Imagine having to choose between paying for accommodation to keep a roof over your head and putting your savings towards an application to stay in the country you call home.

This is the decision Peter, 57, had to make in 2016 when his family were made homeless for a month because their landlord wanted the property back. They struggled to find someone else who would rent to them, given their short-term visa at the time. They were forced to use the savings they had for their Home Office fees to find daily accommodation.

“We had to choose between saving for our next visa and finding a place to stay. We couldn’t move to another flat because our visas had limited time and no one wanted to rent to us. With all our troubles, we sought help and advice from different agencies, but no one showed any interest,” Peter said.

Over the years, Peter said he has spent close to £14,000 on Home Office fees. The father of three came to the UK from Trinidad in 2004 to continue his studies. In 2012, he decided to apply for a visa to stay in Britain, having previously been on a student one.

In 2014, he was granted a family life visa. His family had struggled to get enough money together to pay for the fees associated with applying for it, which cost about £4,400 at the time.

The whole process took two years and during that time, Peter and his wife were not allowed to work. “We struggled to meet our living expenses, having to borrow from friends and family, and doing side jobs,” he said.



“We don’t buy things we don’t need – we just buy the things that we need, the necessities. Basic items such as bread and juice. That is how we survive.”

Peter made the difficult decision to use money left to his children by their grandmother for their education to pay fees. “It was a very hard decision to make ... But I had to access funds for their future to make sure they had stability in the present,” he said.

The family had less than two years to get £6,500 to renew their visa. They did this while repaying debts from borrowing for the first visa, Peter said. They also had to meet living expenses on modest salaries. At the time, Peter’s wife was working in education and he was doing odd jobs.



The applications were sent in October 2016, and in March 2017, the family were advised to send in fee waiver forms because they did not have enough money. Their applications were rejected.



The couple are now not allowed to legally work in Britain.



New applications and fee waiver forms were sent in January, but they were also rejected. The family reapplied in June and are awaiting a response from the Home Office.

“I try not to [worry about money] as I know I cannot do anything about it, but I worry about what will happen to my children if we are kicked out on to the streets,” Peter said.

“Throughout this whole process, my 16-year-old has experienced living in hostels and been in rooms with other adult males as we couldn’t afford our own room. That is very painful, thinking I have had to put my children through that.

“We are a family that has used its life savings to be here and invest in its children’s future … The government needs to understand that for us, and many families like us, we have paid a huge, life-altering amount of money and have to continue paying, making unsettling sacrifices to stay in the country. People like us face the risk of never being able to recover from the level of poverty that we are driven to.”

For Matthew, 47, the huge financial cost of applying to stay in Britain has left his family constantly worrying about money. He said treats or trips away for his three children are not an option.

Finances are tight because of the cost of reapplying for a visa for his family to stay in Britain. Originally from Ghana, Matthew and his family overstayed their visa when they arrived in 2006, and made a Home Office application in 2010 to remain for medical reasons. Matthew’s daughter, who was born in the UK, is disabled and the medical treatment she receives in Britain is not available in Ghana.

The family were eventually granted a two-and-a-half year visa, but they keep having to renew it.

“The last time I renewed the application, it cost me … about £7,000 to £8,000. There is the NHS surcharge bill, the Home Office fees ... the costs are just going up and up,” Matthew said.

“I follow immigration news closely and I know the NHS surcharge is due to go up, and the application fee itself is due to go up. It goes up every year … and so it’s a headache at the moment.”

Matthew is the only family member who is working. He has a job as a teaching assistant and works driving children to and from school. His wife stays at home and cares for their daughter.

“It’s not a well-paid job, but I have got my daughter’s disability benefit coming in … My family have to really budget because we have to get money ready for when our visa expires and we need to reapply,” he said.

Matthew said it was harder before they were granted a visa, because no one in the family could work and they had to borrow thousands of pounds from friends and relatives to pay Home Office fees.

“There are times when I really worry we will end up homeless because of all the huge financial implications and responsibilities we face,” Matthew said.

“One of the things that I am planing to discuss with my solicitor is about whether next year – when our visa renewal is due – we can to argue for a permanent stay, rather than having to wait another five years to do that. I am not sure if there is any provision in the law.”

Matthew came to Britain because he wanted to contribute to UK society, he said, and he loves working with children. But he feels the financial pressures on his family have had a negative impact on his sons and daughter.

“Something has to be done about extortionate Home Office fees, especially when children are involved. These are not just children but, in my case, there is a disabled child involved too. These are children born in the UK who hold British birth certificates,” he said.

“When my son turns 10 in October, I am going to apply for citizenship for him and that will cost me at least £1,500.

“Our visa is due to expire soon and at the moment we’re really at a loss [as to] how we’d be able to raise over £10,000 to meet the cost. We are still repaying money owed from our last application. The Home Office have become [a] money-making machine for the government and immigrants are the ones who suffer.”