Advice for a abandoned filipina girl and her kids!

[alesypalsy]

Hi all,

Been a while since i posted hey, well this one i need to find some help soon for this poor girl who maybe thrown out of her home very soon, i shall write as basic as i can with as much info as i can and add to it as i get the answers from her, its difficult for me as i am not certain on the events of things but the basic story is

My wifes friend came here on a spouse visa , her british partner they met in the PI, they already had a young son with british passport and have since had a daughter, So they married in the UK while she was here on the spouse visa,
Since then they have separated and the guy wouldn't give her any of her paperwork needed for her to do the ILR and her visa expired, He also decided she was not going to be the one to look after their kids,, she eventually got custody of the kids through a court and another 2 year visa but not the ILR,, ( am not 100% sure on her visa now but it was with the help of an immigration lawyer)

So since she had custody of the kids the couple then divorced and he agreed to pay maintenance to her for them to live and pay the rent on the house etc,,


Only a couple of weeks ago the guy has stopped making the payments and the lady is about to be made homeless along with her children ,, very young kids like 8 and 6 yr olds,

So does anyone have any idea about her claiming housing benefit? she has been to the citizens advice buero and they say she is not entitled to anything as non recourse on her visa,

Seems very harsh to me, she will no doubt get evicted after a few months of non payment of rent, she does work but earns pittance , like £100 a week odd cleaning,

She is in a very bad situation and right before chrtistmas also, i am just asking for any advice i can pass on to her, as every office she has been to so far have told her there is nothing they can do... i find this very hard to understand as there is 2 young kids involved here and our country DOES NOT let this happen does it?

thanks for any advice ,

[grahamw48]

The local council housing department should be her first port of call now, I'd have thought. Regardless of her status, two British children are about to be made homeless. She'll need to show the housing people a letter from the landlord or court showing that.

What about contacting 'SHELTER' for advice ?

[alesypalsy]

The local council housing department should be her first port of call now, I'd have thought. Regardless of her status, two British children are about to be made homeless. She'll need to show the housing people a letter from the landlord or court showing that.

What about contacting 'SHELTER' for advice ?

I just asked my misses if she been there,, according to her she has already visited the council and nothing they can do,, i wonder if the fact that at the moment she is not homeless would be the reasoning behind it? i would have thought that they would of paid housing benefit to cover the rent ,, but seems they not interested

[grahamw48]

They won't do anything until she has been locked out of the property. Priorities. They'll already have a list of people waiting.

They won't let her kids sleep on the street though.

[alesypalsy]

She has also spoken with social services and as far as i am aware they are currently not doing anything either, although this may change this coming week,
Terrible bind for her, i asked her why on earth she did not do her ILR many moons ago when it was due/available to her and she said her ex husband was holding all her paperwork including the kids passports etc and would not let her have them!

[Harry T]

Okay guys I think we can pull together to try to help and advise, it might help if we knew the area this lady lives even the County would be a help, I personally am up in the west midlands at this moment and have lots of time on my hands.

1. It maybe an idea to pay a visit to the local Police first of all as surely its an offence to withhold someones passport, basically that's theft.
2. The Child support agency should be another place to call, I know they have a bad name in some quarters, but they are able to deduct monies from the father of these kids, so that he rightfully has to support his dependants.
3. Then when this lady receives her eviction notice that's when she needs to get to the local Council Housing Office.

The big problem here is that she has not applied for her ILR, had she done this then she would be entitled to the usual Benefits ie Housing Benefit, Income support etc etc, because she has not obtained ILR then it muddies the water somewhat, and those entitlements may not be available to herm, if my assumptions are correct then this lady and her kids may have to fall back on Charitable Agencies, Social Services etc etc

If I'm anywhere near, I would only to gladly offer any help or further advise if needed.

[mickcant]

Very strange and a difficult position she is in, I cant understand why her ex is not being made to do more, he after all brought her here, and fathered the children.

The council housing department will likely say it is because of cut backs, this gives them all sort of excuses !!!!
Mick.

[grahamw48]

They have a statutory duty to house the genuinely homeless in their area Mick.

She and the children would initially be offered bed and breakfast or council hostel accommodation.

Housing is then handed out according to need.

The children are British citizens.

[alesypalsy]

Okay guys I think we can pull together to try to help and advise, it might help if we knew the area this lady lives even the County would be a help, I personally am up in the west midlands at this moment and have lots of time on my hands.

1. It maybe an idea to pay a visit to the local Police first of all as surely its an offence to withhold someones passport, basically that's theft.
2. The Child support agency should be another place to call, I know they have a bad name in some quarters, but they are able to deduct monies from the father of these kids, so that he rightfully has to support his dependants.
3. Then when this lady receives her eviction notice that's when she needs to get to the local Council Housing Office.

The big problem here is that she has not applied for her ILR, had she done this then she would be entitled to the usual Benefits ie Housing Benefit, Income support etc etc, because she has not obtained ILR then it muddies the water somewhat, and those entitlements may not be available to herm, if my assumptions are correct then this lady and her kids may have to fall back on Charitable Agencies, Social Services etc etc

If I'm anywhere near, I would only to gladly offer any help or further advise if needed.

Thanks very much for your offer , but on the forum is plenty enough thanks, we are a long way from you,

I have gotten more details as in they were married in 2010 june, she arrived on the spouse visa feb 2010,
they divorced! in august 2011!,,,, now i only know the one side of the story so i cannot judge at all, but honestly from what i have heard i am not amused one bit by the guy that she was married to...... I will not go into her personal information but sounds to me like she had it rough indeed.

Ok so when they split up the guy would not release her papers/passport/kids passports and it was not until they had a court hearing about the kids custody (which she was given full) that the judge also ordered him to give the kids passports back to her , she managed to get her documents also back...

So the guy was ordered to pay maintenance/child support by the court, and i understand he was always paying it, (he is between the PI and the UK at least 6 months there, 1 month here) he has now got engaged to another filipina and is going through the visa process again i am told! but has now told this lady (the ex) that he no longer works and is paid a retention wage so he is on standby if work arises???? dont really understand that but this is the reason he has just stopped paying. no warning nothing just told her a few weeks ago that he will no longer be supporting them .....

This is basically all the info i have, she has already been to the CAB and they told her nothing can be done... i am surprised as i believe exactly what graham says, there's no way her and the little ones should ever have to go on the street,,

i honestly thought she would get sorted out last week which is why i didnt really get involved to much,, but after hearing that she is in a terrible bind i cannot stand by, ,

She does work cleaning jobs, but is all part time as she has to take kids to school etc so cannot work full time, I asked about current visa and she has another leave to remain until 2016 but doesnt know the reason for the visa as a immigration solicoter got that for her, i guess something to do with her kids?

Anyway main thing is , does anyone actually know if she can glaim any kind of financial help? housing benefit as no way can she pay the rent anymore,, i dont think fair that the kids should be put through this at such a young age,, they need stability and soon

thanks again for the replys.,, hopefully there will be something she can do

[Arthur Little]

I asked about current visa and she has another leave to remain until 2016 but doesnt know the reason for the visa as a immigration solicoter got that for her, i guess something to do with her kids?

Because your friend missed out on her Indefinite Leave to Remain (through NO fault of her own, by all accounts) at the time she first became eligible to apply, it seems the solicitor managed to secure a 30 months' extension - to which she's entitled - albeit in line with *major changes to the Rules *that were implemented since the date she would've originally qualified for Permanent Residence ... had it not been for the unfortunate sequence of events you've listed.

[Arthur Little]

Tbh ... ... I'd be surprised if the solicitor omitted to explain the proper reason for the extension, as IMO, he certainly ought to have done when she was granted the additional period of FLR.

[Trefor]

Once she is eligible she apply for ILR based on her children instead of her husband?

[alesypalsy]

Well no pot of gold for her here it seems, the council have said there is no help for her available ,, even when she is made homeless?? i find this unacceptable as she has 2 british kids,, the ex husband is not going to be any help, he is out of uk in pi most of the time and doesnt want to help....
Citizens advice bureau went through all her papers and said as she only has LTR she is not entitled to anything at all!

Mr little, do you have any idea if she could apply right now for ILR even while she is on Ltr? as she has told me that the solicoter told her she can apply when the LTR runs out?

I not sure where i look to find this information on the ukba website... i would think she could apply now as she has been here over 5 years now..

[Arthur Little]

Mr little, do you have any idea if she could apply right now for ILR even while she is on Ltr? as she has told me that the solicoter told her she can apply when the LTR runs out?

Sadly, I don't think she could; ... however harsh the Rules may appear - especially given your friend's circumstances that prevented her from applying for unrestricted residency when the "opportunity" for doing so previously arose - I very much doubt if her solicitor had ANY choice, other than to lodge an application that would protect her earlier existing immigration status in the interim.

[Harry T]

I also believe that children born in the UK to none British passport holders, do not these days automatically qualify to become British Citizens, I'm not 100% sure on this, but I'm almost sure of it.

As I suggested earlier Charitable Trusts & Churches may be her only option, but you seemed to ignore it, and concentrated on my asking the area where she lived, The reason I asked was NOT because I am some sort of weirdo, but if you had said the area where she lived then it would have been easy for some of us on here to research what help may be available to her in that area. In addition to that as you are aware Social Services may be able to help, but there is always a worry with that, in that there is always the possibility the Children may be taken into care as a last resort, and no one really wants that just because the father refuses to accept his responsibilities, but this lady appears to have little option at this moment in time, apart from the suggested Charitable options which may be available in her area.

I myself many years ago was under the care of Social Services, and they are sometimes not as bad as some make out, it may be that this is the only option available to this lady, while she tries to get some worthwhile employment prior to applying for ILR further down the line. I know this advice may sound unpalaptable but it may be the only option once other options have been tried and exhausted.

[Michael Parnham]

I also believe that children born in the UK to none British passport holders, do not these days automatically qualify to become British Citizens, I'm not 100% sure on this, but I'm almost sure of it.

As I suggested earlier Charitable Trusts & Churches may be her only option, but you seemed to ignore it, and concentrated on my asking the area where she lived, The reason I asked was NOT because I am some sort of weirdo, but if you had said the area where she lived then it would have been easy for some of us on here to research what help may be available to her in that area. In addition to that as you are aware Social Services may be able to help, but there is always a worry with that, in that there is always the possibility the Children may be taken into care as a last resort, and no one really wants that just because the father refuses to accept his responsibilities, but this lady appears to have little option at this moment in time, apart from the suggested Charitable options which may be available in her area.

I myself many years ago was under the care of Social Services, and they are sometimes not as bad as some make out, it may be that this is the only option available to this lady, while she tries to get some worthwhile employment prior to applying for ILR further down the line. I know this advice may sound unpalaptable but it may be the only option once other options have been tried and exhausted.

Nice post Harry, well said

[grahamw48]

Agreed.


I believe the OP's first post does suggest that at least one of the children has a British passport though.

[alesypalsy]

Both the kids are British Harry , although you seemed to have ignored that in my original post and in trying to help me got me confused, thank you for your efforts all the same,,
I dont wish to share my location on an open internet forum, i am sure you would understand that.

This is really a shame for this girl, theres nothing i can really do as the powers that be just dont have help available., Maybe if she claimed she just arrived on a boat with no passport she would be entitled to more help.. house, car etc... what a bloody mess of a situation

may as well close this as i cannot see any way forward, and charity's i will mention to her but i pretty sure she will do what ever she can to stay warm

[grahamw48]

Have a look on here:

.
http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...on_if_homeless

[Longweekend]

Both the kids are British Harry , although you seemed to have ignored that in my original post and in trying to help me got me confused, thank you for your efforts all the same,,
I dont wish to share my location on an open internet forum, i am sure you would understand that.

This is really a shame for this girl, theres nothing i can really do as the powers that be just dont have help available., Maybe if she claimed she just arrived on a boat with no passport she would be entitled to more help.. house, car etc... what a bloody mess of a situation

may as well close this as i cannot see any way forward, and charity's i will mention to her but i pretty sure she will do what ever she can to stay warm

I don't understand why you would not share the area/town where you live on an internet forum, what do you think could happen? Have you not noticed how many people on this forum give their town....

[Michael Parnham]

I don't understand why you would not share the area/town where you live on an internet forum, what do you think could happen? Have you not noticed how many people on this forum give their town....

Should be shared really, because one of the members may be able to accommodate the lady and her children with the added help of pointing them in the right direction. Remember the Philippine community is very close and each member know others beyond this Forum that could be very useful!

[Longweekend]

Couldn't agree more Michael...

[Trefor]

'Near Birmingham, near London, Devon' or something similar is enough to get us started.

[Michael Parnham]

Both the kids are British Harry , although you seemed to have ignored that in my original post and in trying to help me got me confused, thank you for your efforts all the same,,
I dont wish to share my location on an open internet forum, i am sure you would understand that.

This is really a shame for this girl, theres nothing i can really do as the powers that be just dont have help available., Maybe if she claimed she just arrived on a boat with no passport she would be entitled to more help.. house, car etc... what a bloody mess of a situation

may as well close this as i cannot see any way forward, and charity's i will mention to her but i pretty sure she will do what ever she can to stay warm

Give more information as requested, any of us could possibly help her!