Samuel
More than 20 years after arriving in the UK, Samuel was able to regularise his immigration status through support from Boaz.
“I've been here for quite a while, and it's not the same as it was 20 years ago. [...] You used to feel welcome.”
Sitting across from Samuel* in the Boaz office, we start the interview with a couple of questions about him. I learn that his favourite food is Jollof Rice: “You can decide how much spice you want to have, but that’s my favourite. It’s from Nigeria.” As we chat, I also discover he is an avid reader of spy thrillers, particularly the novels of John le Carre.
Before Samuel was referred to the Restricted Eligibility Support Service (RESS), life in the UK had become a struggle. He had experienced forms of hidden homelessness like sofa surfing and staying in precarious accommodation, while also trying to resolve his immigration status.
“It had become very difficult. Confusing. And I thought I’d run out of avenues, you know, for support. I had also applied for voluntary return because things were really bad. And then they turned me down. Applied to work. They turned me down. And I couldn’t go home either because they had taken my passport. So even if I wanted to, I couldn’t go back home. So I’m trapped for quite a number of years.”
During this time, because of the ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition attached to Samuel’s immigration status, he was restricted from claiming benefits or accessing housing assistance. He also had no right to work.
Over the 21 years he has lived in Manchester, Samuel has witnessed the shifts in political and public attitudes towards migrants and people seeking safety in the UK. When asked if it feels more hostile now than two decades ago, he told me:
“Definitely. Without any shadow of doubt. You know, you used to feel welcome. People were welcoming. And it doesn't take too long for most people. You know, get it sorted, start working, you contribute. But it's a bit of a mess now, it’s taking too long.”
Despite the frustrations and injustices of being trapped in limbo in the UK immigration system, and the declining atmosphere of welcome, Samuel still told me that his favourite thing about Manchester is the people.
In his interactions with Boaz, the person-centred approach was what stood out to him most. Having one named support worker by his side gave Samuel the continuity he needed to make progress with his housing situation and his immigration case.
“So when I first met Vron, it was supposed to be only about housing and she did help me get housing in Salford - within the week, actually, which was amazing. She sorted my housing out. And then she said, ‘I think we are better off at helping you with your case as well, if you want to.’”
Samuel’s support worker from Boaz submitted Subject Access Requests and helped him gather all the documents he needed for his long residency application. With legal advice from Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) and support from Boaz, Samuel was able to apply for leave to remain using the 20 year long residence rule.
“So she started the ball rolling, helped me collect all the evidence I would need to prove that I've been in the country for 20 years or more. [...] Within a few months, she had it all sorted out - the housing and my immigration case. All within the space of probably six months. She said to me, ‘I’ll email and I’ll email until they respond.’ Tenacious, that’s the term - really tenacious.”
Applying for leave to remain using the 20 year long residence rule places an individual on the 10 year route to settlement pathway. A successful application means you will initially be granted leave to remain for 2.5 years, and will then need to reapply three times every 2.5 years before being able to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Around a year after Samuel was first referred to RESS and facing eviction from his accommodation, and more than 20 years after arriving in the UK, he was granted leave to remain for 2.5 years.
“It was a great great relief, can we put it that way. Joyous. Gave me my independence back. Might be a bit late, but you know [...] I'd say, relieved is the main thing - to look after myself. And at my age. To have that independence to look after yourself.”
The significance of being granted leave to remain can never be underestimated - it’s the moment many of the people we support are waiting for, the milestone that unlocks so many doors and brings hope of moving forward with life in the UK. For Samuel, the road to this moment was 20 years long. I asked him what he wished people understood about what it’s like to navigate the UK immigration system:
“They need to understand that it can be stressful and long - in my case especially. And they're not very efficient with people's documents. You know, they take your passport and next you know, no one knows where it’s gone.”
For Samuel there will likely still be challenges ahead with the associated costs of being on the 10 year route to settlement. I asked him about what he thought needed to change in the current asylum and immigration system:
“The thing is, that's what's wrong with the system: it makes the locals start turning against the immigrants. It's a very negative thing. Like you can see now with the protests at the hotels and I can understand, you know, where they're coming from but the effect of it is not good on the immigrants in the end. So I wish they would, you know, treat everyone fairly - local or immigrant. Treat them equally.”
After he was granted leave to remain, Samuel’s support worker connected him with another area of our work for help with his eVisa. Samuel met with a support worker from our Refugee Homelessness Prevention Project (RHPP) and was impressed with the holistic approach that was taken:
“When I met Tsegaye, I had my eVisa, but they had misspelled my surname. So Tsegaye was there to help me correct that on the eVisa. But he went further and helped me apply for my national insurance. Helped me apply for my Universal Credit and he helped me apply for a bank account. He only was supposed to help me correct the eVisa. That's what I'm saying. Everybody is like that. It wasn't just about what you came in for. You got the extra help that you hadn't even asked for.”
As we’re wrapping up the interview, I ask Samuel what he thinks is the most important thing that Boaz does.
“I would say in a simple sentence: it brings back hope in humanity, you know, when you’ve lost hope in people.”
*Name changed
Destitution is not a fixed state. With the right advice, and support to act on that advice, many people facing destitution go on to regularise their status - like Samuel has.
You can read more about our work with people who have insecure or uncertain immigration statuses in our 2024 report, A Slow Violence: How immigration control forces people in Greater Manchester into destitution.
