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| Grenfell Tower survivors to be allowed to become permanent UK residents | Grenfell Tower survivors to be allowed to become permanent UK residents |
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| Survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster whose immigration statuses are uncertain are to be allowed the chance to become permanent British residents, the Home Office has said. | Survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster whose immigration statuses are uncertain are to be allowed the chance to become permanent British residents, the Home Office has said. |
| Ministers have agreed to extend a scheme that originally gave a one-year period of grace to foreign nationals directly affected by the fire, after being criticised for not going far enough. | |
| The immigration minister, Brandon Lewis, said: “Our initial response to this terrible tragedy was rightly focused on survivors’ immediate needs in the aftermath of the fire and ensuring they could access the services they need to start to rebuild their lives. | The immigration minister, Brandon Lewis, said: “Our initial response to this terrible tragedy was rightly focused on survivors’ immediate needs in the aftermath of the fire and ensuring they could access the services they need to start to rebuild their lives. |
| “However, since the Grenfell Tower immigration policy was announced, we have been planning for the future of those residents affected by these unprecedented events and listening to their feedback, as well as the views of Sir Martin Moore-Bick [the judge leading the inquiry into the disaster].” | |
| He added that the government wanted to give the survivors “greater certainty over their long-term future in the UK”, while stressing that leave to remain would depend on the “necessary security and criminality checks being met”. | He added that the government wanted to give the survivors “greater certainty over their long-term future in the UK”, while stressing that leave to remain would depend on the “necessary security and criminality checks being met”. |
| The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said the government had still not gone far enough and called for the immediate right to indefinite leave to remain to be granted to all survivors. | |
| “The government is making concessions on allowing Grenfell survivors to stay, but these are piecemeal concessions,” the Labour MP said on Wednesday. | |
| “The government has given itself a caveat on eligibility and how it interprets that. For the Grenfell inquiry to obtain all the facts, all survivors need to participate fully, whatever their status. And the idea of deporting anyone who has suffered this trauma is simply grotesque. | |
| “Full rights to indefinite leave to remain should be granted to all survivors who need it.” | |
| The Home Office said eligibility to remain indefinitely would depend upon passing security and criminality checks and having been resident in the UK legally for five years, clarifying that it was this final point the new measures were intended to address. | |
| The government said survivors had until 30 November to apply. The Home Office declined to say how many had come forward so far, saying the application period was still open and it would publish the figures in due course. | |
| Jo Renshaw, a lawyer specialising in immigration, welcomed the proposal, but said she had concerns about the “very strict” cut-off point imposed. | |
| “[It] is done in person at a designated place in London by 30 November 2017. There does not seem to be any flexibility in relation to that,” she said. | |
| “Given that many of those who may fall within this policy are, understandably, not only traumatised by the fire itself, but also likely to be very worried about coming forward in person – or may not yet have heard about this policy – having such a rigid method and timeframe for applying for leave is perhaps inappropriate.” | |
| Renshaw, a solicitor with the firm Turpin & Miller, said she hoped there could be some leeway given to people who apply after 30 November. | |
| The British Red Cross also welcomed the move. Its director of refugee support, Alex Fraser, said he was pleased the government had “responded to concerns that a number of Grenfell residents, who have been through unspeakable horror and loss, were also facing additional anxieties over their immigration status”. He expressed the hope that a period of relative stability would help them to “start rebuilding their lives after having lost everything”. | |
| The full five-year period will be split into three consecutive spells that must be applied for in turn: one 12-month spell; followed by a couple of two-year stretches, with security checks being carried out before each is granted. Those already given the original 12-month period of leave will be similarly eligible to apply to extend up to five years, the government said. | |
| Renshaw expressed concern that the changes did not appear to allow applicants to bring family members, such as spouses and children, to the UK during the five years they would need to live here to become eligible for permanent residency. | |
| The Home Office said the relatives of survivors and victims would be able to stay in the UK for up to six months from their date of entry to “provide a short period of support to a survivor or to arrange the funeral of a family member”. |