Thousands of healthcare workers and severely disabled people have been wrongly denied jobs and benefits, forcing them to use food banks and borrow money to power critical medical equipment because the Home Office refused to provide them with documents proving their legal status, a court said. heard.

In a scandal that echoes Windrush, hundreds of Caribbean migrants working and living in the UK have been wrongly targeted by immigration enforcement, High Court lawyers arguing thousands have become “unintended victims of a hostile environment because they There is no documentation of their legal immigration status.”

The claim came to light in a court case in which lawyers for a charity sought to force the Home Office to provide the documents claimants, including severely disabled people, need to prove they are lawfully receiving benefits and working in the UK.

Foreigners holding a “residence permit” must renew their status every few years, and while awaiting a decision, they are placed in “3C residence” status.

This is to protect their right to work, study or receive benefits, but it leaves them without physical documentation confirming their identity – something many employers insist on seeing.

Although the Ministry of the Interior does not release data on the number of “3C fake” people, “Freedom of Information” data shows that at least 370,000 people were in this situation in 2019.

Now the High Court has heard how people on 3C leave were deprived of their jobs and left destitute without notice. Others have been unable to accept university offers because they have been unable to access student finance, and some have had their benefits suddenly withdrawn.

Lawyers representing charity Ramfel and Ghanaian national Cecelia Adjei are trying to force the Home Office to provide physical documentation for people on 3C leave. The Home Office told the High Court at a hearing this week that it was “impossible” to provide such documents due to uncertainty over his status.

Government lawyers also said there was “no evidence” that the lack of documentation had a “seriously harmful impact” on the foreigners.

Ms Adjei, who has lived in the UK since 2000, told the court she had been suspended twice because she was unable to prove her immigration status while on 3C leave.

She was working shifts as a medical support worker at Whittington Hospital in north London and recalled one day in October 2021 when she logged into the hospital system to book more work but “the screen went blank”.

“I had been taken out of the system. I had no idea this was happening, so I was very shocked,” she explained. Her company told her that her employment rights had expired, so they could not offer her any work. Although her residence permit had expired, she applied for renewal in time, so her right to work was effectively protected while she waited for a new visa.

Ms Adjei said in a witness statement: “I did not receive any warning that I would be suspended. Therefore, I did not anticipate the sudden drop in my income. It was a real struggle to pay the bills and feed the children. The struggle. Things got so bad that at one point I had to use a food bank…during half term break [my children] Got a voucher for school meals which we could use in the supermarket. I used it to bulk buy things like big bags of rice and longevity milk to keep us going…I had to borrow money from friends and church members to get by. “

After about four weeks she was finally able to return to work, but it meant a loss of £500 to £600 in income, “which was a huge sum of money for our family”, she said.

In May 2022, she was suddenly suspended for the same reason. She told the court: “I was thrown into financial crisis again and I had no chance to prepare for it.”

She added: “I have no choice but to pay the rent and bills first so we don’t risk eviction or falling behind on our electricity, water and gas bills. But that means spending money on basic food and other needs The remaining funds were significantly reduced. At one point, my bank balance was almost zero.”

Her residence permit was finally extended in October 2022, but she fears she will face the same problem when she has to renew her visa again.

A highly vulnerable disabled woman, who was partially blind, suffered from severe arthritis and asthma and required day-to-day healthcare support, had her Personal Independence Payment (a disability benefit) suddenly stopped. Her PIP payments accounted for more than 50% of her income, but these were suspended without notice in July 2023 because she was on 3C leave.

Detailing her case in submissions to the court, Nick Beals, from charity Ramfield, said: “She had no food and had to borrow money from carers to install an electricity meter to provide her with the electricity she needed at night. Powered by life-saving breathing equipment, as well as various mobility devices allowing her to bathe and get in and out of bed.”

Ramfel previously estimated that more than 27,000 people could be seriously harmed by its 3C furlough status.

A British mother of a teenage son had her jobseeker’s allowance suspended without notice just before Christmas 2021. In another case, a single mother of four had her offer of a teaching job at Lambeth College withdrawn because she left at 3C.

In another case, a man named ST was suspended without notice and without pay after applying to renew his leave to stay in the UK. His employer told him he had one month to provide evidence that his visa had been renewed, and renewals take an average of 12 months to process.

The charity explained that after Ramphier intervened, ST was able to return to work, but the days of suspension caused him great distress.

“Any loss of income would be particularly problematic as his son relied on the income to meet his basic needs. Our client was in such distress that he stopped eating and became unwell,” Mr Beals said.

Radha Ruskin from Women’s Aid also said she had experienced women’s refuge staff evicting victims of domestic violence because they mistakenly believed they had no rights while on 3C leave Get asylum.

As the women have no physical documentation to prove they are entitled to benefits, Ms Ruskin of Women’s Aid said: “Services are often very reluctant to accommodate women if they do not hold a valid biometric residence permit because they are still in There was no belief that the woman was eligible for benefits.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “Individuals who submit applications for further leave in the UK before their existing leave expires must not be discriminated against. There are a number of channels for confirming a person’s entitlement to employment, study and other benefits and we hope that employers and others who need it will People checking immigration status use these channels.

“We do not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

Judgments are reserved in judicial review cases.