Migrant victim-survivors are being prevented from opening a basic bank account because of unclear immigration rules, according to a new report by the charity Surviving Economic Abuse. This is leaving them trapped with dangerous domestic abusers and facing insurmountable barriers to rebuilding their lives in an increasingly cashless society.
The report, “Survivors’ Needs: How financial services firms can support customers experiencing economic abuse to regain financial control and rebuild their lives”, examined economic abuse victim-survivors’ experiences accessing support from their bank, in particular the experiences of women from Black and racially marginalised backgrounds and migrant survivors.
Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, the report found that while financial services firms have made progress in responding to economic abuse, more needs to be done to support victim-survivors with intersecting needs. By increasing an understanding of migrant and Black and racially marginalised survivors’ support needs, financial services firms could provide tailored responses to drive consistently good outcomes for their customers.
The report also shows that, in some cases, financial services firms’ hands are tied and sheds light on the major barrier preventing migrant victim-survivors from escaping abusers: access to an independent bank account.
Abusers often exploit a victim-survivor’s immigration status by withholding documentation like passports and visas, or by purposely letting a victim-survivor’s visa lapse. This means that migrant victim-survivors without leave to remain are legally unable to open their own bank account through no fault of their own, leaving them economically dependent on the abuser or facing extreme hardship. One victim-survivor reported that without her own bank account she felt like she didn’t exist.
Despite efforts by some financial firms to help migrant survivors, like accepting non-standard forms of ID, a lack of clarity about who financial services firms can legally open a bank account for means vulnerable migrant victim-survivors are being left in an impossible predicament.
The charity is calling on the Government to provide statutory guidance to financial services firms, legally recognising domestic, including economic, abuse as a “legitimate barrier” to leaving the UK, to make clear that migrant victim-survivors are exempt within the guidance underpinning the Immigration Act 2014. This would allow migrant victim-survivors to open a basic independent bank account while awaiting the outcome of their application for leave to remain and remove this barrier to safety.
One migrant victim-survivor who could not open a bank account due to her immigration status and was interviewed as part of the research, reflected on what having a bank account would feel like: “I see a bank card, like I value it because I’ve never held one. When I look at it, even to say that my name is written on it, that it belongs to me. I will be so happy. That will make me feel like a part of life and a part of the system and doing what human beings are doing. I can see myself as human. I’m existing.”
Interviewed about the challenges faced by the migrant victim-survivors, an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate from Latin American Women’s Rights Service said: “If she finds some form of financial support but she doesn’t have a bank account […] then any form of financial support will go to the perpetrator’s account or to a joint account that she wouldn’t have access to. This makes finding a way out of a relationship with an abuser very difficult.”
Speaking about the report, Sam Smethers, CEO of Surviving Economic Abuse, said: “Denying migrant victim-survivors access to an independent bank account traps them with abusers, making it impossible for them to flee. No one should be forced to stay with a dangerous abuser simply because of their immigration status.
“In an increasingly cashless society having access to a bank account isn’t just about financial independence, it’s a necessity for survival. Without a bank account, victim-survivors are often left unable to buy food for themselves and their children or pay for the bus to flee the abuser.
“The Government must act now by providing clear guidance to financial services firms to remove this unjust barrier to safety. It’s the only way to ensure every victim-survivor, including those with an insecure immigration status, has the means to flee for a chance to live a life free from abuse.”
Discussing the report, Selma Taha, Executive Director of Southall Black Sisters, our research partner, said: “As a by and for service for Black, minoritised and migrant women with over 60% service users having No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), we see the hardships migrant victim-survivors endure due to curtailed access to independent bank accounts in an increasingly cashless society.
“Subject to the weaponisation of immigration status by perpetrators and the state alike, migrant women are rendered economically dependent on abusers and face a stark choice between domestic abuse, destitution, and deportation. This puts their lives in constant peril – no victim-survivor deserves to be denied the right to safety regardless of their immigration status.
“We welcome this report and urge the government to take its recommendations on board. We also reiterate our ask for the government to end the hostile immigration environment and extend the combined model of status and support guaranteed by the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain (DVILR) to all migrant victim-survivors. Such change is instrumental to improving migrant victim-survivors’ life chances and to increasing their confidence in the system.”
The report calls for:
- The Government to include domestic, including economic, abuse as a “legitimate barrier” to leaving the UK within the guidance that underpins the 2014 Immigration Act. This will clarify that financial services firms can open a basic bank account for migrant victim-survivors while they regularise their immigration status.
- Financial services firms to enhance their understanding of their customers’ intersecting needs and implement this learning into their product design, service delivery, and colleague training. This will help ensure their consumer support offer meets the needs of all victim-survivors, including Black and racially marginalised and migrant survivors.
- The FCA to continue to monitor how the Consumer Duty is being implemented and the impact on victim-survivors, with particular consideration to the Equality Act 2010.
ENDS
For further information or to arrange an interview with a SEA spokesperson, please contact the Surviving Economic Abuse press office on: [email protected] / 07786 073249
