A 67-year-old blind Nigerian pensioner, identified as Comfort, who has resided in the UK for 26 years, has been informed by the Home Office that she could safely travel to India for medical treatment. Comfort arrived in the UK in 2000 and shortly thereafter lost her sight due to acute glaucoma.
After two decades of living in the UK, she was granted leave to remain under long-residence rules, a status requiring visa renewals every 30 months for a 10-year period before becoming eligible for indefinite leave to remain. Under new settlement rules recently announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, it is expected that Comfort will now be required to renew her visa for another 20 years, meaning she would not be eligible for indefinite leave until she reaches her 80s.
Lawyers at Refugee and Migrant Justice had applied for indefinite leave to remain on her behalf, citing her age and disability as exceptional circumstances that warrant a fast-tracked decision. The Home Office rejected this application. While the initial part of the refusal letter suggested she could return to Nigeria because there are services there for blind people, the conclusion of the letter stated: "Your circumstances are not so severe or lacking in potential treatment in India that it would warrant indefinite leave to remain in this case."
Comfort expressed her dismay at the decision, noting that she has established a life in the UK with friends, a church community, and voluntary work. "I have been living in this country for 26 years. I have found my home here and settled well," she said. "I don't know why the Home Office said I could go back to India. It's a country I have never visited and have no connection with."
The case has drawn criticism from migration advocates. Nick Beales, head of campaigning at Migrant and Refugee Justice, stated: "This woman is blind, in her late 60s and has lived in the UK for a quarter of a century. She meets the rules to remain here and there is no public interest in making her continue to renew her visa." Beales argued that the government is "fixated on appearing tough" and noted that the decision-makers appeared unable to differentiate between India and Nigeria.
Freedom of information data obtained by the organization indicates that many elderly applicants face similar challenges, with some individuals likely to pass away before meeting the new, more stringent wait times. One example cited in the data is a 103-year-old woman from Pakistan who would not be eligible for settlement until she is 123 years old. Beales urged the government to "scrap these plans once and for all," calling the earned settlement model "cruel and counter-productive."
In response to the incident, Home Office sources indicated that corrective action is being taken to re-issue an updated letter to the woman. A spokesperson for the department stated: "We do not routinely comment on individual cases. All applications for permission to stay in the UK are carefully considered on their individual merits, in line with the immigration rules and based on the information and evidence provided by the applicant."
Numerous migrants’ rights’ organisations have raised concerns about the increase in the period of time some will now have to wait for settlement here, after the home secretary’s announcement. For some, the amount of time they have to wait has increased sixfold.
“In 2022, I got my permission to stay here based on long residence in the UK,” said Comfort. “I’m very disheartened that I may now need to wait nearly 20 years to get indefinite leave to remain.
