A homeless man and members of the public in London. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket ... [+] via Getty Images)

A controversial part of the U.K. immigration system which bars migrants without permanent residency from access public funds is under increased scrutiny, as the amount of people applying to have their ban lifted increases more than 500%.

The clause is known as "No Recourse To Public Funds" or NRPF for short. It means any migrant without permanent residency (known in the U.K. as Indefinite Leave to Remain, or ILR) is barred from accessing the state support afforded citizens and permanent residents, such as welfare, school meal subsidies, disability allowance and child support. The U.K. Home Office, responsible for immigration in the country, says ILR is an established threshold for permitting migrants to access public funds, and that this is in the public interest.

Campaign groups have been lobbying for an easing of NRPF for years, but if this is the first time youve heard about it, youre not the only one. At the end of May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared confused when asked by MP Stephen Timms about NRPF: "Hang on Stephen, why aren't they eligible for Universal Credit or Employment Support Allowance?"

After Timms explained it all to him, the PM promised to look into it: "Clearly (...) people who've worked hard for this country, who live and work here, should have support of one kind or another." That was at the end of May, but by early June it was clear the U.K. government was not going to change things, and at the end of June, parliament voted 337-248 against pausing NRPF during the pandemic.

By this point of course, COVID-19 had already wrought a severe economic and human toll in the U.K., not least for those migrants already in tenuous or low-paid employment who were unable to apply for help when their jobs disappeared. The latest government numbers on individual NRPF relief applications reflect this: in the first quarter of 2020, 843 people applied to have their ban lifted to save them and their families from destitution. In the second quarter, there were 5,665 applications. That's an increase of 572%.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is causing an economic crisis of unprecedented scale and has translated into a large increase in unemployment and income losses for a substantial share of the population," wrote Maria Fernndez-Reino, a senior researcher at the Migration Observatory at Oxford University in a recent briefing note. "Recent research has shown that this crisis is expected to widen the existing economic inequalities and has put many migrants with NRPF, particularly those in precarious types of employment, in a vulnerable position."

Another serious concern is the impact of NRPF on victims of domestic abuse. As has been noted, cases of domestic and gender-based violence have spiked during the pandemic, and the government has acknowledged that NRPF can make it harder for people to seek shelter, meaning some victims might be forced to choose between staying with their abuser or living on the streets. An amendment to the recently passed Domestic Abuse Bill which would have lifted NRPF for migrant victims of domestic abuse was rejected 331-207 in the House of Commons.

The Migration Observatory estimates there are around 1.376 million people currently holding U.K. visas that would be subject to NRPF. The majority of these are likely to be in a position to support themselves and will not be experiencing financial hardship approaching destitution. For those less fortunate, however, there are significant barriers to getting help.

In May, a High Court decision led to the Home Office extending the criteria for individual NRPF relief, meaning those in the country on family or private life visas could be allowed to access public funds. This still leaves many people ineligible, in particular people on work visas who have lost their income due to the coronavirus pandemic. Even those who can apply, and are aware that they can apply, face significant obstacles.

"It is a very complicated process, even though they say that it's been made as simple as possible," says Mary Atkinson, family reunion campaigner at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). "What we see is that people really do need legal advice to be able to lift the conditions."

Complexity alone is not the only barrier to applying. A successful lifting of NRPF would in many cases double the amount of time the migrant needs to be in the country before she gains permanent residency, up to ten years from the usual five. Prolonging this process would mean thousands of pounds of extra fees the already destitute family would have to pay. Various groups have described this as a punishment or penalty for applying for assistance. The Home Office says this provision reflects a fairness to those immigrants who don't seek taxpayer support during their process towards ILR.

A government spokesperson said: Those seeking to establish their family life in the U.K. must do so on a basis that prevents burdens on the taxpayer and promotes integration. However, individuals who have a right to be in the U.K. on account of their family life or other human rights reasons can apply to have the NRPF condition lifted by making a change of conditions application if their financial circumstances change.

Today's NRPF-relief application numbers show a steady increase in acceptance over the last few years. 89% of the applications made so far in Q2 2020 to lift NRPF have been approved, compared to 41% in Q3 2017. Various charities continue to call for an overall lifting of NRPF, however, in light of a significant rise in the homeless population, which will include many migrant workers who are not in the position to apply for their own relief.

"People are getting in touch on a daily basis, saying 'me and my partner both lost our jobs and we don't know where to turn,'" says the JCWI's Mary Atkinson. "Currently, there are very, very few places they can turn to."

But Atkinson also says the attention on NRPF only makes an existing problem more visible. "It shows the desperate situation that these policies have put people in for years. The fact that there's been this surge doesn't mean that people haven't been in desperate need before."

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Thousands Of Migrants In The U.K. Are Seeking Relief From No Recourse To Public Funds - Forbes