Immigrant families in the Family Justice System

This project will investigate how the immigration experience influences parental separation in immigrant families.

Why this project is important

The immigrant experience complicates family lives before, during, and after their interactions with the family justice system. A 2023 House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee inquiry highlighted how Brexit, “hostile environment” migration policies, and the tightening of the immigration system since 2012 have disrupted the lives of families. The uncertainty, difficulties in maintaining relationships, and financial burden create further pressures on relationships.

Experiences of parental separation are shaped by access to resources, including public, private, financial, and logistical support. These pain points are exacerbated in immigrant families, especially when one or both parents reside on fixed term or dependent visas or are lacking documented status altogether. For immigrant parents, separation from a partner may even lead to loss of the right to reside or work in the UK.

What it will involve

Given the scale of the issue – in 2022, 37% of children born in England had at least one foreign born parent – the research team aim to:

• Improve the capacity of parents in immigrant families to obtain and enact child contact and maintenance plans that benefit themselves and their children.
• Improve the competency of legal practitioners and third sector stakeholders to support separating immigrant families.
• Contribute to advocacy for increased access to Legal Aid, facilitated family and visitor visas, and increased cross-jurisdictional competence.

The research will be completed in three phases:

1. Conducting semi-structured interviews with separating parents to understand how difference in recency of arrival, legal circumstance, socioeconomic status, national origins, and origin of spouse intersect to shape child contact and maintenance negotiations in formal and informal settings.
2. Interviewing third sector and legal professionals to identify vulnerabilities faced by immigrant families. In doing so, identifying best practices and gaps in training and awareness.
3. Investigating different applications of legal principles and their consequences for child contact and maintenance negotiation and outcomes. Documenting the nature and limitations of existing co-operation and communication between family and immigration jurisdictions.

How it will make a difference

The research team will work with third-sector organisations and law practitioners to co-create and disseminate outputs, including best practice briefings for legal practitioners, and to improve signposting and access to information for immigrant families.