People fleeing domestic abuse
This page covers the whole of the UK
Contents:
Are you fleeing domestic abuse?
This information applies if you came to the UK to join a partner who is settled here, but now need to leave your home because you fear or have experienced abuse from that partner.
- you may be a woman or a man
- you may be married to, living with, or in a civil partnership with your partner
- you may be in a lesbian, gay or straight relationship
- you may or may not have children.
Leaving an abusive relationship involves many decisions, which are best made with reliable advice and support.
You will need specialist immigration advice to change or vary your leave if it does not give you access to funds for essential services, such as benefits. Even if you do not need legal advice, organisations that support people fleeing domestic abuse can offer practical advice and pastoral support. You can find contact details for some of these organisations on the advisers page, or contact the free National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
If you apply for housing or benefits, you will usually be asked for your passport or other immigration documents to prove your status. Your lawyer or adviser can explain the situation if you do not have them. Officials should take account of the fact that you may have had to leave quickly, or that your ex-partner may have stolen or hidden your documents.
Partners experiencing abuse while resident in the UK
If you were given limited leave to join a partner who is British or has settled status, and you can no longer stay in the relationship because of abuse, you may be able to apply to the Home Office for settled status on domestic abuse grounds.
You can apply for three months' leave with access to housing and benefits, giving you time to apply to settle. Before applying, you should get immigration advice from an approved professional or registered adviser. Being granted this three-month concessionary leave does not guarantee that your settlement application will succeed. If it is refused, your right to remain in the UK may be at risk.
Spouses of UK residents re-entering the UK after abandonment overseas
You may be granted leave to re-enter the UK as the spouse, or former spouse, of a British citizen or settled person if they deliberately stranded you overseas. This is a form of domestic abuse or violence that exploits your immigration status, known as transnational marriage abandonment. For example, this may include the wife of a British national being forced to live with her husband’s relatives overseas and denied access to her passport and travel documents. If you are granted leave to re-enter the UK on this basis, you are entitled to benefits, to join the council’s housing waiting list, and to homelessness help immediately on arrival. Your previous residence in the UK is treated as continuous because you did not give it up voluntarily.
If you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
If you applied to the EU Settlement Scheme and have EU pre-settled status, or your application has been accepted but not yet decided, your housing and benefits rights follow the pre-Brexit rules.
If you are an EEA national, you are entitled to housing and benefits if you are a worker, self-employed, a student, self-sufficient, a long-term resident, or the family member of an EEA national in one of these categories.
If you are not an EEA national, you can rely on your EEA family member rights until your marriage or civil partnership is dissolved. If it is dissolved, you may have former family member rights if you experienced domestic abuse or other circumstances apply. If you were not married or in a civil partnership, your EEA family member rights end when you separate. However, you may have rights as a long-term resident if you acquired that status before then.
If you are a non-EEA national with EU pre-settled status because you are the parent with sole care of a British child, your housing and benefits rights are the same as they would have been before the Brexit transition period ended: see here for details.
If you came to the UK to join a partner who has EU settled or pre-settled status, you may have an EUSS family permit. EUSS family permits do not give you the right to housing and benefits, but you may be able to apply for limited leave with access to benefits for up to three months, similar to the partner of a British citizen. You should get advice from an approved professional or registered adviser at level 2 or level 3 before applying.
Other forms of leave without access to public funds
If you have any other form of limited leave, you can apply to a housing association with an open waiting list, but you must show how you will pay the rent. An open waiting list is one where the housing association allocates properties under its own rules, rather than reserving them for council nominations.
You can also apply for accommodation from a private landlord. In England, you will need to show your documents because landlords must carry out right to rent checks.
If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, you have the right to free advice and information regardless of your immigration status. In England and Wales, this is available from your local council; in Northern Ireland, it is available from the Housing Executive.
You may be able to get help from social services if you are responsible for a child or vulnerable adult. See the page on people with social care needs for more information.
Our advisers' page includes a list of organisations that support victims of domestic abuse, with contact details.
