Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC)
The Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (formerly the DDVC) gives certain migrant victims of domestic abuse a short period of immigration permission independent from their sponsoring partner. A successful grant is for 3 months and can allow the person to work and to apply for access to public funds while they decide what immigration application, if any, should follow. It is not itself settlement and does not guarantee an application under Appendix VDA.
On this page
- What MVDAC Is
- What a Grant Provides
- Who Can Use It
- Work & Student Dependants
- EUSS Interaction
- Effect on Existing Permission
- Who Is Not Covered
- Relationship Breakdown
- Children
- Application Process
- Public Funds
- MVDAC vs Settlement
- After a Grant & Section 3C
- Travel
- Refusal & Reconsideration
- Framework Guide
- FAQs
- How ENS Can Help
MVDAC does not provide for everyone experiencing domestic abuse. It is a temporary concession for specified categories of migrant whose status is linked to a partner. It is a bridge to address your immigration position — not settlement.
For the settlement route, see Domestic Abuse Settlement (Appendix VDA). For a complex or refused matter, see immigration help.
In brief
- The Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC), formerly the DDVC, gives certain victims a short period of permission independent of the sponsoring partner.
- A grant is for 3 months and can allow work and access to public funds while deciding next steps.
- It is not settlement and does not guarantee a later Appendix VDA application.
- The guide explains who can fall within it and how it interacts with existing permission and EUSS.
What Is the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession?
MVDAC is a Home Office policy concession providing temporary permission outside the Immigration Rules to certain migrant victims of domestic abuse. It is intended to give eligible victims and their children a short period of independent immigration status and potential financial support, while they address their longer-term immigration position. It is not a route to indefinite leave to remain.
What Does an MVDAC Grant Provide?
A person who meets the criteria is granted 3 months' Leave Outside the Rules, with permission to work and no prohibition on recourse to public funds.
MVDAC is a bridge, not the destination. The 3-month period is intended to let you address your longer-term position. For a person without relevant retained EUSS status, that usually means, within the period, either making an application in another route, applying for Appendix VDA settlement on SET(DV) if eligible, or making arrangements to leave the UK.
Who Can Fall Within MVDAC?
The guidance identifies several specified categories — the framework guide below lets you select your own:
Family-route partners
Specified Appendix FM partners, certain partners of refugees, legacy partner categories and Armed Forces partners.
EUSS partners
Certain spouses, civil partners and durable partners with pre-settled status under Appendix EU.
Work-route dependants
Dependent partners of migrants on qualifying work routes (routes with an economic purpose).
Student dependants
Dependent partners of a person with permission as a Student.
Ukraine Scheme
Specified partners, fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners under Appendix Ukraine Scheme, where the permission conditions are met.
Work-Route and Student Dependants
MVDAC was expanded to cover dependent partners of migrants on work routes where the route allows dependent partners — the guidance defines work routes broadly as routes involving an economic purpose, giving examples such as UK Ancestry, the closed Turkish worker/businessperson routes and High Potential Individual (examples only, not an exhaustive list). Student dependants — the partner of a person with Student permission — are also expressly included.
Exception — Hong Kong BN(O) dependants. The guidance excludes dependent partners under the Hong Kong BN(O) route from MVDAC, because that route has its own provisions for independent continuation/settlement after a relationship breakdown and for access to public funds.
A work-route or Student dependant may fall within MVDAC but does not automatically fall within Appendix VDA settlement — the two frameworks are separate.
How MVDAC Works With Pre-Settled Status (EUSS)
Certain people with pre-settled status as a spouse, civil partner or durable partner can fall within MVDAC. Importantly, where the person holds qualifying pre-settled status, the guidance says that status is retained alongside the temporary MVDAC permission rather than being replaced.
Because the pre-settled status is retained, Appendix VDA is not necessarily the person's only potential future route — the guidance says they may later apply for settled status under Appendix EU if eligible. This is a boundary note only; this page does not run an EUSS settlement assessment.
What Happens to Your Existing Permission?
A successful MVDAC grant can change your existing immigration permission. Except for specified retained EUSS pre-settled status, other permission you hold is automatically varied when MVDAC is granted. Once varied, that former permission cannot simply be reinstated — returning to that category would require a valid new application.
Who Is Outside MVDAC?
The policy does not cover everyone. The guidance says MVDAC does not provide for:
- people who hold independent status in their own right, such as Students or workers;
- illegal entrants;
- those who entered temporarily — the example given is a visitor who overstayed.
Note the distinction: a Student dependant can fall within MVDAC, but a Student in their own right is treated differently by this guidance.
Relationship Breakdown Because of Domestic Abuse
Eligibility requires that the relationship has broken down because the applicant is a victim of domestic abuse, that the applicant needs a short period of permission independent from the sponsor, and that they want the option of access to public funds. This page does not reproduce the full definition and evidence analysis — for that, see what counts as domestic abuse and the evidence section on the settlement page.
Can Children Be Included?
Applicants may include dependent children under 18, and certain dependent children aged over 18 where they were last granted permission as the dependent child of their parent(s) and are not leading an independent life. The parent must have been, or at the same time be being, granted MVDAC permission. Where a child is already British or settled, the guidance says their inclusion on the form should be disregarded.
How Is an MVDAC Application Made?
A person seeking MVDAC permission completes and submits the specified Leave Outside the Immigration Rules domestic-abuse notification process to the Home Office (postal applications are accepted but are likely to take longer). The Home Office aims to process notifications within 5 working days of receipt — this is an aim, not a guaranteed service standard.
Check who can access your UKVI account. The guidance addresses cases where another person may have created, accessed or controlled the applicant's UKVI account. If this may have happened, take steps to ensure you receive immigration communications directly and have secure control of your account. Never share passwords or recovery codes — and this website will never ask you for them.
Does MVDAC Give Access to Public Funds?
A successful MVDAC grant is made with no prohibition on recourse to public funds. This allows you to apply for relevant support — but it does not itself award any benefit. A separate application to the relevant authority, such as the DWP, is then assessed under that authority's normal entitlement criteria.
Is MVDAC the Same as Domestic Abuse Settlement?
No. MVDAC provides temporary permission outside the Immigration Rules; Appendix VDA is the separate Immigration Rules route through which certain victims may qualify for settlement. The Home Office expressly states that not everyone granted MVDAC will be eligible for Appendix VDA settlement.
Temporary concession
Outside the Immigration Rules · 3 months · wider categories (incl. some work/Student dependants) · gives time to address your status.
Settlement route
Within the Immigration Rules · settlement (ILR/ILE) if requirements met · separate qualifying-category rules · determines settlement.
See Domestic Abuse Settlement (Appendix VDA) for the settlement route.
What Happens After a Grant, and Section 3C
After MVDAC is granted (3 months' LOTR), review your longer-term position — the outcomes the guidance identifies are Appendix VDA settlement (if the requirements are met), another immigration route, or arrangements to leave the UK. For non-EUSS cases, failing to submit another application before expiry can make the person an overstayer.
Where a person with MVDAC makes a valid immigration application before the 3-month permission expires, the guidance says their permission can continue under section 3C while that application is pending; section 3C can also be relevant where an in-time MVDAC application is itself pending and existing permission expires during consideration.
Section 3C, late applications, refusals and appeal rights can be complicated. If your dates or status are complex, see immigration help.
Can You Travel While Holding MVDAC?
Check the immigration consequences before travelling. MVDAC permission is granted for less than 6 months. The guidance states this permission lapses if the holder leaves the Common Travel Area; where MVDAC is continuing under section 3C, it lapses if the person leaves the UK. Re-entry would then require appropriate permission, unless the person has retained relevant EUSS status.
Refusal and Reconsideration
Where the criteria are not met, the guidance says the Home Office should notify the applicant, return documents and update records; a person who applies again while already holding MVDAC permission should be refused. There is no right of appeal and no administrative review against an MVDAC refusal, and no automatic right to reconsideration — a reconsideration request is limited to cases where it is alleged the policy was incorrectly applied, and requires senior-caseworker agreement.
MVDAC refusal or complex immigration issue? See our immigration help information — this page does not advertise appeals.
MVDAC Framework Guide
A guide to identify whether MVDAC and related immigration-status issues may need review. It runs in your browser and asks only route-identification questions — no names, no account details. It is a guide only: it does not determine eligibility, grant benefits, decide whether Appendix VDA settlement applies, predict a decision or assess an appeal.
Guide only — identifies whether MVDAC and related status issues may need review. No eligibility result, no benefits decision, no prediction.
Common Misconceptions
"MVDAC gives indefinite leave to remain."
MVDAC provides 3 months' temporary permission outside the Immigration Rules.
"Only spouse-visa holders can use it."
The guidance now includes specified work-route dependants, Student dependants, EUSS partners and certain Ukraine Scheme partners too.
"MVDAC means Appendix VDA settlement follows automatically."
The Home Office expressly says not everyone granted MVDAC qualifies for Appendix VDA settlement.
"Access to public funds means benefits are automatically paid."
A separate benefits application is assessed under the authority's normal criteria.
"My old visa stays untouched after MVDAC."
Except for specified retained EUSS status, other permission is varied when MVDAC is granted.
"I can leave the UK during MVDAC and return on the same permission."
The guidance says MVDAC permission can lapse on departure, with different rules depending on the circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MVDAC?
MVDAC is a temporary Home Office concession outside the Immigration Rules for specified migrant victims of domestic abuse.
How long is MVDAC granted for?
The guidance provides for 3 months' Leave Outside the Rules.
Can I work during MVDAC?
Yes. The guidance states that MVDAC permission permits employment.
Can I claim public funds?
MVDAC removes the prohibition on recourse to public funds, but a separate benefits application is assessed under the relevant authority's normal criteria.
Can a Skilled Worker dependant apply?
The guidance includes dependent partners on qualifying work routes within the concession, subject to the other criteria.
Can a Student dependant apply?
Yes, a partner of a person with permission as a Student is included among the categories identified in the guidance, subject to the other criteria.
Does MVDAC mean I qualify for domestic abuse settlement?
No. MVDAC and Appendix VDA are different frameworks, and the guidance says MVDAC does not guarantee settlement.
Can children be included?
Certain dependent children can be included where their parent is granted, or is at the same time being granted, MVDAC permission.
How quickly does the Home Office consider MVDAC?
The guidance states that the Home Office aims to process notifications within 5 working days of receipt. This is an aim, not a guaranteed service standard.
Can I appeal an MVDAC refusal?
The guidance says there is no right of appeal or administrative review under the concession. A limited reconsideration may arise where the policy is alleged to have been incorrectly applied.
How ENS Immigration Advice Can Help
ENS can help you understand whether MVDAC is the framework to review, what a grant would mean for your existing permission, and the next immigration step — for straightforward matters within our IAA authorisation. Where a case involves a refusal, a reconsideration dispute, complex section 3C timing, or another complex issue, we will point you to appropriate further advice.
ENS service scope. This page provides general immigration information. ENS provides advice and assistance on straightforward matters within our IAA Level 1 authorisation; complex domestic-abuse evidence, disputed allegations, refusals, reconsideration issues, appeals, deportation and complex human-rights matters may require referral to an appropriately authorised adviser or legal representative. How our IAA Level 1 scope works.
Source basis: Home Office, Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (formerly the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC)), version 9.0, published 2 March 2026. MVDAC is a temporary policy concession outside the Immigration Rules providing 3 months' permission for specified victims; it is separate from settlement under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse. Guidance and Immigration Rules can change, so the position applicable at the relevant date should always be checked.
If you are in immediate danger, call 999. For confidential support, the free 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247.
Discuss a straightforward MVDAC matter with ENS
If your status is linked to a partner and the relationship has broken down because of domestic abuse, we can help you understand MVDAC, what a grant means for your existing permission, and the next step. For settlement, see the Appendix VDA page; for a refusal or complex issue, see our immigration help page.