With Brexit looming, we are looking at the housing rights of Polish people who experienced domestic abuse. A few changes were made last year in line with new immigration requirements for EU nationals who live in the UK.
Sue Lukes, a national housing and migration expert updated our guide "Getting and paying for housing". We would like you to familiarise yourselves with it to ensure that you offer the best possible service to some of the most marginalised and vulnerable victims.
We are very concerned that a lot of victims are completely unaware of the requirement to register for a new immigration status (settled and pre-settled status). If they don't apply for it before the deadline, it could have a detrimental effect on their right to live in the UK. We would recommend that all professionals working with Polish families enquire about settled status registration when completing initial assessments with clients.
You can find an updated guide in both languages on our website - https://www.vestasfs.org/resources
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Sue Lukes has worked in housing aid and refugee resettlement but has been freelance since 1996 as an expert in housing and migration and how local regional and national authorities and NGOs can make migration work for the benefit of all communities involved.
She co-edits the Chartered Institute of Housing website, trains many local authorities and others, does academic research and develops, facilitates, advises and evaluates projects. She is chair of Music in Detention