All Articles: Family immigration

Hearty congratulations from all of us at Free Movement to the former army officer and UN charity worker who are due to marry next year. But given that Meghan Markle is an American citizen, what hoops will the happy couple need to jump through in order to complete their nuptials? You...

28th November 2017
BY Nicholas Webb

Since July 2012 the immigration rules for adult dependent relatives have been, in practice, almost impossible to meet. Applicants need to demonstrate that they require a level of long-term personal care that they are unable to get in their home country, either due to cost or availability. This makes it...

8th November 2017
BY Colin Yeo

An ex-soldier who struggles to walk, speak or perform basic household tasks following a stroke has been told that he must look after his children without their Philippine national mother because these do not constitute “exceptional circumstances” in the eyes of the Home Office. Simon and Leah Waterman returned to...

20th October 2017
BY cjmckinney

This week the story of Dan Newton and his family has hit the newspapers. This post explains why the Home Office has acted as it has. It is not a mistake. Since harsh new rules were introduced in 2012, UK immigration policy does not usually allow British citizens working abroad...

16th October 2017
BY colinyeo

A couple can enter into a “marriage of convenience” even if they are in a genuine relationship. This was, in summary, the finding of the High Court in R (Molina) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 1730 (Admin). Background The appellant, Mr Molina, was a Bolivian...

16th August 2017
BY Nath Gbikpi

On 20 July 2017 the Home Office published changes to the Immigration Rules intended to give effect to findings made by the Supreme Court in MM (Lebanon) & Others v Secretary for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 10 on the Minimum Income Requirement. The new rules come into effect on...

10th August 2017
BY chrisdesira

The Supreme Court has handed down its judgement in the case of Sadovska and another (Appellants) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) (Scotland) [2017] UKSC 54. In unanimously allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the burden of proof of establishing a ‘marriage of convenience’ falls on the...

26th July 2017
BY nathgbikpi

In W v SSHD [2017] EWHC 1733 (Fam) (07 July 2017) a married couple resident in the UK on a Tier 2 visa attempted to bring their 2-year-old adoptive son, V, to join them from Nigeria. The application they made for him to enter as a Points Based System dependent...

25th July 2017
BY Nick Nason

Now that the election manifestos have been officially published we have an indication what Labour and Conservative have planned for EU nationals living in Britain. While the Labour manifesto confirmed a pledge to immediately guarantee existing rights for all EU nationals living in Britain the polls continue to point to...

31st May 2017
BY Chris Desira

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the challenge brought by campaign group Britcits to the restrictive Immigration Rules on the admission to the UK of parents, grandparents and other adult dependent relatives. The case is BRITCITS v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 368. On 9 July...

30th May 2017
BY colinyeo

In Butt v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 184 the Court of Appeal considers the weight to be given to the relationship between parents and their adult dependent children in the Article 8 balancing exercise. It is notable – and this was the principal reason the case...

30th March 2017
BY nicknason

In linked judgments in the case of MM and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 10, known to many as just “the MM case,” the Supreme Court has this morning upheld in principle the Minimum Income Rule which requires an income of at least £18,600 for...

22nd February 2017
BY Colin Yeo

The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has published a new report on the Home Office approach to sham marriages. The report is critical of the change in approach brought about by new powers conferred on officials by the Immigration Act 2014: The inspection found that the initial implementation of...

21st December 2016
BY Colin Yeo

The Home Office has reviewed operation of the cruel Immigration Rules for Adult Dependent Relatives such as parents or grandparents introduced in July 2012. They are considered to be meeting their policy objectives and will not be changed, the review has concluded. Senior policy adviser Clive Peckover writes: As the...

15th December 2016
BY Colin Yeo

Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules HC667 was laid yesterday, 3 November 2016. The document weighs in at 90 pages but many of the changes are to language rather than effect. The more significant changes are to Tier 2 skilled workers, for whom the minimum salary level is increased,...

4th November 2016
BY Colin Yeo

New Home Office guidance on Marriage Investigations has been published. Formally, it is Chapter 30 of the Enforcement Guidance and Instructions. The purpose of the guidance is stated on page 1: This guidance is aimed primarily at Immigration Enforcement staff involved in investigating allegations of sham marriage, civil partnerships and...

12th August 2016
BY Colin Yeo

In a decision of 27 May 2016, the Inner House of the Court of Session held that excluding the spouses of refugees from the so-called ‘domestic violence concession’ (DVC) in Section DVILR of the Immigration Rules discriminates against such spouses in violation of Article 14 of the European Convention of...

27th July 2016
BY Sarah Crawford

The President of the Upper Tribunal, Mr Justice McCloskey, has allowed on human rights grounds the appeal of the mother and brother of a refugee child from Eritrea. The mother and brother were the appellants and the child in the UK was the sponsor. The appellants had fled Eritrea after...

20th May 2016
BY Colin Yeo

The challenge by organisation Britcits to the virtual prohibition on the entry of adult dependant relatives introduced in 2012 has been dismissed: R (on the application of Britcits) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWHC 956 (Admin). Despite the disappointing outcome, though, there is a distinct silver lining to...

20th May 2016
BY Colin Yeo

A new set of Immigration Rules has been laid in Statement of Changes HC877. The changes take effect on 6 April 2016. You can access the explanatory notes or the full rules or both together. There are a LOT of changes. Stand out features include: Those with a “litigation debt” to...

11th March 2016
BY Colin Yeo

This text is based on a talk given by Sonel on 24 February 2016 at an ILPA event on family immigration law. Since 2012, family immigration in UK has taken a particularly nasty turn, even where and maybe especially where, the sponsor is a British citizen. There was Quila, interfering...

26th February 2016
BY Sonel (BritCits)

First of all, the official headnote to Muhandiramge (section S-LTR.1.7) [2015] UKUT 675 (IAC) (20 November 2015): Where an application for leave to remain in the United Kingdom is refused under Section S-LTR.1.7 of Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules on the ground of the Applicant’s failure without reasonable excuse...

7th January 2016
BY Colin Yeo

President McCloskey certainly isn’t wrong when he says of the immigration rules on human rights introduced in 2012: These provisions of the Rules have generated much jurisprudence during the last two years. In this latest contribution to that ever growing jurisprudential midden, Treebhawon and others (section 117B(6)) [2015] UKUT 674 (IAC), the...

16th December 2015
BY Colin Yeo

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 remarks of...

9th December 2015
BY Colin Yeo

The Supreme Court has dismissed the challenge brought against the introduction of pre-entry English language testing for spouses seeking to enter the UK as the family members of British citizens and those present and settled in the UK. The formal title of the case is R (on the applications of Ali and Bibi)...

18th November 2015
BY Colin Yeo

Major changes to the Immigration Rules affecting refugees, Tiers 1, 2 and 5, EEA nationals sponsoring family members under the Immigration Rules, visitors, applications for Administrative Review and knowledge of language and life tests are being introduced with effect from tomorrow, 12 November 2015. The changes are wrought by Statement...

11th November 2015
BY Colin Yeo

Last week the Children’s Commissioner for England released a study into the impact of the Coalition Government’s new family immigration rules, introduced in 2012. The report is an emotionally difficult read with some heart breaking quotes but unfortunately I’m not sure that those who should read it will read it; it is...

16th September 2015
BY Colin Yeo

The Court of Appeal turns its attention to the admission of family members outside the requirements of the Immigration Rules in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v SS (Congo) [2015] EWCA Civ 387. The judgment came out in April and I omitted to write it...

30th June 2015
BY Colin Yeo

With the Children Act 1988, the language of “access” and “custody” was abandoned in family law, and with good reason. The language was suggestive of incarceration, it encouraged confrontation between parents and it was based on the idea of children as inanimate parcels or packages. In immigration law, though, that...

1st June 2015
BY Colin Yeo

Filmmaker Don McVey has put together an excellent documentary on the spouse minimum income rule and the devastating effect it is having on affected families and children. It is heartbreaking. Don does a great job of drawing out how arbitrary the minimum income threshold is, how biased it is against...

29th April 2015
BY Colin Yeo

On 25 November 2014, Minister for Immigration and Security, James Brokenshire, said: The new Immigration Act enables us to take tougher action to crack down on those who try to cheat our immigration system by abusing marriage laws. In 2013-14, we intervened in more than 1,300 sham marriages – more than...

16th December 2014
BY Colin Yeo

The case of Sultana and Others (rules: waiver/further enquiry; discretion) [2014] UKUT 540 (IAC) (12 November 2014) involved refusals of entry clearance for a spouse and three children. The basis of refusal was that the sponsor was self employed, claimed to earn in excess of the minimum amount required — because...

8th December 2014
BY Colin Yeo

UPDATE: see report of Supreme Court judgment here. The judgment is now out in the long awaited case of MM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWCA Civ 985, the test case challenging the minimum income threshold for spouses wishing to enter the United Kingdom. The Court of...

11th July 2014
BY Colin Yeo

UPDATE: Outcome now known and reported here. Last week the Court of Appeal heard the Home Office appeal in the spouse visa minimum income case. The judges heard argument over two days and did not give a decision there and then. The timescale for a decision is unknown but is...

11th March 2014
BY Colin Yeo

Newly introduced Immigration Rules (Statement of Changes HC 803) due to take effect on 1 December 2013 will end a concession for family members of members of the armed forces, forcing many such families to separate if the soldier is stationed to the UK. Ending the concession and bringing soldiers into line...

20th November 2013
BY Colin Yeo

Child abduction is a criminal offence. It requires covert departure from the UK to another country, and from the abductor’s point of view preferably one that is not in Europe, not a signatory to the Hague Convention and that does not have a bilateral agreement with the UK. The incredibly...

24th October 2013
BY Colin Yeo

Following the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration’s report published on 10 June 2013 – covered on Free Movement earlier last month – the ‘new’ family migration rules have been debated twice in Parliament.  First, within a Westminster Hall debate on 19 June 2013 (Hansard & video footage) and more recently, in...

8th July 2013
BY Sarah Pinder

Last week, Free Movement posted the fruits of a FoI request disclosing the statistics in relation to partner applications from pre- and post-July 2012.  These figures were then analysed and fair conclusions were drawn in relation to gender discrimination on the basis that female sponsors generally earn less than male...

20th June 2013
BY Sarah Pinder

As we saw yesterday, the topic of English language is de rigueur at the moment. Last week, the UKBA also announced in its April 2013 Statement of Intent that the government is planning changes to the Immigration Rules in relation to the English language requirement when applying for settlement and...

16th April 2013
BY Sarah Pinder

Continuing with our efforts to decipher and digest the new Immigration Rules, this post examines the changes made to the categories relevant to parents of children who are here in the UK. As is common to most if not all categories under the new Rules, this section is also subject...

30th August 2012
BY Sarah Pinder
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