The ‘no recourse to public funds’ rule prevents people who come to the UK on certain types of visa from getting benefits such as housing benefit or job seekers allowance. The rule applies to women on spousal visas, as well as student visas and other temporary entry permits. It means that if they experience domestic violence while they are in the UK they are unable to get a place in a refuge unless they can pay for it themselves.
Last year the government began funding a pilot project through which women who have entered the UK on a spousal visa and have then faced domestic violence can be housed in a refuge while they apply for leave to remain in the UK. The scheme didn’t include women on other types of visa, but it was still an important step forward. Then, in their new violence against women action plan which was released in March 2011, the government pledged to set up a permanent system for helping women on spousal visas.
Just weeks after this welcome commitment was announced, the government released new proposals to cut legal aid for women making applications for leave to remain under this scheme. The application process is highly complex and has to be completed within a limited time, during a period when a woman has just left her husband and is already under a lot of pressure. More recently, the government has also proposed to extend the probation period for women on spousal visas (in other words the period when a woman has no recourse to public funds) from two to five years. Both proposals would be an absolute disaster for the women we work with, and we are campaigning hard to stop them from going ahead.
We also remain worried about the many women who cannot get help because they have entered the UK on other types of visa. It is vital that all women who face domestic violence can get protection in line with the UK government’s commitments under the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Read more about No recourse to public funds and funding cuts
