London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 27, 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
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
East Midlands Railway Urges Essential Travel Ahead of Bank Holiday Strikes
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Global and Energy Pressures Weigh
UK Government and Sainsbury’s Launch Plan for 10,000 Youth Work Experience Placements
Scottish Government Plans Tighter Remote-Working Rules and Possible Voluntary Redundancies
Scottish Budget Faces More Than £700 Million Reduction After Tax Revenue Adjustment
Nearly 100 Labour MPs Press Andy Burnham to Back Electoral Reform Commission
UK Energy Price Cap Rises Four Percent to £1,723 as Middle East Conflict Drives Wholesale Gas Costs
Turnbull Warns AUKUS Could Leave Australia Without Promised Nuclear Submarines
California Billionaires Pour More Than $150 Million Into Fight Over Proposed Wealth Tax
German Broadcaster Goes Dark to Warn AfD Could End Its Saxony-Anhalt Service
Badenoch Plans Major Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle as Tories Struggle in Third Place
UK Government Demands Action Against Social Media Content Promoting Dangerous Driving
Labour Backbenchers Prepare Push for Electoral Reform Under Andy Burnham
Fire at Gatwick Airport Car Park Destroys 140 Vehicles and Cuts Local Power
UK Plans Voluntary Libido-Suppressing Medication Programme Across 20 Prisons
NHS England Launches Free Home Cervical Cancer Testing Kits Nationwide
Imperial College Study Warns North Sea Oil Projects Could Cause Hundreds of Billions of Pounds in Climate Damage
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Middle East Conflict Pushes Up Energy Costs
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv to Strengthen UK Support for Ukraine
Premier League Season Opens With Managerial Debuts and Dramatic Early Fixtures
England Cricket Drops Brydon Carse From Selection Pending Club Investigation
Graeme Dott Convicted of Child Sexual Abuse Offences in Scotland
Protesters Occupy British Aircraft Parts Factory Over Alleged Military Links to Israel
More Than 100 Former British and French Diplomats Call for Sanctions on Israel
Ipsos Poll Shows British Public Split Between Immigration Controls and Economic Growth
British Cybersecurity Agencies Raise Alert Over Growing Threats to Critical Infrastructure
Two-Thirds of England Now Under Official Drought Conditions After Prolonged Summer Heat
Institute of Directors Calls for Urgent Action to Revive Britain’s Stagnant Labour Market
Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv on First Foreign Trip and Pledges Continued British Support for Ukraine
New Daily Diabetes and Weight-Loss Pill Launches in UK Pharmacies
UK Payroll Employment Falls by 94,000 as Labour Market Cools
Onshore Wind Planning Applications in England Reach Ten-Year High After Rules Eased
×