Our March wins - Campaigning and casework

This month has been exciting for Refugee and Migrant Justice - from meeting a new ally in Parliament to celebrating a legal victory that is already changing lives. Heres what weve been up to.

Meeting our local MP – Uma Kumaran

This month, we had the privilege of meeting Uma Kumaran, the MP for Stratford and Bow. Given that RAMFEL’s office is based in Stratford, we see this as an exciting opportunity to work closely with an MP who represents many of the people we support.

During our meeting, we highlighted some of the biggest challenges that refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants face when navigating the UK’s immigration system. This included:

• The repeated and expensive renewals of Leave to Remain applications
• Poor decision-making in family reunion cases for people in conflict zones
• The urgent need for a fee waiver for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) applications, so that people are not priced out of securing permanent immigration status

Uma and her team were shocked by many of these realities, Watch our meeting with Uma on Instagram.

It is really important that that Refugee and Migrant Justice doing this vital work and I’m looking forward to working with them in the future.”

Uma Kumaran MP

Bereaved Partner Concession – Our First Fee Waiver Granted

Last year, RAMFEL won a landmark legal battle that forced the government to introduce a fee waiver for bereaved partners. This month, we saw the first approval granted using this waiver – saving a grieving widow, who had cared for her husband until his passing, thousands of pounds and securing her immigration status.

This victory is more than just a financial win; it provides stability and security for a grieving widow who otherwise might have faced losing her immigration status. It is also a testament to how our legal work has a direct and life-changing impact on the people we support.

Our new campaign - Indefinite Leave to Remain Fee Waiver

We’re excited to share that we have launched an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for a fee waiver for ILR applications - and we already have 26 MPs from 7 parties signed on in support!

An EDM is a tool MPs use to highlight pressing issues, and it helps organisations like RAMFEL identify which MPs are aligned with the change we want to see. Every MP who signs is helping to bring the need for an ILR fee waiver into the political conversation. This campaign is just beginning, and we’ll keep pushing until real change happens.

About the campaign

Casework Success

As well as our campaigning work, this month our casework team have achieved huge amounts for our clients. In March, we secured:

18 people permanent immigration status

6 people British citizenship

40 people Leave to Remain