What to do if you are experiencing domestic violence 

Women who have insecure immigration status

If you are uncertain about your immigration status you can phone one of the agencies listed in useful organisations. Your documents (for example your visa) should state how long you are entitled to remain in the UK for and whether or not you are entitled to work and/or claim any benefits. 

Always seek advice about your legal status from a specialist immigration adviser as immigration law changes regularly. Try to have your documents with you when you do so. 

If you have been granted 'indefinite leave to remain' in the UK your immigration status is secure and you are entitled to the same benefits and housing support as a British citizen. 

If you are not legally entitled to be in the UK (for example you came on a holiday and stayed without permission from the home office) and you approach a statutory (government) agency for help they have a duty to inform the home office that you are here. This could result in you being deported from the UK.

If you have insecure immigration status and have insufficient private income, it is much more difficult to get a place in a refuge, since you are not entitled to claim benefits (for example you are precluded from claiming benefits because your immigration status means that you have 'no recourse to public funds'). 

A small number of refuges are willing to take women without recourse to public funds but it is often difficult to get one of these limited places. You can contact the National Domestic Violence Help line for further information on this (Tel: 0808 2000 247). 

Some social services departments are also able to pay the rent (and a basic living allowance) for women without recourse to public funds but this support can be difficult to get.

Social Services have clear duties towards all 'children in need' under The Children Act (1989), meaning they have a duty of care towards children made homeless by domestic violence. 

However they do not have clear duties towards adults with insecure immigration status unless they can prove that they are 'vulnerable' (for example they are pregnant or disabled). This sometimes means that social services are unwilling to help women with insecure immigration status who are fleeing domestic violence even if they have children. 

It may be more helpful to get an experienced voluntary sector worker to go with you to social services rather than going there on your own so that they can support you (advocate for you) in asking social services for help. You could contact one of the following specialist agencies for further information and/or support in this area:

• Southall Black Sisters: 020 8571 9595
• Joint Council on the Welfare of Immigrants: 020 7251 8706
• National Domestic Violence Help line: 0808 2000 247
• Newham Asian Women's Project: 020 8472 0528 or 020 8552 5524
• Immigration Advisory Service: 020 7967 1200
• Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner (OISC): 020 7211 1500

If you have been sponsored to come to the UK by your abusive (ex) partner but have not yet secured long term (indefinite) leave to remain in the UK you should seek specialist legal advice about your circumstances. 

If you are able to prove that your relationship has broken down within the 2 year period of time you are required by the home office to be in the relationship in order to secure your long-term stay, you may yourself be entitled to make a direct application for 'indefinite leave to remain' in the UK. The agencies listed above can give you further advice on this. 

If you are currently in an abusive relationship and your leave to remain in the UK is dependent upon that relationship you should try to talk to as many appropriate agencies as possible about the domestic violence and the exacerbated difficulty in leaving your partner. 

You should consider talking to your GP (local doctor) about the violence. This would be confidential unless you asked your GP to write a letter to another agency about what has happened. 

You could also talk to a local refuge worker (this is also confidential) and may wish to involve the police (please see separate section on the criminal justice system for further information about how the police can help). 

If you have concerns about the safety of your children you can also contact your local social services department. Please see separate section on children if you would like further information on this. 

If you have been sponsored to come to the UK by your abusive (ex) partner but have not yet secured long term (indefinite) leave to remain in the UK you should seek specialist legal advice about your circumstances. 

If you are able to prove that your relationship has broken down within the 2 year period of time you are required by the home office to be in the relationship in order to secure your long-term stay, you may yourself be entitled to make a direct application for 'indefinite leave to remain' in the UK. The agencies listed above can give you further advice on this. 

If you are an asylum seeker funded by the National Asylum Support Service and you are experiencing domestic violence in the accommodation provided for you, you can ask the National Asylum Support Service to transfer you to safe alternative accommodation. 

The National Asylum Support Service have a policy stating that they will pay for asylum seekers experiencing domestic violence to stay in alternative places of safety such as women's refuges although in practice this can be difficult to get. (See below, section Asylum Seekers)

Everyone is entitled to help from the police in an emergency regardless of their immigration status. It is also possible to get advice and support from a range of voluntary sector agencies including women's refuge outreach or floating support services (see section on refuges for further details). 

A small number of women's refuges are willing to take women without recourse to public funds but it is often difficult to get one of these limited places. You can contact the National Domestic Violence Help line for further information on this (Tel: 0808 2000 247). 

Some social services departments are also able to pay the rent (and a basic living allowance) for women without recourse to public funds but this support is often difficult to get. Social Services have clear duties towards all 'children in need' under The Children Act (1989) which means that they have a duty of care towards children made homeless by domestic violence.

However they do not have clear duties towards adults with insecure immigration status unless they can prove that they are 'vulnerable'. This often means that social services are unwilling to help women with insecure immigration status who are fleeing domestic violence even if they have children. 

You can contact your local social services department for further information on this. You may also wish to contact a voluntary sector agency (such as a refuge outreach service) first so that they can support you (advocate for you) when you ask social services for help.

Rights of Women: 020 7251 6577

Legal advice line for women run by female solicitors.

Lines are open from 2pm - 4pm and 7pm - 9pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from 12pm - 2pm on Fridays. 

Aanchal: 0845 451 2547

Offers a 24-hour advice line, and face-to-face support for Asian women. 

East London Black Women Organisation: 020 8534 7545

Supports African and Caribbean women. 

Newham Asian Women's Project: 020 8472 0528 or 020 8552 5524

Advice and support for Asian women and children experiencing domestic violence. 

Southall Black Sisters: 020 8571 9595

Advice and support for Asian and Afro-Caribbean women who are victims of domestic violence. 

Racial Equality Council Barking and Dagenham: 020 8594 2773

Advice and support to victims of racial discrimination, racial violence or racial harassment. 

Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants: 020 7251 8706 

Immigration Advisory Service: 020 7967 1200

Free legal advice on immigration and asylum. 

Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner: 020 7211 1500 

Asian Women's Resource Centre: 020 8961 6549

If you are an asylum seeker and your relationship breaks down there is no provision for a prior 'dependant' of an asylum applicant to be supported separately under the Interim or the Support Regulations. In that situation it appears that you would need to make your own application for asylum. 

Please note: The National Asylum Seekers Service have clear casework instructions to staff on how to respond to reports of domestic violence in connection with a National Asylum Seekers Service accommodated asylum seeker. 

This includes a requirement that any accommodation providers (included those sub-contracted) must have clear statements on domestic violence policy and procedure that conform to the requirements of their policy bulletin (agreed by the home office).

• Give paramount importance to the safety of victims of abuse and their children,
• Inform residents of local advice and support agencies that can help people who suffer domestic violence,
• Warn offenders of the possible consequences, including prosecution and loss of their accommodation and support,
• Maintain emergency response arrangements that are capable of reacting to a crisis situation such as when a victim leaves their home,
• Consider the needs of children (with reference to policy bulletin on child protection),
• Install safety and security devices to protect and reassure victims in their accommodation,
• With the consent of the victim, report incidents to the National Asylum Support Service investigations team leader without delay
• Liaise with local networks and agencies including police, social services, health services, solicitors, refuges and other voluntary organisations, and be aware of their policies and practices
• Contribute to case conferences, and arrange for an interpreter to attend if the victim asks for an interpreter
• Ensure that a victim and any children are transferred to alternative accommodation that is safe and secure. The accommodation provider does not require the National Asylum Support Service prior consent in order to transfer a victim and any children to alternative accommodation that is safe and secure for them, when the victim believes they cannot in the interests of their safety return to their previous accommodation. But the provider should report a transfer to the National Asylum Support Service without delay for the purpose of the record of how accommodation is allocated
• The provider should inform the victim that the reasonable costs of alternative accommodation can be met by the National Asylum Support Service but that for this purpose the National Asylum Support Service must be informed of their circumstances and address
• The National Asylum Support Service should pay the reasonable costs of alternative accommodation provided or a reasonable contribution towards that cost. Reasonable costs are the income that the manager/landlord of the alternative accommodation can show that they regularly receive from rents/housing benefits and supporting people grant in respect of a resident who is not an asylum seeker, and that are not receivable in respect of a resident who is an asylum seeker
• When the victim's alternative accommodation is found informally with a friend or someone who does not regularly accommodate the victims of domestic violence, then the National Asylum Support Service should make a reasonable contribution to any additional costs falling to the person providing the alternative accommodation