The refusal rate for spousal-visa holders seeking to remain in the United Kingdom after leaving a violent partner has doubled following London's "hostile environment for illegal immigrants" policy, media reported on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th August, 2018) The refusal rate for spousal-visa holders seeking to remain in the United Kingdom after leaving a violent partner has doubled following London's "hostile environment for illegal immigrants" policy, media reported on Thursday.
Back in 2002, London introduced an immigration rule which enabled a non UK-resident who left a spouse or partner settled in the United Kingdom over domestic abuse to be granted the right to remain indefinitely. The initiative was adopted after women rights campaigners claimed that abuse victims chose to suffer violence for the sake of remaining in the country.
According to The Guardian, which filed a freedom of information request, the residence permit refusal rate for domestic abuse victims rose from 12 percent to 30 percent during the period of 2012-2016. The Home Office was reportedly using the testimony of abusive partners, who often claimed that they had hit the claimant in self-defense, to justify the refusal.
The media added that it was now nearly impossible to make an appeal if an abuse victim's claim was refused. Only 2 percent of requests to review the refusal were successful since 2015, the newspaper specified.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly said, ever since she was the home secretary, that her aim was to create a "hostile environment for illegal immigrants." The government tries to bring down the annual net migration numbers to less than 100,000, making it hard even for those who have a right to stay, such as the Windrush generation living in the United Kingdom since the 1940s.
