Cruel £3,000 price for grieving widows to stay in UK lastly scrapped

A cruel fee which forced bereaved families to pay nearly £3,000 to remain in the UK has finally been scrapped.

Labour said it was “unjustifiable” to hit foreign widows and widowers with a hefty settlement fee following the death of their British-born partner. The previous Tory Government had been set for a High Court showdown after a legal challenge by heartbroken women whose partners died.

They feared they would be forced to leave the UK because they couldn’t afford the £2,885 required to apply for indefinite leave. Dozens of MPs had called for the “irrational” costs to be abolished.

Seema Malhotra, Labour’s Minister for Migration and Citizenship, told The Mirror: “Losing a loved one is a time of immense sadness for us all, let alone when it’s someone as close as your partner. It’s unjustifiable to compound that pain further by charging settlement fees to those who have fallen on hard times and unable to afford to live through no fault of their own.

“This unacceptable situation even applied to those who were the partners of brave members of our HM Armed Forces, including Gurkhas and Hong Kong Military veterans.” She added: “This fee waiver I have brought in marks a fairer and more compassionate approach to some of the most vulnerable people in our society, during their time of need.”

In February The Mirror reported High Court judges were prepared to carry out a judicial review into the fees. Despite an outcry from MPs, former Immigration Minister Tom Pursglove said at the time there were “no plans” to scrap the fees.

In response to the widows’ plea, he said: “I appreciate the anguish caused in addition to the grief the women are going through, and I wish to relay my sincere condolences to them for their losses, but the Home Office believes that those who use and benefit directly from the migration and borders system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system…”

Mr Pursglove lost his seat in the General Election. Last year mum-of-four Christiana, whose British husband died in July after a short cancer battle, told The Mirror she’s struggling to feed and clothe her children and has no means to pay.

“I don’t understand how it’s fair,” the mother, who earns less than £11 an hour as a healthcare assistant, said. “My husband was British and I’ve lived in the UK for 17 years. I don’t think they understand how the law’s being applied and how it’s affecting people.”