Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people with (a) ancestry and (b) other visas who have no recourse public funds;and what support is available to those people if they are made redundant during the covid-19 outbreak.

The number of people who are subject to “no recourse to public funds” is not part of the published statistics. Home Office analysts are looking at the available data to determine what figures could be produced using internal management information. However, given the fluid nature of migration in and out of the country, and the number of individuals making applications to change their status at any given time; it would be too complex to produce an accurate figure of how many people are subject to “no recourse to public funds” at any given time that could be assured to the standard required by the Code of Practice for Statistics for publication.

This Government has taken action?across the system to support those with?no recourse to public funds, including protections from eviction for renters and mortgage holidays, helping the employed, self-employed and those on zero-hour contracts.?Migrants with leave under the Family and Human Rights routes can apply to have the restriction lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if there has been a change in their financial circumstances.? The Home Office has recently digitised the application form to make sure it is accessible for those who need to remain at home, and those who do not have internet access or are not confident using a computer can access phone support to complete their application.?Individuals with leave under the 5-yr parent route, or the 10-yr family or private life route, can apply for a fee waiver if they are destitute, would be rendered destitute by payment of the fee, or where there are other exceptional circumstances.?More information for migrants living in the UK can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk