concession (BPC), meaning grieving women will be able to access permanent immigration status without needing to pay thousands of pounds.
The BPC is a visa route that allows partners of British nationals/those with indefinite leave to remain (ILR) to secure ILR if the spouse/sponsor passes away. To qualify, 3 conditions must be met: the foreign national must be in the UK with leave to remain as a spouse/partner; the couple must have been living together and intended to live together permanently; and the sponsor must have died. This concession ostensibly exists to protect bereaved partners and allow them to stay in the UK.
However, since October 2023, grieving partners have had to pay £2,885.00 for this application. If they could not pay, they would be unable to secure ILR despite qualifying and could face losing their status and becoming subject to the hostile environment.
RAMFEL and the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) have seen the harm this extortionate visa fee causes, with many grieving women either priced out of accessing the BPC or having to make extreme sacrifices, such as literally foregoing food for them and their children, to save the funds. Robert Jenrick, when serving as Immigration Minister, callously justified the fee and lack of fee waiver by saying that these women “benefitted” from the immigration system.
In June 2023, PILC issued judicial review (JR) proceedings on behalf of Lucy*, a woman who had lost her British husband, challenging the lack of fee waiver on grounds including gender discrimination and irrationality. The government initially sought to defend this, arguing that the case should not be heard in court.
After the High Court granted permission for the JR to proceed in December 2023, the government belatedly withdrew from proceedings and agreed to introduce a fee waiver. This was in February 2024, and seven months later the relevant amendments to The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 have finally been made. From 9 October 2024, grieving widows will be able to secure ILR even if they cannot afford the near £3,000.00 application fee.
RAMFEL and PILC are currently aware of five people who are eligible for ILR under the BPC, but who have been priced out of applying. The introduction of this fee waiver will make a huge difference to them, and likely hundreds of other people up and down the country in their hour of need.
The lengthy ordeal and protracted legal battle came at a cost though, with Lucy, the woman who brought JR proceedings with PILC, suffering considerable mental distress during her period in limbo. The delay had a knock-on effect on her two young children, who were already struggling to cope after the sudden loss of their father. This could and should have been avoided, and it is hoped that the new government pursues a more compassionate and sensible approach to administering the UK’s immigration system, reducing the need for expensive and ultimately unnecessary legal battles.
While the introduction of a fee waiver is welcomed, RAMFEL and PILC note that many other people remain priced out of applying for ILR because of the extortionate fees. This keeps people in insecure immigration status and forces them into debt and poverty. The new government must recognise the benefit to both individuals and wider society of allowing people to access permanent immigration status, and should be urgently looking to introduce fee waivers for further ILR application categories.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
                                                                                                                                                                                   
RAMFEL’s Head of Campaigning, Nick Beales, stated:
“The introduction of this fee waiver is long overdue. However, the grieving women who brought this challenge should not have had to take the Sunak government to court for them to recognise how cruel this extortionate visa fee was.
Though this change will have a profound impact for those who have suffered the loss of a partner, many other people in desperate situations remain priced out of permanent immigration status. Labour should now be urgently looking to introduce fee waivers for other application categories to allow more people, including UK born children and young adults who know only the UK as their home, to secure their status here.”
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Sarah Looney, Solicitor at PILC who represented Lucy, stated:
“The introduction of this fee waiver will end the discriminatory two-tier system of those grieving women who can afford to access the status they are entitled to, and those who can’t.
Our clients bravely fought against the government’s unfair system while grieving the loss of their husbands and navigating life as newly single parents. The government’s six-month delay in implementing the fee waiver further added to our client’s stress during this period.
While the introduction of a fee waiver is welcomed, many other people remain priced out of applying for ILR because of the extortionate fees. This keeps people in insecure immigration status and forces them into debt and poverty. PILC believes that the money in your bank account should not determine your ability to access what you’re legally entitled to and urges the government to introduce fee waivers for more visa routes.”
 
ENDS