Home Office concedes JR on changing settlement route after lifting NRPF condition

Successful outcome prior to full judicial review hearing from Deighton Pierce Glynn website -

Our client was on the 5 year route to settlement, but lost her job as a result of the pandemic.  She had to apply for recourse to public funds, but the Home Office insisted that the consequence of this was that she would be moved on to the 10 year route to settlement…

After proceedings were issued, the Home Office conceded the claim and agreed that the Claimant would remain on the 5 year route to settlement despite having recourse to public funds.  The final order is awaited, but the obvious implication is that the Home Office now accepts that it has discretion not to move people on to the 10 year route solely because they have had recourse to public funds.

Although this is a very welcome development, and gives hope to others in our client’s situation, it is unsatisfactory that the existence of this discretion is not clear in Home Office guidance/policy, and that it is unclear in what circumstances that discretion might be exercised.  The Unity Project tried to continue with our client’s case by applying to replace her as the Claimant and pursue the claim as a policy challenge , but the Court refused that application.  Other individuals will therefore have to press their individual cases in order to secure recourse to public funds whilst remaining on the 5 year route.