Donna's story

Donna Smith came from Jamaica to join her husband Ralston Fustiye in the UK over five years ago having met all the requirements of the immigrations rules which would enable her to be eligible for indefinite leave to remain after completing the required five year route to settlement. 

Once she arrived they applied for Mrs. Smith’s children to join them in the UK reuniting the family as per their private and family life human rights, with all stringent requirements of the immigration rules being met and at a substantial cost paid to the Home Office. 

Ralston first came to the UK many years ago from Jamaica and whilst in the UK he became a British Citizen. He worked for Nottingham City Council for over 15 years. He was a very well-respected employee of the Council, hard-working and regularly undertook overtime.

On the 15^th of April 2020, Ralston died as a result of Covid-19. Although he did not work as a Carer, his wife Donna works as a Carer for a CQC registered provider. It is very urgent that Mrs. Smith and her two children can make the necessary indefinite leave applications to secure their future in the UK.

What's at stake?

Ultimately Mr. Fustiye’s untimely death due to Covid-19 now has potentially harsh consequences for Mrs. Smith and her children, who need to be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain as a matter of urgency. Their current leave to remain does not entitle them to any benefits derived from  public funds. 

The cost of this application will be: 

• £2,389 x 3 fee to UKVI 
• £19.20 x 3 unexplained fee for biometrics to the UKVI
• Between £69.99 – £125 x 3 for biometrics and documentation upload

Bringing a total of between £7,434.57 and £7,599.60 needed to ensure the applications are submitted.

An application for indefinite leave to remain takes up to six months to receive a decision unless a further £800 each is paid for a faster next day decision. This UKVI super priority service is currently suspended due to Covid-19. This is a problem because the family wish to be able to arrange Mr. Fustiye’s burial in Jamaica as per his wishes which at the time of writing will cost at least £8,000 and time is of the essence.  

Why is this important?

It is hoped that from the action of setting up this CrowdJustice page that either the family will be able to raise enough funds to cover the indefinite leave to remain application fees or that the Home Secretary will widen the Bereavement scheme to all eligible to apply regardless of occupation or cause of death and free any charge.

If the latter happens then justice would have been won for all affected and beyond Covid-19 and never again shall bereaved family members of British or settled citizens have to face the burden of fees and rigmarole of forms and evidence to remain in the UK during a time of remembrance and paying last respects to a loved one. 

Linking to what the Government already know regarding: 

(1) the disproportionate number of BAME deaths due to Covid-19 and 

(2) the recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learnt Review

it is clear that many in Mrs. Smith's situation who reside in the UK on limited leave to remain are left with little or no support from the Government.  

It is important that the Government review and change their policy to ensure that all affected by bereavement are afforded fair and equitable treatment regardless of their occupation and/or the cause of death of their loved one. 

In Mrs. Smith's case her husband died directly as a result of Covid-19, but others who have died may not have had Covid-19 cited as their cause of death, even though they died during the pandemic. 

Background to the case

It is current Home Office policy for bereaved partners and their dependants who have current limited leave to remain in the UK for them to be able to apply immediately for indefinite leave to remain otherwise known as settlement. 

Indefinite leave to remain, regardless of age, costs £2,389 each plus £19.20 and between £69.99 to £200 for an appointment for uploading of documentation to the UKVCAS website which is ran by Sopra Steria a company awarded a reported £91 million contract to deliver this service. 

It is not currently possible to have the fee waived for indefinite leave to remain applications. This also needs to change as a matter of urgency. 

On the 20th of May 2020 due to public interest and pressure, the Home Secretary Priti Patel MP introduced a new bereavement scheme for non-EEA family members of any British or settled NHS worker, including support staff, or a healthcare or social care worker who has died as a result of coronavirus, to receive immediate and automatic indefinite leave to remain, free of charge.

Initially the scheme did not include low paid support workers, however again due to public interest and pressure the scheme was widened.

However, it is still not possible or clear for family members who are themselves an NHS worker, including support staff, or a healthcare or social care worker and their dependants, whose family member did not work in the sector but has died as a result of the coronavirus as to whether they can benefit from the bereavement scheme. 

Following the announcement a short guidance was issued 20th May 2020 by the Home Office states that whilst the bereavement scheme has been extended to the families and dependants of British or settled NHS support staff and social care workers who die as a result of contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) it states at the end: 

“However, if you think you should receive this status, you can contact the UKVI NHS team.”

Enquiries to the Home Office have been made highlighting the above sentence, including an enquiry letter from Mrs. Smith’s local MP Lilian Greenwood to clarify whether Mrs. Smith and her children are eligible for the automatic bereavement scheme. No response answering this question has been received from the Home Office.