In 2022 Sam, now over 70 years of age, was found sleeping rough by St Mungo’s and referred to our services through the Rough Sleepers project.

In 1991, Sam (an EU national), had legally entered the UK. In 1998, his circumstances changed and he fell into rent arrears and was evicted from his private rented accommodation. Sam approached his local authority for help and made a homelessness application. However, Sam was not considered to be a person in “priority need” . He was not offered any interim accommodation support and had to resort to rough sleeping. He slept rough for 24 years until he was eventually provided temporary accommodation by St Mungo’s (Brent) in early 2022 – when he was well above 70 years of age.

Subsequently, St Mungo’s referred him to the Ealing Law Centre for immigration advice. Upon taking instructions, our Immigration Team learnt that because of his homelessness Sam never got the opportunity to learn about the European Union Settlement Scheme and obtain legal advice in relation to it. He had limited IT literacy and no support network.

Our immigration team made a Late-EUSS application on behalf of Sam. To support his application, evidence of his residence in the UK was sourced from a church and a foodbank, respectively, that he had been serving and attending for 20 years. Upon considering the evidence submitted and ELC submissions, the Home Office accepted that Sam had a valid justification for making a Late-EUSS application.

His application was successful and he was granted Settled Status.

Ealing Law Centre Immigration Team

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity.

Upload on 02/03/2026

Ealing Law Centre Immigration Team.

*Please note, provided hyperlinks signpost to policies operating as at the date of publication*

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity

Uploaded on 02/03/2026*

In December 2020, Tina (an Indian national) legally entered the UK with her mother. She was under the age of 18 at that time. She and her mother had travelled to the UK with a man unknown to Tina. Upon arrival, the man placed them in a house in West London. He lived with them for 3 days; never to be seen again. Tina lived in that house with her mother until April 2021 when her mother went missing. Tina reported her missing to the Police. In turn, she was taken into the relevant local authority’s care and placed with a foster carer.

In April 2022, Tina claimed asylum. In the initial interview, Tina explained how she entered the UK with an unknown man and her mother disappeared shortly after their arrival in the UK. However, she was not referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for investigation of the possibility that she may have been a victim of modern slavery. In July 2022, Ealing Law Centre made submissions to the Home Office regarding why Tina should be referred to the NRM. In response, an NRM referral was made in March 2023.

In April 2023, the Home Office refused Tina’s asylum case. ELC appealed the Home Office refusal decision to the First-Tier Tribunal. The deciding judge found that Tina would face very significant obstacles with reintegrating in India because: she was a child when she left it, she no longer had personal access to any kind of support in the country, and that she could be at risk of exploitation (considering her history) due to being a lone young woman. Based on these factors, the judge found that Tina’s removal from the UK would breach her rights under Article 8 of ECHR; appeal successful.

Tina now has leave to remain in the UK and is going to college.

Ealing Law Centre Immigration Team.

*Please note, provided hyperlinks signpost to policies operating as at the date of publication*

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity

Uploaded on 18/07/2024*

In February 2019, after being recognised as a Refugee in the UK, Daniel made a family reunion application to be reunited with his wife and child. His application was successful, and Farideh (his wife; an Iranian national) and their child joined Daniel in the UK in October 2019. His wife and child were both granted visas in line with his leave to remain in the UK until early 2024.

Farida and her husband now have a second child who was born in the UK. In 2024, Daniel and his family’s visas needed to be renewed.  At the renewal  stage , Daniel and his family met the eligibility requirements for making an application for indefinite leave to remain. Daniel therefore submitted an application for Indefinite Leave to Remain for himself, his wife and two children.

The Home Office granted Daniel and his two children Indefinite Leave to Remain, however his wife Farideh’s application was refused.  Furthermore, Farideh was neither  granted a right to appeal the Home Office decision nor the right to seek an Administrative Review.

The reason Home Office gave for refusing Farideh’s application was that her application had been made using the wrong application form.  Without a right to appeal or administrative review, Farideh became increasingly anxious.  She was facing the prospect of being removed from the UK and separated from her family. She needed help to get the Home office to review their decision.

She went to an Immigration Solicitor who advised her that her only option was to make an application for leave to remain in the UK with her family under the 10 year Private Life route. She was further advised the charges for making this application would be £3000. Farideh and her husband paid an initial sum of £1000 to the Solicitor. Farideh then approached Ealing Law Centre (ELC) about advice on how to raise the balance of the Solicitor’s fees of £2000. Her enquiry was directed to our Immigration Team.

Our Immigration Supervisor requested further details about her immigration situation. At the stage of collecting further details, it became apparent that the Home Office may have made a material mistake in their refusal decision which could amount to unfair treatment of Farideh. However, without the right to an administrative review or appeal, the only option available to Farideh was to seek a  Judicial Review of the Home Office’s decision. In view of Farideh’s impecunious circumstances, ELC made a successful application for Exceptional Case Funding to assist her. Then, a Letter Before Claim was sent to the Home Office.

Within 5 days of receiving the Letter Before Claim, the Home Office made a decision to withdraw their initial decision and advised that Farideh  would be granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in  line with her husband and children, and there would be no further costs for this grant.

Farideh who had become despondent by the prospect of being removed from the UK and separated from her family  is now able to continue her life with her family. Farida is very grateful to ELC for our intervention.  Our team is equally proud about the positive impact our work has on the lives of individuals and families we serve.

ELC Immigration Team.

*Please note, provided hyperlinks signpost to policies operating as at the date of upload.*

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity.

Uploaded on 16/07/2024*

Towards the end of 2023, Sheldon, a Jamaican national who had been living legally in the UK since 1967, was discovered by a Social Worker sleeping rough in a bin shed at the age of 71.

St Mungo’s verified Sheldon as a rough sleeper, put him in temporary accommodation and then referred him for immigration advice to the Ealing Law Centre (ELC) through the Sub-regional Immigration Advice Service project. At the point of being referred to ELC, Sheldon did not have any proof of his nationality and immigration status in the UK.

ELC and St Mungo’s worked in collaboration to find proof of Sheldon having lived in the UK. They searched and found Sheldon’s National Insurance Number, NHS Number, newspaper articles citing his name, records of schooling in the UK, and also proof of having lived in the UK since 1967.

ELC then submitted a Windrush application to the Home Office including all the evidence that had been sourced. This application was successful, and Sheldon was granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in UK. He is now being moved into sheltered housing.

Ealing Law Centre Immigration Team.

*Please note, provided hyperlinks signpost to policies operating as at the date of upload.*

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity.

Uploaded on 04/06/2024*

James, an EU national, had been legally living and working in the UK since 2011. He had been diagnosed with panic disorder, had experienced auditory hallucinations in the past, and was on medication to manage his mental health. Following Brexit, he intended to make his application for EUSS status before the deadline applicable to him (30 June 2021). However, two days before the deadline, he sustained injuries to his head. He was taken to a nearby hospital and a surgery was done to treat the injuries. He remained admitted until 07 July 2021. By the time he was discharged from the hospital, the deadline to make an in-time EUSS application had passed.

Shortly after being discharged, James returned to work. Unfortunately, James employer incorrectly advised him that he need not apply for status under EUSS to continue to work in the UK. In late 2023, James’ employer told him his employment had been discontinued because they had now learnt he needed status under EUSS to work in the UK. By the end of October 2023, James had lost his accommodation (since he no longer had a job to pay his rent) and started to sleep rough. All of this contributed to the deterioration of his mental health.

Shortly thereafter, James was identified as a rough sleeper by St Mungo’s. St Mungo’s referred James for immigration advice to Ealing Law Centre (ELC) under the Sub-regional Immigration Advice Service project. ELC helped James make a Late-EUSS application. ELC made submissions that Home Office should accept James’ late application considering the reasons which led to James missing the deadline and not being able to make an application earlier in the intervening period. ELC submissions were accepted; James was granted Settled Status.

Ealing Law Centre Immigration Team.

*Please note, provided hyperlinks signpost to policies operating as at the date of upload. *

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity.

Upload on 12/04/2024*

Mary, who is a certified severely sight impaired individual, contacted Ealing Law Centre (ELC) to assist her with an application for further leave to remain under the 10 year Private Life route.  Mary had completed 7.5 years on the 10 year route and needed to apply to extend her Leave to Remain for a further 2.5 years.

ELC had previously assisted Mary to apply for extensions of her leave to remain. Over the last 7.5 years, she had been granted extensions of leave to remain with access to public funds. In mid-December 2023, ELC submitted an in-time extension application for Mary. The facts of Mary’s case remained that she was severely sight impaired, a single parent with a dependant daughter and did not have the support of any family member in the UK.

This time, however, Home Office granted her leave to remain for a further 2.5 years with the condition of “No Recourse to Public Funds” ( NRPF). With this condition in place, Mary became vulnerable to losing access to the support she needed to pay for her housing and daily living needs. She did not have the option of working due to her health. As such, Mary needed this NRPF condition to be removed to avoid becoming destitute.

With ELC’s support, she was able to make an immediate application challenging the Home Office’s decision; requesting the Home Office to remove the NRPF condition attached to her leave.  ELC made submissions about the level of destitution Mary would  face if the condition remained. Home Office accepted that Mary’s circumstances and vulnerabilities placed her at imminent risk of  destitution and agreed to remove the NRPF condition with immediate effect. Mary now continues to access the support she needed to pay for her housing and daily living needs.

Ealing Law Centre Immigration Team.

*Please note, provided hyperlinks signpost to policies operating as at the date of upload. *

The name of the client has been changed to protect their identity. 

Uploaded on 05/04/2024*