New research finds people are being wrongly denied access to employment and benefits
The Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) last week published a report which details how the Government's 'hostile environment' immigration policy remains in place for migrants who are lawfully resident in the UK on what is known as '3C leave'.
The 39-page report can be downloaded here.
As noted in the report, 3C leave is a temporary form of status issued whilst a person renews their leave to remain.
RAMFEL explained: "Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends a person's leave to remain in the UK pending the outcome of an application to vary/extend it as long as the person's further leave to remain ('FLR') application is made before their original leave expires. 3C leave covers the period during which an administrative review or an appeal can be sought or brought respectively and the waiting period until an in-time application, administrative review or appeal is decided or determined. With 3C leave, a person can remain lawfully in the UK rather than becoming an overstayer and, in theory, it should operate as protection against the hostile environment."
RAMFEL's report finds that people with 3C leave who lack formal documentation to prove their status are being caught up in the hostile environment in a similar manner to the Windrush scandal, which saw British citizens wrongly classified as undocumented migrants.
Between 1 January 2020 and 17 May 2022, RAMFEL submitted 329 FLR applications and observed at least 109 instances where clients suffered detriment as a result of being on 3C leave. In at least 17% of RAMFEL's cases, clients suffered serious detriment such as being wrongly suspended from work, wrongly denied access to employment or having benefits suspended.
RAMFEL said: "If these figures are extrapolated to a larger pool and reflect nationwide trends, then the number of people suffering serious detriment whilst on 3C leave will be in the thousands. RAMFEL have twice made requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) for data about the number of FLR applications submitted each year. The Home Office refused to disclose this data, citing cost limits"
RAMFEL estimates that more than 40,000 people on 3C leave are suffering serious detriment each year.
The most common problems faced by RAMFEL's clients on 3C leave were with employment or accessing public funds. RAMFEL says this is the direct result of the hostile environment intentionally making it difficult for those without a physical ID document from establishing their lawful residence and therefore accessing services to which they are entitled.
One woman who has lived in the UK since aged 9 is quoted in the report as saying: "Despite being in the UK for 20 years, sounding and feeling British, without a passport I continue to face discrimination and micro-aggressions. I have consistently paid the Home Office nearly £3,000.00 to renew my visas, but now I am wrongly denied a job because of my immigration status. I want to work, like everyone else, but instead I am forced to spend my savings and rely on my limited family support."
Another case cited in the report involved a man with leave to remain on the 10-year route to settlement who was wrongly suspended from work, as his employer was late completing the Home Office's online Employer Checking Service (ECS). The man said: "My experience was inequitable, disappointing and worrying and was undoubtedly only because I am an immigrant. … I fear I can now wrongly lose my job at any moment due to my lack of proper documents proving my right to work. This is compounded by the fact that I know I need to renew my visa again and will face the exact same problems."
RAMFEL notes that problems around employment for those on 3C leave are partly because employers do not understand the rules and procedures surrounding the criminal offence of so-called "illegal working" and their own culpability. "It is therefore often simpler to just suspend a foreign national employee on 3C leave than to continue hiring them and risk sanction," the report explains.
Worryingly, the report finds that the trend in 2021 and 2022 shows things are getting worse for those on 3C leave. The Home Office is said to be taking longer to process FLR applications and to respond to ECS verification checks. RAMFEL says it has already seen more instances of serious detriment among its clients in the first eight months of 2022 than it did for the whole of 2021.
RAMFEL commented: "Based on nearly three years of research, it is clear that the government's hostile environment continues to trap and victimize lawfully resident UK migrants who do not have physical proof of their immigration status due to complying with existing further leave to remain application processes. This is not surprising, as this is how the scheme was designed and, as the Windrush scandal proved, it is effective in this sense but thoroughly ineffective at distinguishing which undocumented migrants do and do not hold valid immigration status. Consequently, those on 3C leave will remain likely to be trapped by the hostile environment and denied basic rights."
The report makes 4 recommendations for the Government to ensure that those on 3C leave do not face being denied their rights and deprived of access to basic services.