Baytree, alongside our partner organisations Indo-American Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO) and High Trees, have recently been featured in a BBC Mundo article.
There is a well-established Latin American community in Lambeth, and an estimated 250,000 Latinos in the UK, many of whom arrived on EU passports.
In order to remain in the UK after Brexit, those with passports from any EU country had to apply for permanent residence or settled status (or a temporary residence known as pre-settled status) before June 30, or risk losing their rights to employment, renting a house, state benefits and public health. Ultimately, many face the threat of deportation if they are not granted the required residency status.
The pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. Government registration offices closed in 2020, for example, eliminating in-person appointments and requiring people to register online.
In partnership with Baytree and High Trees, IRMO has offered advice to more than 2,000 people facing uncertainty around their status. Since a language barrier is often a major obstacle to acessing information, all support is offered in Spanish.
We are proud to be working with IRMO and supporting our local Latin American community.
