A blind Nigerian pensioner who has lived in the UK for 26 years has been told by the Home Office she can safely ‘go home’ to India, despite having no connection to the country, as part of a rejection of her application for immediate indefinite leave to remain.
Comfort*, 67, arrived in the UK in 2000 and shortly after went blind due to acute glaucoma. After 20 years in the country she was granted leave to remain under long residence rules, which require visa renewal every 30 months for 10 years before applying for indefinite leave to remain.
Under new settlement rules announced this week by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Comfort will now likely have to keep renewing her visa for the next 20 years, meaning she would not be eligible for indefinite leave to remain until she is in her 80s. Lawyers at Refugee and Migrant Justice applied for her to be granted indefinite leave to remain now due to her age and disability, but the Home Office refused.
The refusal letter told Comfort she could return to Nigeria because there are services for blind people there, but concluded: ‘Your circumstances are not so severe or lacking in potential treatment in India that it would warrant indefinite leave to remain in this case.’
‘I don’t know why the Home Office said I could go back to India. It’s a country I have never visited and have no connection with,’ Comfort said. ‘I have been living in this country for 26 years. I have found my home here and settled well. I have my friends, my church and do voluntary work. I’m a good citizen, not a law-breaker and am begging the Home Office to have mercy on me.’
Nick Beales, head of campaigning at Migrant and Refugee Justice, said: ‘This woman is blind, in her late 60s and has lived in the UK for a quarter of a century. She meets the rules to remain here and there is no public interest in making her continue to renew her visa.’ He added: ‘Rather than viewing these vulnerable people as human beings, the government is fixated on appearing tough. Shabana Mahmood’s plans to double settlement routes will clearly make these problems even worse, especially as her decision-makers cannot even differentiate between India and Nigeria.’
Home Office sources said corrective action was being taken to re-issue an updated letter to the woman. A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘We do not routinely comment on individual cases. All applications for permission to stay in the UK are carefully considered on their individual merits, in line with the immigration rules and based on the information and evidence provided by the applicant.’
Freedom of information data obtained by Refugee and Migrant Justice shows that many people of pensionable age have applied for settlement but are likely to die before satisfying the new wait times. One person on the data is a woman from Pakistan aged 103 who will not be eligible until she is 123.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The case highlights the human impact of the government's new, stricter settlement rules, which campaigners say could leave elderly and disabled migrants waiting decades for permanent residency.
- The Home Office's apparent confusion between Nigeria and India raises concerns about the accuracy and care in decision-making on individual applications.
- Thousands of long-term UK residents may face similar extended waits under the new rules, with freedom of information data showing applicants over 80 are unlikely to survive the required 20-year period.
Background
The new settlement rules, announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood this week, double the time some migrants must wait before applying for indefinite leave to remain. Previously, those on the long residence route could apply after 10 years; under the new system, some must wait 20 years or more. The government has defended the changes as part of a crackdown on immigration routes.
Key Perspectives
Comfort (the applicant): Says she has found her home in the UK, does voluntary work, and is ‘begging the Home Office to have mercy on me’ rather than making her wait 20 more years.
Nick Beales (Migrant and Refugee Justice): Calls the new settlement model ‘cruel and counter-productive’, arguing the government is ‘fixated on appearing tough’ and that decision-makers cannot even differentiate between India and Nigeria.
Home Office: Says it does not comment on individual cases, but that all applications are considered on their merits according to immigration rules.
What to Watch
- Whether other similarly affected applicants challenge the new rules in court.
- Any further Home Office guidance on exceptional circumstances for elderly or disabled applicants.
- Parliamentary or public pressure on Shabana Mahmood to amend the settlement rules after this case becomes widely known.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says the Home Office told a blind Nigerian pensioner to “go home” to India.UK news | The Guardian: “UK tells blind Nigerian pensioner to go home to India. A blind Nigerian pensioner who has lived in the UK for 26 years has been told by the Home Office she can safely “go home” to India.”
- SupportedThe Home Office refused Comfort’s application for indefinite leave to remain now.UK news | The Guardian: “Due to her age and disability, lawyers at Refugee and Migrant Justice applied to the Home Office for her to be granted indefinite leave to remain now rather than having to wait two more decades before becoming eligible. There is a provision to fast-track indefinite leave to remain applications in exceptional circumstances. However, the Home Office rejected this application”
- SupportedThe refusal letter first said Comfort could return to Nigeria because services for blind people were available there, then referred to India in its conclusion.UK news | The Guardian: “the Home Office rejected this application, telling her in the first part of the letter that she could return to Nigeria because there are services there for blind people. But the refusal letter concluded: “Your circumstances are not so severe or lacking in potential treatment in India that it would warrant indefinite leave to remain in this case.””
- SupportedComfort said, “I don’t know why the Home Office said I could go back to India. It’s a country I have never visited and have no connection with.”UK news | The Guardian: ““I don’t know why the Home Office said I could go back to India. It’s a country I have never visited and have no connection with.””
- SupportedComfort is 67 and has lived in Britain for 26 years.UK news | The Guardian: “Comfort*, 67, arrived in the UK in 2000”
- SupportedThe long-residence route requires visa renewals every 30 months for 10 years before someone can apply for indefinite leave to remain.UK news | The Guardian: “Those allowed to stay on this route have to renew their visa every 30 months for 10 years and after that can apply for indefinite leave to remain.”
- SupportedComfort is likely to have to renew her visa for another 20 years and will then be in her 80s before becoming eligible for indefinite leave to remain.UK news | The Guardian: “it is likely Comfort will now have to keep renewing her visa for the next 20 years before she will finally, when she reaches her 80s, be eligible for indefinite leave to remain.”
- SupportedNick Beales said Comfort meets the rules to remain in the UK and there is no public interest in making her keep renewing her visa.UK news | The Guardian: ““This woman is blind, in her late 60s and has lived in the UK for a quarter of a century. She meets the rules to remain here and there is no public interest in making her continue to renew her visa.””
- SupportedBeales said Shabana Mahmood’s plans to double settlement routes would make these problems worse.UK news | The Guardian: ““Shabana Mahmood’s plans to double settlement routes will clearly make these problems even worse, especially as her decision-makers cannot even differentiate between India and Nigeria.””
- SupportedThe campaigner called the earned settlement model “cruel and counter-productive.”UK news | The Guardian: “The government should admit that their earned settlement model is cruel and counter-productive and scrap these plans once and for all.”
- SupportedHome Office sources said corrective action was being taken to issue Comfort an updated letter.UK news | The Guardian: “Home Office sources said that corrective action was being taken to re-issue an updated letter to the woman.”
- SupportedThe FOI data includes a 103-year-old woman from Pakistan who will not be eligible for settlement until she is 123.UK news | The Guardian: “One person on the Home Office data disclosure is a woman from Pakistan aged 103, who will not be eligible for settlement until she is 123 years old.”