16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children – Route to settlement available for victims of domestic violence in the UK

The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children is an international campaign, and takes place every year from 25 November to 10 December. In the spirit of this campaign, BIC would like to remind victims of domestic violence that you need not stay in the abusive relationship in order to remain in the UK.

In order to qualify under the domestic violence rule you have to inter alia fulfil the following requirements;

• You must be the spouse/civil partner/unmarried partner of a British citizen or someone settled (someone with indefinite leave to remain) in the UK;
• Your relationship must have subsisted at the time the visa was granted; and
• You must prove that you are a victim of domestic violence and that it was the cause of the breakdown of your relationship before you qualified for settlement.

You do not need to wait until your current leave in the UK expires before you apply under this rule, and the UK Home Office recommends that you apply as early as possible so that they can deal with recent or up to date evidence. It is also important to keep in mind that you have to apply from within the UK.

The UK Home Office defines domestic violence as follows;

“Domestic violence is any threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between adults who are or have been in a relationship, or between family members. It can affect anybody, regardless of their gender or sexuality. The violence can be psychological, physical, sexual or emotional.”

For more information or to apply under this rule, please contact Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Ltd at info@bic-immigration.com

JP Breytenbach

Director of BIC, Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Limited.

www.bic-immigration.com or info@bic-immigration.com