London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Sep 05, 2026

Women abandoned overseas by abusive husbands win right to return to UK

Women abandoned overseas by abusive husbands win right to return to UK

Mothers forcibly separated from their children and abandoned overseas by abusive husbands could be allowed to return to the UK following a landmark ruling, it was revealed this week.

It follows a victory in the British high court for a woman who was abandoned in Pakistan by her British husband and kept apart from her 2-year-old daughter.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, married a British citizen in 2017, relocated to the UK and gave birth to a baby girl the following year, but suffered from domestic violence and was left with “permanent internal damage.”

The court said the woman was unlawfully discriminated against and was entitled to return to the UK.

According to research, young women — mostly of South Asian descent — have suffered from the practice known as “transnational marriage abandonment,” which includes emotional and sexual abuse, being exploited for the purpose of producing children, and acting as domestic servants for their in-laws, The Times reported.

The British Home Office had been examining cases of transnational marriage abandonment since 2016, but had failed to come to a conclusion by the time of the high court challenge, The Guardian reported.

“For too long, the lack of a re-entry route for victims of transnational marriage abandonment has been used as a loophole by abusers,” said the woman’s lawyer, Nath Gbikpi of Islington Law Centre.“They knew that so long as they managed to get them out of the UK, they could prevent their spouses from returning and, by so doing, prevent them from accessing the UK criminal, family and immigration system.”

Gbikpi said status quo was unlawful and violated women’s human rights — something the high court judge agreed with, ruling that abandoned women were discriminated against because they were abroad as a result of their abuse.

According to The Times, the Home Office is not appealing, which means that victims of transnational abuse will be able to apply from overseas for the right to remain in Britain.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Scottish Tech Company PureLifi Enters Administration With More Than 40 Job Losses
Scottish Government Names Alyn Smith Innovation and Education Minister
Green Party Co-Leader Zack Polanski to Contest By-Election for Keir Starmer’s Former Seat
Palestine Action Activists Appeal Terrorism-Related Prison Sentences
PwC Report Highlights Persistent Regional Spending-Power Divide Across Britain
UK Names Hundreds of Employers for Minimum Wage Violations
UK Commits £400 Million to International Tropical Forest Fund
UK Extends £2 Bus Fare Cap Across England Through 2027
UK Warns Travellers as US-Iran Tensions Disrupt Middle East Security and Shipping
Andy Burnham Faces Kemi Badenoch in First Prime Minister’s Questions
Kemi Badenoch Names Andrew Griffith Shadow Chancellor in Conservative Reshuffle
UK Treasury and Markets Focus on Fiscal Headroom Ahead of Autumn Budget
UK Government Reverses Early Release Plans for Serious Violent and Sexual Offences
UK and France Review Border Cooperation After 48,000 Small-Boat Crossings Prevented
UK Growth Outlook Weakens as Inflation and Energy Costs Rise
Breeding Tropical Mosquitoes Discovered in East London
Sadiq Khan Agrees to Search of Digital Communications in Palantir Lawsuit
Scottish Protesters Call for Moratorium on AI Data Centre Expansion
Uber Drivers Bring London Class Action Over Algorithmic Management
Reform UK Accepts £4 Million Donation From Cryptocurrency Billionaire Pardoned by Trump
Justice Secretary Tightens Early Release Scheme to Exclude Manslaughter Offenders
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Team as Reform UK Pressure Grows
British Mortgage Rates Rise as Global Bond Sell-Off Pushes Up Borrowing Costs
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record in 2026
UK Government Urges Households to Stock Essential Supplies Ahead of Severe El Niño Risk
UK Prepares Targeted Sanctions Over Israeli Settlements in West Bank
Reform UK Faces Electoral and Police Scrutiny Over Foreign Donation Allegations
UK and France Expand Channel Migration Cooperation as Trade Tensions Surface
UK Marks Merchant Navy Day With Tribute to Civilian Seafarers
Burnham Pays Tribute to Two Police Officers Killed on Duty in Northern England
Booking.com Left Fake Downing Street Listing Online for Two Months, Which Says
Burnham and Macron to Review UK-France Cooperation on Channel Crossings
UK Business Confidence Improves Slightly but Investment Concerns Persist
Burnham Faces Pressure Over Future North Sea Oil and Gas Licences
Burnham Pushes Wider English Devolution Through ‘Number Ten North’
British Chambers of Commerce Raises 2026 UK Growth Forecast to 1%
Keir Starmer Resigns as Holborn and St Pancras MP, Triggering By-Election
UK Chancellor Faces Tighter Budget Headroom as Long-Term Borrowing Costs Rise
UK Government Weighs Thames Water Nationalisation as Financial Crisis Deepens
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Faces First Commons Questions Over Tax and Spending Plans
Eleven British Seafarers Receive Merchant Navy Medal
Which? Creates Fake 10 Downing Street Rental Listing to Expose Booking.com Vetting Weaknesses
BP Appoints New Chairman in Effort to Stabilise Leadership
Aberdeen Sells Hydrogen Bus Fleet at Heavy Loss After Green Transport Experiment
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record as Climate Change Intensifies Extreme Heat
Scotland Pledges to End Temporary Accommodation for Children and Build 111,000 Affordable Homes
DNO Agrees $396 Million Deal to Acquire Capricorn Energy
Uber and Wayve Launch UK’s First Supervised Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service in London
Britain Expected to Avoid New US Tariffs Targeting European Union
Middle East Conflict Pushes UK Energy Costs Higher and Revives Inflation Concerns
×