You can apply to the Home Office UKVI to allow access to public funds if you already have leave granted on the basis of your family or private life and your financial circumstances have adversely changed since the grant of your last leave to remain. An application to allow success to public funds is made to the Home Office UKVI online. There is no priority or super-priority service for an application to allow access to public funds, and the application can only be submitted through standard service.
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representation on a fixed-fee basis regarding your application to the Home Office UKVI to allow access to public funds.
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Free Immigration Advice For Access To Public Funds
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide one-off free immigration advice online regarding your application for access to public funds. Ask a question online to our specialist team of immigration solicitors for free immigration advice online, or book an appointment online for detailed immigration advice and consultation with one of our immigration solicitors concerning your application for access to public funds.
Eligibility Requirements
You are eligible to apply to the Home Office UKVI for a change of conditions to allow access to public funds if you meet the following requirements:
- You have leave to remain under the 10-year partner, parent or private life route, where the applicant claims that refusal of that application for leave to remain would breach their rights (or the rights of other specified persons) under ECHR Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life)
- You have leave to remain on the basis of other ECHR right
You can also be eligible to apply if you have leave to remain under the 5-year partner/parent route. If your application to allow access to public funds is accepted by the Home Office UKVI, you would be considered to have moved on to the 10-year route to settlement.
You will qualify for an amendment to your conditions of leave to allow access to public funds only if:
- You are destitute
- There are particularly compelling reasons relating to the welfare of your child on account of your very low income
- There are exceptional circumstances in your case relating to your financial circumstances
- You are at risk of becoming destitute
Definition Of Destitute
A person is destitute if:
- They do not have adequate accommodation or any means of obtaining it (whether or not their other essential living needs are met)
- They have adequate accommodation or the means of obtaining it, but cannot meet their other essential living needs
- They are at risk of destitution if either or both of the above are imminent
Evidence Required
In order to make the request for an amendment to the conditions of your leave to allow access to public funds you must:
- Complete your application online
- Provide your existing Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) where relevant, or passport (including your Leave to Remain vignette where relevant)
- Include documentary evidence that you meet the policy on granting recourse to public funds
It is up to you to provide sufficient evidence to satisfy the Home Office UKVI caseworker that you meet the eligibility requirements. If sufficient evidence is not provided with the application, the conditions of your leave will not normally be changed to you access to public funds.
You should provide evidence of your financial circumstances and living arrangements. This should include documents that are applicable to your individual circumstances which could include the following:
- 6 months bank statements for all accounts held by all members of your household, even those belonging to children or ones that are rarely used. These should be fully annotated to explain significant/regular transactions
- Recent pay slips accounting for the last 6 months
- Breakdown of monthly income and expenditure
- Recent tenancy agreement or mortgage statement
- Recent utility and other relevant bills
- Recent P45 / P60
- Letter confirming duration of employment, the hours worked and salary (the person writing should state their position in the company and provide contact details)
- A recent letter from the Local Authority confirming that support is being provided
- A recent letter from a registered charity or other organisation providing support
- Recent letters from family or friends who are providing support, giving full details regarding the extent of this and how often it is provided
- Recent letter confirming that you or your spouse or partner is in receipt of public funds
To succeed in your application, you will need to explain in detail your current financial circumstances, how these may have changed, and how you are currently maintaining yourself.
Biometric Residence Permits (BRP)
If you meet the requirements for an amendment to the conditions of your leave to allow recourse to public funds, Home Office UKVI may send you a letter giving information about enrolling your biometric information. You would need to do this at a Service & Support Centre (SSC) for which you may qualify for travel assistance. Home Office UKVI will then issue you with a biometric residence permit (BRP) allowing you access to public funds.
Application Processing Time
No service standards apply to the assessment of whether the applicant qualifies for a change of condition code to allow access to public funds, but Home Office UKVI caseworkers will normally make reasonable efforts to decide such requests promptly, especially those involving a child or an applicant who is street homeless, disabled or otherwise in vulnerable circumstances.
How Can We Help?
Our specialist team of immigration solicitors can provide expert immigration advice and legal representations on a fixed fee basis in relation to your application to allow access to public funds. Our fixed fee for your application will cover all the work of our immigration solicitors on your application until a decision is made by the Home Office UKVI on your application. The casework to be carried out by our immigration solicitors in relation to your application to allow access to public funds will entail the following:
Advice on requirements: Our immigration solicitors will advise you on the relevant requirements you have to meet for your application to allow access to public funds to succeed.
Advice on documents: Our immigration lawyers will prepare and email you a comprehensive list of supporting documents to be submitted in support of your application to allow access to public funds;
Assessment of documents: Our immigration lawyers will assess your documents to ensure that all the documents you provide in support of your application are in accordance with the requirements of the immigration rules.
Completing application form: Our immigration lawyers will complete the relevant application form for your immigration application.
Submitting an application online: Where possible, our immigration lawyers will submit your online immigration application.
Booking an appointment with the application centre: After you submit your immigration application online, our immigration lawyers will book an appointment with the application centre for you to enrol your biometrics.
Preparing a detailed cover letter: Our specialist immigration solicitors will prepare a detailed cover letter in support of the immigration application to explain all the relevant legal requirements and how the applicant has satisfied such requirements with the documents submitted with the application.
Uploading documents online: Before the biometrics enrolment date, our immigration lawyers will upload all the supporting documents to be considered supporting the immigration application.
Follow-up work: Our immigration lawyers will carry out all the follow-up work until the Home Office UKVI decides on the immigration application.
Our Fixed Fees For An Application To Allow Access To Public Funds
Our immigration solicitors will charge a fixed fee ranging from £700 + VAT to £1,000 + VAT for your application to allow access to public funds. The agreed fixed will depend on the complexity of the application and the volume of work involved in the application to Home Office UKVI to allow access to public funds.