Provide dependant children of Social and Healthcare workers visas to enable them to join their mothers in the UK.  Children some as young as 2.5 years old have been left with elderly parents, friends, neighbours, and nannies. This is having a detrimental impact on their wellbeing. The best interests of the children are not being taken into account by the decisions being made by the Home Office. Furthermore, this issue is affecting children of single Black African mothers from Southern and West African countries.

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The Home Office is systematically barring, young children from joining their mothers in Britain despite extensive proof the women are their primary caregivers. This issue is affecting children of single Black African mothers, the majority from Zimbabwe, and other countries such as Zambia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana. 

Under an opaque policy condemned as discriminatory and inhumane, the government has refused many of visas for children of migrant single mothers, who came to work in the NHS or social care, saying there are “no compelling reasons” to grant them or that they “don’t have sole responsibility or sole custody” despite producing all the necessary evidence. Over 200 single mothers are affected by these decisions. 

The Home Office needs to review the applications of all the mothers affected and act in the best interests of the children. The mothers are distraught with the separation from their children and reports of neglect and abuse have been reported, in particular girls, as young as 12 years of age.