Visas: Married People

(asked on 26th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on household income of circumstances in which the UK national sponsoring a spousal immigration visa application falls ill, and is unable to work, and their spouse has no recourse to public funds.


Answered by
Chris Philp Portrait
Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
This question was answered on 2nd December 2020

The Government remains committed to protecting vulnerable people and has acted decisively to ensure that we support everyone through this pandemic.

We have?introduced?a?range of measures?to ensure people can stay safe and many of these are available for those with a?no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition. The Coronavirus job retention scheme, self-employment income support and statutory sick pay are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes.??Contribution-based benefits are also not classed as public funds for immigration purposes.

Support is also in place for those with mortgages. Borrowers who have been impacted by coronavirus and have not yet had a mortgage payment holiday will be entitled to a six month holiday, and those that have already started a mortgage payment holiday will be able to top up to six months without this being recorded on their credit file.

Furthermore, migrants on spousal visas are permitted to work in the UK in order to support themselves and their family, and UK nationals who are unable to work are entitled to apply for government support.

Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support, regardless of immigration status, if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.

The Government has provided additional funding for the devolved administrations under the Barnett formula as part of the wider government response. Funding provided to local authorities under the Covid-19 emergency response will be paid through a grant that is not ring-fenced, recognising that local authorities are best placed to decide how this funding is spent.

Reticulating Splines