Now more than ever, we all need the guarantee of a roof over our heads and food to eat. But it’s estimated that nearly 1.4m people in the UK have ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ (NRPF) stamped on their visa, leaving them without the basics.

Our new research shows the NRPF policy is a public health risk, and increases the risk of destitution amongst migrant families:

• a fifth of migrants surveyed, who were working before the pandemic, lost their job since it started;
• almost 75% of those were subject to NRPF, unable to access support from the government;
• 44% of those in hard-hit sectors cleaning and hospitality lost their jobs, and all of these were subject to NRPF;
• migrants with NRPF were 52% more likely to say that it was not possible to safely self-isolate in their home.

We are calling on the government to suspend NRPF – sign our petition now.

Sign the petition

“It’s always been a shadow that hangs over things, what happens if I lose my job, what happens if this or that? It impacts everything. But with the whole pandemic it makes you think differently about it, it’s really like, OK a lot of people are losing their jobs, what could happen to us? There’s always the stress of that.”

David* British citizen with wife and child on family visas, with NRPF for five years before they are eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Our report: Migrants with NRPF experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic

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Many of us have felt that our safety and well-being throughout the pandemic has been dependent on our housing conditions. Having space at home to work and to isolate safely is crucial to people’s lives. We found that migrants who are denied access to the public safety net, including housing benefit, were less likely to be safe from infection in their own homes during the pandemic.

Half the migrants surveyed who were denied access to the public safety net, including housing benefit, said that it would be impossible for themselves or a member of their household to isolate safely in their home. They were 52% more likely to be in that position than migrants who did have access to public funds.

The economic impact of lockdown has been felt hardest by businesses across the UK, especially in frontline industries, such as hospitality and cleaning. Industries like hospitality and cleaning also employ some of the highest proportions of migrant workers of any in the country. Migrants who have lost their job during this pandemic are at risk of destitution if they cannot access public funds or are forced to take up less stable, more exploitative employment out of desperation. Respondents to our survey with NRPF were just as likely, if not more so, to have lost their jobs because of the pandemic. Unionised cleaning workers have been demanding more secure furlough, to protect them from job cuts.

At the beginning of the pandemic the Government was warned that its Hostile or Compliant Environment policies that limit the benefits which most migrants are entitled to claim would hamper people’s ability to protect themselves from the spread of the virus. JCWI wrote to the Home Secretary alongside Doctors of the World, MedAct, Liberty and 27 other medical and migrants’ rights organisations on 16 March 2020and again on 14 January 2021 calling on her to suspend NRPF conditions during the pandemic.

NRPF – Migrants with no safety net have no way to weather a storm

No Recourse to Public Funds is a condition that applies to most migrants in the UK until they have obtained a permanent settled status called Indefinite Leave to Remain or have naturalised as citizens. Most visas require a migrant to live in the UK for either five or ten years before they can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, so people are often subject to these conditions for very long periods. The government refuses to publish figures on the number of people who are subject to NRPF, but the CAB estimates nearly 1.4 million migrants are affected. In addition to those with an NRPF condition attached to their visa, undocumented migrants and many asylum seekers are barred from accessing most of the public safety net.

Migrants with NRPF are barred from accessing Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Working Tax Credit, Disability Allowance or Income-Based Job Seekers’ Allowance, among others.

Despite the impact on such a large number of people, the Prime Minister appeared unaware of the government’s long-standing NRPF policy when questioned by Stephen Timms before the Public Liaison Committee on 27 May 2020. The PM said “Clearly people who have worked hard for this country, who live and work here should have support of one kind or another. But you have raised a very very important point. The condition of their leave to remain is that they should have no recourse to public funds. I will find out how many there are in that position and we will see what we can do to help.” 

Since then, the PM has changed his public position on NRPF, and now claims that those subject to it can in fact access all the support they need. Expert organisations working with people subject to NRPF have extensively documented how vulnerable families, victims of domestic abuse and others are unable to access essential services because of NRPF. Contrary to the PM’s assertion, the Home Office continues not to collect data on the number of people subject to NRPF conditions. The PM also wrongly stated before the Liaison Committee on 13 January 2021 that NRPF applied to migrants unlawfully in the country, where in fact it applies to all migrants on a time-limited visa in the UK, including long-term lawful residents. 

The Select Committee on Work and Pensions joined the call to suspend NRPF conditions in June 2020, stating “In these exceptional circumstances, the Government should immediately suspend NRPF conditions on public health grounds for the duration of the outbreak. Following the various ministerial commitments in the House, the Government should also set out exactly what measures it has taken so far to support people with NRPF.”

“I can’t understand why they chose to do that, after so many years, after 21 years, I’m still in an unstable condition because of that. My sister has to shield so I have to stay on the sofa of a friend. He works outside the house in a front-line job so it’s not ideal, and he doesn’t have a spare room, so I’m on the sofa and I can’t stay long term. But for now I can’t get work so I don’t know how I’m going to manage helping him with rent.”

Joshua* recently managed to regularise his immigration status after two decades in the UK. He has a temporary immigration status with NRPF for another ten years before he is eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

The Government must suspend NRPF

NRPF impacts on migrants’ lives every day in every decision they make, making them less able to weather crises and provide financial security for their futures and that of their families. The only effective way to ensure migrants are able to respond to the pandemic to put the protection of public health first is to remove the vulnerability that results from being unable to access mainstream state support.

NRPF has been pushing migrants into abject poverty for years, but with rising job losses and lost income during this crisis, many families have left at risk of destitution. The cost of housing families in these circumstances is passed on from the mainstream welfare support system to local authorities who are legally obliged to respond to the growing requests from destitute families.

The government must urgently suspend NRPF. This is vital to protect people from reaching this point of crisis and to safeguard the country’s recovery from COVID-19.

Methodology

Between December 2020 and January 2021, JCWI conducted an online survey recording the experiences of migrants of all different kinds during the pandemic and the lockdowns throughout 2020. The survey asked questions about access to healthcare, housing situations, and experiences of work during this time. It was shared via social media channels, by migrant-supporting organisations and through union channels. The survey received 310 responses. This data was supplemented by 10 interviews carried out with migrants in different circumstances about aspects of their experiences, and two interviews with union officials about the general experiences of their migrant members.

This report focusses on the questions asked about NRPF, work and housing during the pandemic.

Findings

Migrants with NRPF unable to self-isolate in their homes

42% of survey respondents overall said that if they or a member of their household needed to self-isolate because they were displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or were at risk of having come into contact with an infected person, they would be unable to do so in their home. This was the case for 50% of those who have NRPF and 33% of those who can access benefits, making those subject to NRPF 52% less likely to be able to safely isolate in their homes.

Migrants with NRPF cannot access Housing Benefit, which is one among many factors contributing to massive housing inequality in the UK. The government has also refused to suspend its Right to Rent system, which requires landlords to verify the immigration status of their tenants during the pandemic, despite rulings by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal finding that it causes racial discrimination in the housing market against migrants and ethnic minority British people.

This has occurred in a context where migrants and ethnic minorities were already significantly more likely to live in inadequate, over-crowded housing. Black and minority ethnic people are also more likely to live in places where there is no or little access to green space. While we have all been more or less confined to our homes for almost a year now, our experiences of this have been vastly different, and housing inequality is likely to have been a significant factor driving the disproportionate suffering of minority communities from the impacts of the virus with migrants with NRPF from ethnic minority backgrounds being particularly hard hit.

Migrants work in the hardest-hit industries and many are losing their jobs because of the pandemic

Among migrants who responded to our survey who were in work at the beginning of the first national lock down in March 2020, 21% lost their jobs. We found that this was impacting migrants with NRPF just as much as other groups, pointing to a significant problem of newly unemployed migrants who are unable to rely on the public safety net at times of crisis. This has serious implications for homelessness, as well as on the risk of migrants with insecure status who are exploited or even trafficked because of their extreme vulnerability without the support of the state.

With an increased risk of destitution also comes increased risk of pressure on local authorities who will need to respond to increasing request for support, particularly through housing routes as homelessness risk increases. The main justification for NRPF conditions has been to save public funds. However, as support from a local authority social services department does not constitute a public fund, NRPF conditions represents nothing more than a cost shunt from central to local taxpayers and places extra stress on local authorities at a time of crisis.

Because of their nature as frontline businesses which have been forced to close during the pandemic and the lockdowns, the hospitality and cleaning industries have been some of the hardest hit economically. These industries are some of those employing the highest proportions of migrant workers in the country: 30% of hospitality workers and a similar proportion of cleaners are migrants. 44% of surveyed hospitality and cleaning workers lost their jobs. Of the 11 who lost their jobs in these fields, all were subject to NRPF.

The Hostile Environment creates a culture of fear and confusion around accessing services and support

57% of the migrants who responded to our survey said they have NRPF, but a further 12% (38 people) said that they don’t know. Of these 38, over half have an immigration status which means that they in fact do have full access to the benefits system, as refugees or people with Indefinite Leave to Remain, Settled or pre-settled status.

It makes sense that a large proportion of our respondents have NRPF, this reflects the fact that this is the default condition attached to most visas. However, it is worrying that a significant proportion of migrants are uncertain about their eligibility for benefits, even in cases where they are entitled to access them. This suggests there is a group of people who won’t access services and support even if it is desperately needed, because they aren’t aware they are entitled to it. This is compounded by the fear all migrants feel at the hostile environment.

58% of all migrants surveyed who had NRPF said they would be afraid to access healthcare because they would be afraid of being charged for care or that their data may be shared with the Home Office, as compared to just 18% of those who do have access to benefits. JCWI has produced a separate report on migrants’ access to healthcare during the COVID pandemic, which is available on our website.

“I was out of work for a few months. I did go just to sign on for my National Insurance and I sat down at the job centre and they said now because it’s Universal Credit you have to do a family application, so I didn’t even apply, because I didn’t want that to even possibly come up in the future. 
Because my wife has NRPF I didn’t want to even have a sniff of a possible refusal. I know we might be entitled to Child Benefit, but I haven’t even done that, I just don’t want to touch anything. We all know that sometimes refusals can be for the wrong reasons, I just don’t want to give them any chance to think we could have claimed something we’re not supposed to claim.”

David* British citizen with wife and child on family visas, with NRPF for five years before they are eligible for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Survey Questions Asked and Results

Are you allowed to claim benefits in the UK? (Recourse to Public Funds)
I am allowed to claim all benefits	96
I am not allowed to claim all benefits (I have No Recourse to Public Funds or Undocumented)	175
I don’t know	38
Blank	1
Total	310

 

If someone in your house got sick this year, would they be able to self-isolate safely?	All	NRPF
Yes	131	62
No	129	88
I don’t know	50	25
Total	310	175

 

Before the first national lockdown in March 2020, did you have a job?
No – unemployed	129
No – student	24
Yes – employed	124
Yes – self-employed	25
Blank	8
Total	310

 

Among those with a job in March 2020 – When the lockdown happened in March 2020, what happened to your job?
I got furloughed	23
I lost my job	31
I still went into work	34
I worked from home	57
Blank	4
Total	149

 

Among those working in cleaning or hospitality – When the lockdown happened in March 2020, what happened to your job?	All	NRPF
I got furloughed	7	3
I lost my job	11	11
I still went into work	7	2
I worked from home	0	0
Blank	0	0
Total	25	16

 

Among those who answered ‘I don’t know’ to question of whether they have NRPF – Do you have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK?
Yes, Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status	13
No, I have Pre-Settled Status	8
No, I have Refugee Status	2
No, I have a time-limited visa (work, spouse, family, student, other)	4
No, I have no visa	2
I don’t know	9
Total	38

 

If you need to see a doctor or go to hospital, would you be scared because you are a migrant?	Allowed to claim benefits	NRPF
No, I would not be scared	79	73
Yes, I would be scared because I think I would be asked to pay and I can’t afford it	5	21
Yes, I would be scared they will give my information to the Home Office	11	61
Both	1	20

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We are calling on the government to suspend NRPF – sign our petition now.

Sign the petition

Download the report