Evidence Needed to Apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain Using the Domestic Violence Concession
If you are in the UK on a Family Visa and your relationship ends because of domestic abuse you can apply to settle in the UK even though you do not meet the 5-year residence requirement for an indefinite leave to remain application.
In this blog, our Immigration Solicitors explain the evidence needed to apply for indefinite leave to remain using the domestic violence concession.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers
For immigration and family law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Applying to settle using the domestic violence concession
You can only use the domestic violence concession to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you are in the UK on a Family Visa ( a Fiance Visa does not count for this purpose but a Spouse Visa or Unmarried Partner Visa or Civil Partner Visa does). Your relationship must have permanently broken down because of your spouse’s or partner’s domestic violence and you have evidence to support the abuse.
You need to be in the UK when you apply for ILR unless your partner has abandoned you overseas. If you have been left overseas by your partner the Home Office calls this ‘transnational marriage abandonment’. In those circumstances the rules allow you to make your application from overseas.
The Home Office has issued guidance on what counts as domestic abuse (the definition is very wide and includes emotional and financial abuse) and on the evidence Home Office officials should consider when deciding an ILR application using the domestic violence concession.
Many people are deterred from making an ILR application using the concession because they do not think the abuse they experienced was ‘serious enough’ or that they have the evidence to prove it. Immigration Solicitors understand that domestic violence is not usually observed by an independent third party – it takes place behind closed doors.
Working with our specialist Family Law Solicitors, our Immigration Lawyers can help you with your ILR application and explain what evidence is necessary.
For family law or indefinite leave to remain advice call us on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Evidence that your relationship broke down because of domestic abuse
The Home Office does not require you to provide set evidence about your relationship breakdown. In other words, it is not mandatory to report evidence of domestic violence to the police and secure a conviction or apply for a family law injunction order to prove to the Home Office that your partner abused you.
The Home Office guidance says Home Office caseworkers should look at all your evidence and decide on the balance of probabilities that you experienced domestic abuse and your relationship ended because of it.
The balance of probabilities
The balance of probabilities means that you need to show to the Home Office official that it is more likely than not, based on the information and evidence supplied by you, that your relationship broke down because of domestic abuse.
To secure a criminal conviction for domestic violence in England the Crown Prosecution Service needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that domestic abuse occurred. The evidence burden is therefore lower to either secure indefinite leave to remain using the domestic violence concession or a family court injunction order.
If you have been abandoned overseas then the act of abandonment is classed as a form of domestic abuse. You will need to show to a reasonable degree of likelihood that your relationship ended because of domestic abuse unless it was the act of abandonment that ended your relationship.
Documents and evidence of domestic violence for an indefinite leave to remain application
Although the Home Office guidance says that no specific documents are mandatory for a successful indefinite leave to remain application using the domestic violence concession the guidance does list the types of evidence that an ILR applicant can supply and says what weight should be attributed to the different types of evidence.
ILR Lawyers stress that it is best to talk to Immigration Solicitors about the wide definition of domestic violence and what counts as domestic abuse. Even if, for reasons outside your control, you do not have much formal evidence of domestic abuse a case can be made on your behalf. For example, if you were prevented from leaving the family home and because of your isolation you did not report the domestic violence to the police. For example, if your partner threatened that you would not see your children again if you reported the abuse to anyone.
The best evidence of domestic violence that you can provide in support of your ILR application is what the Home Office terms as ‘conclusive’. This means you do not need to provide any additional paperwork. Examples of conclusive evidence include:
- Criminal conviction – your ex-partner could have been convicted of several different types of offence for the conviction to count as conclusive evidence of domestic abuse. If your former partner was prosecuted but found not guilty of domestic abuse this does not stop you from applying for ILR using the domestic violence concession. This is because the CPS needs to prove beyond reasonable doubt that your ex-partner behaved in the way you allege whilst the Home Office officials just need to be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the domestic abuse took place
- Caution – if your ex-partner accepted a police caution for some types of offences this counts as conclusive evidence of domestic abuse because a caution is based on an acceptance of guilt by the offender
- A finding of domestic abuse made in family court proceedings – a family judge may find that domestic abuse has taken place when making a family court order, such as a non-molestation injunction order, occupation injunction order or child arrangement order. This is conclusive evidence for your ILR application. If a family judge makes an order without making a specific finding of domestic abuse this can still be used as evidence of domestic abuse but it will not be classed as conclusive evidence
Other types of evidence are classed by the Home Office as ‘compelling’ rather than conclusive. For example, a medical report. The weight to be given to a letter from your doctor will depend on its contents. For example, did you self-report to the doctor about incidents of domestic abuse or did they see evidence of the abuse suffered?
A statement lodged with your ILR application can also be treated as evidence of domestic abuse but the weight to be given to it by Home Office officials will depend on its contents and the level of detail. In many cases, people are too frightened to go to the police. That is why your statement must be prepared carefully if that is your main evidence in support of domestic abuse.
Next steps
At OTS Solicitors our Immigration Solicitors and Family Lawyers can help you with all your immigration law and family law needs, including an ILR application or a divorce, injunction or child arrangement order application.
UK Online and London-Based Immigration Lawyers
For immigration and family law advice call London-based OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online.
Our lawyers speak Arabic, Armenian, Farsi, French/Mauritian Creole, Spanish, Tamil Tagalog/Ilonggo, Urdu/Punjabi
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