Thousands of single mothers who came to the UK before 11 March 2024 denied visas for their children
A report published last week by Women of Zimbabwe (WoZ) and Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) details the injustices faced by many single mothers who came to the UK on health and care worker visas. Despite being entitled to bring their children as dependants when they arrived, many have been separated from them due to restrictive immigration policies.
The 20-page report, All families matter: Uncovering Injustice and Discrimination in the UK Visa and Immigration system, can be downloaded here. The University of Liverpool supported the publication of the report.
According to the report, the Home Office has denied visas for the children of over two thousand single mothers from Zimbabwe and other countries, despite all of the women arriving before changes to the Immigration Rules on 11 March 2024 prevented care workers from bringing their children to the UK.
WoZ and ACTSA say the Home Office appears to have systematically prevented infants and children from joining their mothers in Britain. The Home Office claims there are "no compelling reasons" to grant visas for the children, mostly citing the 'sole responsibility' rule. This is happening despite research for the report finding extensive evidence that these women are the children's primary and sole caregivers.
The report explains: "The majority of these applications have been refused under a Home Office rule that a child may only obtain a visa if both parents are living in the UK, unless the parent living here has 'sole responsibility'. While this initially seems reasonable and easy to prove, single parents are required to prove not only that they have sole custody but that the other parent is not involved in their child's upbringing in any way. This can be hard or even impossible to provide evidence for. Caring for a child is not just making a financial contribution, even if a father is providing a payment for, say, school fees. In the vast majority of cases WoZ has examined, biological fathers are not involved in their children's care. This is not unusual in the context of society in Southern Africa."
According to the report, single mothers face systemic discrimination under the Home Office's 'sole responsibility' rule, with an unfair burden to prove a 'negative' — the absence of an active father in their child's life. The visa application process to bring children to the UK is further complicated by unclear and often contradictory guidance on the Home Office website, frequently resulting in repeated applications that require costly legal advice.
The report accuses the Home Office of inconsistently applying its own rules, creating additional barriers for families already navigating an arduous and emotionally draining process.
WoZ and ACTSA said: "Our analysis also suggests that assessment of applications can often be inconsistent and arbitrary, containing serious flaws. Some visas are granted based on the same evidence that another has been refused, such as certain court documents. One mother went to great lengths to find the child's biological father so he could officially state he was not involved in the child's care. The fact that she was now in contact with him was then used as a reason to refuse the visa."
A further issue highlighted is a lack of cultural literacy in the Home Office's assessment process for child visa applications. The report notes that cultural norms in countries like Zimbabwe are often misunderstood, leading to unfair visa rejections. For instance, the practice of children taking their biological father's surname, even when the father is absent, was wrongly interpreted as evidence of paternal involvement. Similarly, Zimbabwean law requires fathers to attend custody hearings regardless of their actual role in a child's life, but the Home Office viewed this attendance as proof of active parenting, disregarding evidence to the contrary.
The report criticises the Home Office's assumption that migrant single mothers can simply leave their children with temporary caregivers such as elderly relatives or neighbours. Such arrangements, initially intended for short periods, often become unsustainable when visa decisions are delayed or repeatedly refused. This lack of understanding, the report argues, risks unjust outcomes and prolonged family separations. Calling it a dehumanising approach that echoes the ongoing Windrush scandal, the report emphasises: "The Home Office's assumption that African children can be separated from their primary caregivers, often thousands of miles away, is not only outdated but harmful."
Overall, WoZ and ACTSA say their report uncovers systemic failings in implementing a fair and transparent process for migrant single mothers seeking to bring their children to the UK, indicating a deep-seated lack of awareness of the prejudicial nature of these policies and how they are implemented.
The report concludes by calling for a more humane and fair approach to immigration policies, one that recognises the right to family life for migrant workers and their children. It highlights the need for gender-sensitive strategies that place women at the centre of overseas recruitment efforts and urges the UK Government to reassess the fairness of changes to the Immigration Rules that deny family life to all migrant care workers.
Key recommendations include an urgent review of Home Office guidance for health and social care workers who arrived before 11 March 2024, focusing on the reassessment of over 500 refused or pending child visa applications on "compelling and compassionate" grounds. The Home Office is urged to adopt a fair, consistent process, including accepting consent orders from local courts, clarifying ambiguous terms like "sole responsibility," improving the tone of refusal letters, and extending the evidence submission deadline from 10 to 15 working days. The introduction of an appeals process and tracking child visa refusals is also recommended.
For sustainable change, the report recommends consulting experienced diaspora advisors and women to develop culturally informed Home Office policies and enhance staff training. It calls for better transparency around visa costs, scam warnings, and migrant rights, as well as a commitment to policies that acknowledge historical injustices and prioritise women in overseas recruitment. This approach, the report argues, would ensure a more just and respectful relationship with migrant communities.