The Supreme Court’s decision in Nouazli v SSHD and Lawful Discrimination
As if Michael Gove MP needed further reminding, in wake of Colin Yeo’s appearance on World at One on Wednesday where he pointed out the
As if Michael Gove MP needed further reminding, in wake of Colin Yeo’s appearance on World at One on Wednesday where he pointed out the
A High Court judge has awarded the family member of an EU national a total of £136,048 in damages. The award consists of £76,578 for
I recently made a partially successful Freedom of Information request on waiting times for different types of EEA residence documents. The information for the whole
In an interesting but almost impenetrable judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union gives some guidance on procedural protections available to those bringing
Abdul (section 55 – Article 24(3) Charter : Nigeria) [2016] UKUT 106 (IAC) is a case involving a Nigerian national aged 41 who had resided in
The Court of Appeal has in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v Vassallo [2016] EWCA Civ 13 rejected the Home
This post is reblogged from Professor Steve Peer’s excellent and comprehensive post on the immigration aspects of UK’s renegotiation proposals. What follows is the section
Following the judgment last year in R (on the application of Zewdu) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 2148 (Admin) (09
In 2014 the Home Office amended the UK’s rules on EU law deportation cases to allow a deportation to go ahead before an EEA national
In Secretary of State for the Home Department v Straszewski [2015] EWCA Civ 1245 (03 December 2015) Moore-Bick LJ, giving the leading judgment, finds that
As was reported on Free Movement last month, the British Nationality (General) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015, have made it harder for persons with an
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that the burden of proof for proving whether a marriage is a sham for immigration law purposes rests with the
Desmond Rutledge considers the Advocate General’s Opinion (C-308/14) on the EU Commission’s action against the United Kingdom’s use of the right to reside test. This
Desmond Rutledge examines the recent decision in Alimanovic (C-67/14) which holds that it is lawful for a Member State to restrict the period a former worker
Women who leave work for maternity reasons and return to work afterwards are not to be considered “workers” under European Union free movement law, the
The Upper Tribunal has issued the much awaited case addressing whether human rights grounds can be argued in an EU rights of residence appeal. The
UPDATE: Permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal seems to have been granted: Sales LJ grants permission to appeal from UT's recent decision in
The new case of Kuldip Singh Case C‑218/14 is important on two separate issues: when non EU citizens might retain rights of residence in the event of
It is all change for rights and grounds of appeal on 6 April 2015. The previous range of grounds of appeal, which included section 84(1)(d)of
In January 2014, the Government introduced a number of measures aimed at restricting EEA migrants’ access to income-based JSA. A key change was the introduction
The UK is now blatantly obstructing EU free movement rights. As of 30 January 2015, a new Form EEA(FM) has been introduced for family members
Court of Appeal rules that the Zambrano status arises immediately and there is no need to show destitution. However, Zambrano carers have no entitlement to
Last year the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down judgment in the case of McCarthy v United Kingdom C-202/13. In some ways it
The Irish High Court has awarded a claimant over €100,000 in damages against the Irish government for breach of EU law free movement rights. The
New Social Security Advisory Committee Report voices concerns On 20 November 2014, the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) published its Report on the regulations which
When the Grand Chamber handed down its judgment in Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig (C-333/13) on 11 November 2014, it was the subject of much media
I was asked by a Polish media outlet for comment in this Boris Johnson piece on renegotiation of EU free movement rules and the idea
This just in from the marvellous BritCits: Furthermore, you have provided a detailed covering letter explaining why you qualify for an EEA Family Permit under Regulation 9. You
Some European Union member states are anxious that their own citizens should not circumvent their own sometimes very tough immigration rules by relying instead on EU
The EU Commission is fully au fait with the amendments the UK made to its EU free movement rules in January 2014 and has stated
Just a quick post to say that I’ve finished an ebook on Surinder Singh: EU free movement for British citizens. It covers how EU law
The idea of a “proxy marriage” is rather alien in the UK and our fairly recently developed romantic love culture. It involves one or both
Just a quick one to flag up a new report by Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine into the European Casework Directorate at
Court of Justice of the European Union in Saint Prix v UK (Case C‑507/12): Article 45 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that a woman
No, not an amendment to take account of the judgment in O v The Netherlands C‑456/12 (blog post: Surinder Singh immigration route) [ed: who knows how long
On 19 January 2014, Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa May told the Daily Mail that Britain’s generous welfare system should no longer be a ‘magnet’
The Department of Work and Pensions has introduced the Minimum Earnings Threshold ‘(MET)’ as part of the decision making process for determining whether EEA nationals
The habitual residence test has been part of the benefits system since 1996. Under the test, new entrants to the UK and returning nationals are
In a new judgment in the case of Reyes v Sweden [2014] EUECJ C-423/12 (BAILII link) the Court of Justice of the European Union has addressed
When an EU citizen breaks the law of another member state, fundamental questions arise. How should European states treat EU nationals and their family members
As if Michael Gove MP needed further reminding, in wake of Colin Yeo’s appearance on World at One on Wednesday where he pointed out the fundamental error of the Justice Secretary’s assertion that Britain cannot deport EEA nationals with a criminal record, the Supreme Court in R (on the application...
A High Court judge has awarded the family member of an EU national a total of £136,048 in damages. The award consists of £76,578 for false imprisonment and £59,470 for breach of EU law. The Home Office is also criticised for having made “inaccurate and misleading” submissions to previous judges...
I recently made a partially successful Freedom of Information request on waiting times for different types of EEA residence documents. The information for the whole of 2015 taken as an average was released but not more recent information on current waiting times in 2016. The waiting times were as follows:...
In an interesting but almost impenetrable judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union gives some guidance on procedural protections available to those bringing challenges to EU law decisions which adversely affect them. The case is Benalla v Belgium C‑161/15. The point that arose was a fairly obscure one....
This post is reblogged from Professor Steve Peer’s excellent and comprehensive post on the immigration aspects of UK’s renegotiation proposals. What follows is the section of that blog post on family members. Head over to the original for more information on benefits, the “emergency brake” and criminality and free movement...
Following the judgment last year in R (on the application of Zewdu) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 2148 (Admin) (09 June 2015) solicitors Duncan Lewis have revealed that the Home Office agreed to pay a record £40,000 in damages for the 19 month delay...
In 2014 the Home Office amended the UK’s rules on EU law deportation cases to allow a deportation to go ahead before an EEA national completes any appeal process against that decision to deport. This has become known as “deport first, appeal later”. Similar rules were also introduced for non...
In Secretary of State for the Home Department v Straszewski [2015] EWCA Civ 1245 (03 December 2015) Moore-Bick LJ, giving the leading judgment, finds that public revulsion is not generally relevant to decisions to deport under EU law. The facts Two cases were linked for the purposes of this judgment....
As was reported on Free Movement last month, the British Nationality (General) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015, have made it harder for persons with an EU law-based right of permanent residence to naturalise as British citizens. That is the consequence of a new requirement that such persons first obtain a...
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that the burden of proof for proving whether a marriage is a sham for immigration law purposes rests with the Home Office. The case is Agho v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1198 and it confirms the obiter...
Desmond Rutledge considers the Advocate General’s Opinion (C-308/14) on the EU Commission’s action against the United Kingdom’s use of the right to reside test. This post was originally published on the Garden Court Chambers Blog. The origins of the Commission’s action against the UK In European Commission v United Kingdom...
Desmond Rutledge examines the recent decision in Alimanovic (C-67/14) which holds that it is lawful for a Member State to restrict the period a former worker from another Member State can access benefits upon becoming involuntarily unemployed based on Dano (C-333/12). This post was originally published on the Garden Court...
Women who leave work for maternity reasons and return to work afterwards are not to be considered “workers” under European Union free movement law, the UK government argued in the case of Saint Prix v UK (Case C‑507/12). As I said at the time, it is astonishing that the UK...
The Upper Tribunal has issued the much awaited case addressing whether human rights grounds can be argued in an EU rights of residence appeal. The determination is Amirteymour and others (EEA appeals; human rights) [2015] UKUT 466 (IAC) and the official headnote reads: Where no notice under section 120 of...
UPDATE: Permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal seems to have been granted: Sales LJ grants permission to appeal from UT's recent decision in Bilal Ahmed) (EEA/s 10 appeal rights: effect) IJR: http://t.co/fbQLhZpxZq — Zane Malik QC (@ZaneMalikQC) October 9, 2015 On 24 July 2015 the Upper Tribunal handed...
It is all change for rights and grounds of appeal on 6 April 2015. The previous range of grounds of appeal, which included section 84(1)(d)of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 — “that the appellant is an EEA national or a member of the family of an EEA national...
In January 2014, the Government introduced a number of measures aimed at restricting EEA migrants’ access to income-based JSA. A key change was the introduction of a statutory presumption that entitlement to income-based JSA (‘JSA(IB)’) would be limited to a period of three months (or six months for EEA nationals...
The UK is now blatantly obstructing EU free movement rights. As of 30 January 2015, a new Form EEA(FM) has been introduced for family members of EU nationals and of British citizens exercising Surinder Singh free movement rights. It is 129 pages long. The old version, called the EEA2, was...
Court of Appeal rules that the Zambrano status arises immediately and there is no need to show destitution. However, Zambrano carers have no entitlement to mainstream social assistance following the amendment to the habitual residence test in November 2012. In Sanneh & Ors v Secretary of State for Work and...
Last year the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down judgment in the case of McCarthy v United Kingdom C-202/13. In some ways it is a very straightforward case: the UK is not permitted to require residence card holding family members of EEA nationals to apply for yet...
The Irish High Court has awarded a claimant over €100,000 in damages against the Irish government for breach of EU law free movement rights. The case is an example of the award of damages awarded for losses caused by a Member State breaching EU law under the Francovich (C-6/90 and...
New Social Security Advisory Committee Report voices concerns On 20 November 2014, the Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) published its Report on the regulations which remove entitlement to Housing Benefit for certain categories of European Economic Area (EEA) jobseekers. The Committee expresses a number of concerns about the impact of...
When the Grand Chamber handed down its judgment in Dano v Jobcenter Leipzig (C-333/13) on 11 November 2014, it was the subject of much media attention: Germany can deny benefits to jobless EU migrants, court rules (The Guardian), Landmark ECJ ruling boosts David Cameron’s bid to clamp down on EU...
I was asked by a Polish media outlet for comment in this Boris Johnson piece on renegotiation of EU free movement rules and the idea of quotas. Here’s what I said: A quota for free movement of workers around Europe is impossible under the fundamental treaties of the European Union...
This just in from the marvellous BritCits: Furthermore, you have provided a detailed covering letter explaining why you qualify for an EEA Family Permit under Regulation 9. You have quoted case law and the rules concerning how long someone can work in a member state and qualify under Regulation 9....
Some European Union member states are anxious that their own citizens should not circumvent their own sometimes very tough immigration rules by relying instead on EU free movement law. The UK is one such, and has been right from the start. At paragraph 24 of Surinder Singh itself, the court...
Just a quick post to say that I’ve finished an ebook on Surinder Singh: EU free movement for British citizens. It covers how EU law works, goes over the judgments in Surinder Singh and O v Netherlands, examines the UK’s regulations and Home Office policy, considers the question of abuse...
The idea of a “proxy marriage” is rather alien in the UK and our fairly recently developed romantic love culture. It involves one or both parties to a marriage being represented by someone else at the marriage ceremony rather than attending in person. It is a sort of literal version...
Just a quick one to flag up a new report by Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration John Vine into the European Casework Directorate at the Home Office. The report is generally quite positive but the emphasis of the press release, introductory text and subsequent press reports is on potentially...
Court of Justice of the European Union in Saint Prix v UK (Case C‑507/12): Article 45 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that a woman who gives up work, or seeking work, because of the physical constraints of the late stages of pregnancy and the aftermath of childbirth retains the...
On 19 January 2014, Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa May told the Daily Mail that Britain’s generous welfare system should no longer be a ‘magnet’ for citizens of other EU states and that they would be introducing a number of measures aimed at new migrant jobseekers from the European Economic...
The Department of Work and Pensions has introduced the Minimum Earnings Threshold ‘(MET)’ as part of the decision making process for determining whether EEA nationals who claim income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA(IB)) have retained the status of a ‘worker’. Here I look at what it is, how it works, its intended...
The habitual residence test has been part of the benefits system since 1996. Under the test, new entrants to the UK and returning nationals are required to show that they are habitually resident in the Common Travel Area (the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic...
In a new judgment in the case of Reyes v Sweden [2014] EUECJ C-423/12 (BAILII link) the Court of Justice of the European Union has addressed the question of whether a dependent family member must be involuntarily dependent in order to qualify for free movement rights and how far a...
When an EU citizen breaks the law of another member state, fundamental questions arise. How should European states treat EU nationals and their family members who have committed crimes? How can the principles of free movement and integration, which are central to the idea of the European Union, be balanced...