Providing over 25 years of service in Sutton
Message to all our students, clients, volunteers and friends from Europe and around the world.   

We affirm that all our members will always stand for inclusiveness, equality, diversity and respect.
We are proud to work and live alongside you and you will always be welcome here.
RMNS is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults who may be at risk.
We seek to establish a safe, caring environment where there is informed vigilance as to the dangers of abuse.
Click here to see our safeguarding policies.

What we offer

RMNS offers friendship, advice, counselling and English language classes to refugees, asylum seekers and newly settled migrants.  In normal times RMNS operates a Drop-In Centre every Wednesday from 10.00to 12.00 at Trinity Church Hall, Hill Road, Sutton.

New Plan for Immigration
Nationality and Borders Bill now published

​​On 24 March 2021 the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, launched the government’s New Plan for Immigration and a consultation process which was open until 6 May 2021. Various RMNS trustees and individual supporters responded to the consultation but there was insufficient time to organise a response from the organisation.
 
Now on 6th July, the government has published its Nationality and Borders Bill. We, and other organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers, are concerned that the measures it contains would not only fail to protect those in need of safety but also treat them as criminals.

We are including here text from the Refugee Council encouraging us to take action by writing to your MP.

The new Bill will mean that thousands of men, women and children, who would currently be accepted as refugees - would no longer be given safety in the UK due to their method of arrival. Some could be criminalised and put in prison for up to four years.

People seeking asylum whose claims are deemed ‘inadmissible’ will have to wait a period of time before their application can be processed, whilst the Government tries to remove them to so-called 'safe countries'. This could be up to six months, adding to the backlog of cases the Home Office already has.

The proposed legislation will lead to people being held in reception centres that could be offshore, which is likely to have a significant impact the mental health and well-being of already vulnerable individuals.

The Government insists it supports the expansion safe routes to the UK. Unfortunately, nothing in this bill makes good on those claims. 

Next week the Bill will be debated in Parliament for the first time during its Second Reading. 

We need you to write to your MP today and ask them to speak out against this anti-refugee Bill at this crucial moment. If you'd like more detail on the Bill you can read the Refugee Council blog.

Full details about the Bill can be found at The Nationality and Borders Bill: factsheet - GOV.UK

EU Settlement Scheme

​The deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme has now passed and European citizens living in the UK will need to start using your new digital status to prove your right to work, rent and access services in London and the UK.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has updated the European Londoners Hub with the latest information about your rights and entitlements—available in the top 6 European languages.
 
Click here to FIND OUT MORE ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS

RMNS is here to help. If you have missed the deadline and you need help with your late application, you can contact us on 07725 549411. Please leave a message with your name and telephone number and we will get back to you. You can also email us on office@rmns.org.uk.

EU Settlement Scheme
Advice from the Home Office

Pending applications - Anyone who made an application by the 30 June 2021 deadline will have their existing rights protected, pending the outcome of their application. Applicants are issued with a Certificate of Application, which can be relied on to evidence their rights.
Their Certificate of Application will be available in their view and prove account or will be sent to them by post. Landlords and employers can also use the Home Office view and prove service to confirm protected rights for an individual.

The Home Office will contact any applicant where we need further information to progress their application.
How to access and update digital status - You can view your EUSS status online, via the view and prove your immigration status service. Please refer to the following guide for further information about using your digital status: ‘Your immigration status: an introduction for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens’.

Switching from pre-settled status to settled-status - If you hold pre-settled status, you can apply to switch to settled status as soon as you’re eligible. This is usually after you’ve lived in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for 5 years in a row (known as ‘continuous residence’). You do not need to have held pre-settled status for 5 years before you can apply to switch to settled status. If you have spent more than 6 months outside the UK in a 12-month period, you may not be eligible for settled status. To switch, you must apply to the EUSS again before your pre-settled status expires. For further information, please refer to the guidance available on GOV.UK.

Joining family members - Family members of any nationality of EU, EEA or Swiss citizens who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, can apply at any time, where the family relationship was formed by that date (except where a child was born or adopted after it) and continues to exist. They may be able to apply to the EUSS from outside the UK or they may need to apply for an EUSS family permit to come to the UK and then apply to the EUSS once here.

​Applying for children - EU, EEA or Swiss citizens who were resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 must apply to the EUSS for their children who are not British citizens. For further information please refer to the guidance available on GOV.UK.
If they are expecting to have a child (or have given birth since 1 April 2021), then the child will also need to have an application made on their behalf to the EUSS within 3 months of their date of birth. However, if either of the child’s parents had settled status under the EUSS (or another form of indefinite leave to enter or remain) before the child was born, then they don’t need to make an application on their behalf, as the child will be a British citizen.  

Before you travel - crossing the UK border after 30 June 2021 - Individuals with pre-settled or settled status under the EUSS should ensure that they update their online account with all valid travel documents (such as passports or national identity cards) that they hold and intend to use for travel, to avoid any unnecessary delays at the border. They can do this online by using the view and prove service, which enables individuals with digital status to keep their travel documents updated.

Applications made after 30 June 2021 deadline - In line with the Citizens’ Rights Agreements, there remains scope for a person eligible for status under the EUSS to make a late application to the scheme where there are reasonable grounds for their having missed the deadline. We have published non-exhaustive guidance on reasonable grounds for missing the deadline on GOV.UK.
Where a person did not apply before the deadline, they must make a valid application online or on the relevant paper application form – and provide information with the application setting out their grounds for applying late. The Home Office will continue to look to grant status, rather than for reasons to refuse. A flexible and pragmatic approach will be taken in considering whether there are reasonable grounds for the person’s failure to apply by the deadline.
If someone without status is encountered who may be eligible for it, they will be provided with a written notice giving them an opportunity to apply to the scheme, setting out their reasonable grounds for missing the deadline, normally within 28 days, and signposted to the support available.

For more information see EU Settlement Scheme: information for late applicants - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
 
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