So, Home Office fees. Labour have announced👇that they’ll reduce the fees for applying to the Home Office to the actual cost of processing the application. Just a quick thread to explain why that’s important, even life-changing, for many people, including kids born in the UK. 1/
2/ In the case @DLPubliclaw tweeted about earlier, we represent a family of 5 (parents + 3 children btw 5 & 9 born in UK). They face a bill of £7665 to stay in the UK (£1033 fee + £500 NHS surcharge per person).
3/ They have no income, about £300 in the bank and are living off the charity of friends.
4/ Home Office say in effect they can’t waive the fee unless the family wd be literally destitute, i.e on the street or unable to feed selves. But they have nice friends putting them up, so that isn’t happening. So HO say, sorry, pay up or we won’t even process your application.
5/ History: until 2012 the HO never waived fees for anyone (although they were much lower then). In 2012 the High Court ruled (case of Osman Omar) this was unlawful bc it prevented people making valid human rights claims. Fees had to be waived where they couldn’t afford to pay.
6/ Home Office interpreted the Omar decision in narrowest way possible, i.e. that it only meant they had to waive fees in case of destitution. High Court in case of Carter goes: no, as we said, it’s not if someone will be destitute, it’s if they have money to pay – not the same.
7/ Home Office basically ignored the Carter decision and continued as before. So here we are in 2019, arguing again that if a family with no money can’t afford over £7k to stay in the UK, that can’t be lawful.
8/ & bear in mind that because the family are here unlawfully, they're subject to the full Hostile Environment: can’t work, restrictions on access to NHS, aren’t supposed to have bank accounts etc. Plus the risk of being made to leave, ofc (3 kids all born here, remember).
9 & final/ Anyway, the Upper Tribunal has today decided we have a case worth arguing that Home Office policy is wrong & this family have been treated unlawfully. Will the HO continue to say their approach is lawful? Will @HackneyAbbott step in and save the day? Watch this space.
