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Re-entry ban for illegal immigrants

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Immigration lawyers have been shocked by Government proposals to introduce from 1 April 2008 a re-entry ban on immigrants who have previously breached UK immigration laws.

The ban was debated in the House of Lords last night. This is very rare for changes to the immigration rules, which are usually adopted into law by the scrutiny-lite means of the negative resolution procedure. Unless someone objects, the law is simply tabled by the Government and will automatically become law. Finding parliamentarians willing to make such an objection is a tall order, at least amongst the cowering Commons.

The new rule, the elegantly designated paragraph 320(7B), includes a sort of tariff system:

  • Overstayers who leave within 28 days of the end of their visa and pay for their own departure can come back immediately
  • Those who otherwise breach immigration laws but leave voluntarily and pay for their own departure can return after 12 months
  • Those who breach immigration laws, leave voluntarily but whose departure is paid for by the Home Office can return after 5 years
  • Those who breach immigration laws and are removed involuntarily at the expense of the Home Office can return after 10 years.

An important concession was announced last night: the new rule will only apply to those who have not departed the UK before 1 October 2008. There is therefore a grace period before this comes into effect, which will enable overstayers to take legal advice and make arrangements to leave in the knowledge that there is no immediate disincentive to their doing so, as long as they leave by 1 October 2008. This is sensible, otherwise no overstayer currently in the UK would have any reason to make a voluntary departure at all.

Still, not to put too fine a point on it, the new rule sucks. For a tragi-comic explanation of why a blanket re-entry ban that depends on one’s ability to pay for departure is a bad idea, read the comments of the then Immigration Minister Tony McNulty in evidence to the House of Lords European Union Committee in 2006:

 

“…at the risk of being intemperate, that was probably one of the most outrageous suggestions in the whole Directive, that somehow if you paid for your own return, you would be treated in a different way to if you did not. I just cannot see the public policy call of that at all”.

I also recommend the “answers” given by Liam Byrne to the Joint Human Rights Committee in evidence about the new rule.

This change is a really significant one and raises all sorts of interesting issues about proportionality under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Until now, the Home Office and often the courts have said that removal is perfectly proportionate because the person jumped the visa queue and, if the system of immigration control is to have meaning, it is reasonable to expect them to return home and make an application from there just like everyone else. Now, they won’t even be able to make an application, and will be separated from partners and even children for five years in many cases if they are removed from the UK.

The Home Office is presumably hoping that this will encourage voluntary departures, which will save them the effort and expense of forcibly removing people. I haven’t actually seen this rationale expressed anywhere, though.

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The Free Movement blog was founded in 2007 by Colin Yeo, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers specialising in immigration law. The blog provides updates and commentary on immigration and asylum law by a variety of authors.

Comments

63 Responses

  1. Hi,
    I m a newly married to a boy who has been lived here illegaly & then voluntarily went back to India on his own expenses in dec,07.Now he was going to apply for dependent visa but suddenly we heard about new rules that v cant apply upto an year.so v strucked there in between.Just now i read on ur website about concession upto october,08.If its true it will be more than anything coz it will save so many families coz i m in this situation so i can understand how much tensionable is this.Its realy sensible to give few months time to everybody to decide about their future & not to declare the rule straightway by ignoring others lives.It will definitely encourage voluntary departures if they give sometime to think.So could u plz tell me if my husband can apply visa now from India ?
    Thax

  2. hi i will like the rule to be implemented..why will people overstay visa..cause they might have been misused by their fraudulent employers or group of people who will like them to stay in london for their selfish business purpose..if this rule is implemented i will immediatley move from the country..but i think the ban should be reduced to 5 months not 1 year..anyway whatever anything is ok..

  3. Manu, I’ve written another post prompted by your situation. Jim, I’m not quite sure where you’re going with that comment.

  4. The new UK immigration rules are clearly discriminatory especially against non-EU nationals. In some cases the overstay even occurs as a result of the Home Office sleeping over the file and not responding to a single query (I can provide the proof as written by my immigration judge). But it seems ‘might is right’ . The Home Office is always right. It happened in my case and although I am leaving the UK now, I feel no secure to come back (though I love the place (not the Govt) and have close relationships in the UK ). Where has the UK justice gone and when will the European Human rights lawyers raise a voice? It is like leaving in modern slavery where only the master makes things happen? UK has lost its respectable place and peace due to Govt supid policies and now it seems to be loosing everything . ‘Human rights’ is left to just a name in the UK as humans are now treated by UK worse than animals.

  5. hi my partner is an illeagal imigrant and we live together and have a five month old baby .we are so scared of the new rules that are due on 1st april.im worried my baby will lose her father.could you tell me if he goes home willingly before october can he apply to come back as my partner stright away or will he have to wait a full year can anyone please advice me

  6. Angela, take a look at the next post I wrote on this subject. There is a concession that if a person currently in the UK leaves before 1 October 2008, the new rule will not be applied to him or her. This does not guarantee re-entry under the rules for you r partner if he leaves, though, so I would strongly recommend seeking good quality legal advice.

  7. I want to know if this rule applies to persons who left the UK at government expense last year only because their leave had expired while home office was considering an applicatioin for extension.

  8. The information seems not self explanatory enough .Why, because each border patrol officers and their bosses can take law into their own hand and leaving those poor guys life in jeopardy.
    The govt. should have to think of something better .There will be lot of damaged homes and lifes in theis new white elephant proposal.
    Do I think one should start packing their loads to go home after overstaying?I do not know ,why i will not judge both the govt. and various individuals ,one thing i will like the govt.of Gordon Brown to do is to take that decision that will benefit this country not in the only in the short term but in the long term.By year 2050 EU will be begging people to come here to work and live.There will be shortage of skilled and unskilled labours.Demographically proven that America make use of their then immigrants and will make use of it if there is any opportunity.
    This is a country we are looking to in some way as a goal setter..The liberal democrats supported labour party idea about amnesty but the Tories were scared of becoming a loser because of what ? they remembered their policies against immigrants.
    I knew someone who has overstayed his transit visa for 3 years any hope of such fellow in this proposal ?

  9. This rule doesnt state anything about applications that were made before it come in place, my partner left voluntarily on 4th September 2007 and has been refused twice since, but made his third application on the 12th March 2008 before the new rules were even announced let alone come into force, so he has already paid his fee, so what regulations will our application come under the new or old?

  10. I’m afraid that the concession is as limited as it says, as I’ve discussed in the next post. It only applies to those who were in the UK when it was announced. It doesn’t apply to those who had already left. This is confirmed by guidance issued about which that I’ll shortly be writing another post.

  11. hi everyone!
    do you all think that these new laws can come above the EU right of family law, free movement law, human rights law and directive 2006 of EEA IMMIGRATION?
    CAN THIS HAPPEN?
    so this mean that, because of my past, which i had to lie as no one would let me in if i told the truth, i was 18 by the way so imagine, now im about to become a father and i live in a EU state and i have a residence card, i will destroy my family, wife and myself as i lived in uk for 10 years. so these laws apparently overcome the single principel of life that we are humans too, i worked in uk and paid taxes like everyone else and i got nothing back, i didnt kill anyone, im not a criminal.
    so this laws mean that i have to hang myself as i want b able to see my baby grow and i want give him the love he deserv cause i made a mistake in the past.

  12. i was scared when I arrived to uk and I been told to don’t tell my age because they will take me back so I did that and I had my paper to stay until I will be 18 so when I turn 18 I applied for extension to leave to remain and from that time I was waiting and my case it was still pending and me and my wife we want to go and get married and to make write and to be able to go on holidays to be able to see my family and to introduce my wife with my family and have peaceful life. but with this new law it turned to the worst situation I ever been. I swear on my life I never been on this horrible situation. I never didn’t feel like this is not human right to act like this, this is to do with lives. my wife is qualified to work only in uk. whic seriously makes me cross my mind to KILL myself, I have been to the hospital of the mental health sins Thursday I couldn’t speak any word and I was going to kill myself . I CANT LIVE WITH OUT MY WIFE we cant work in Kosovo .pleas if any 1 find way to help me pleas.
    Thank you

  13. i left the uk on 18 January on public expense I submit it my application on the 31st of march ,and I have been refuse on 07/04/2008
    the risen I have been refuse is I entered uk illegally under different name and different date of birth and I left the uk on public expense .and my application was pending and I left voluntary the uk jest to get back and to make it writ , I didn’t kill any 1 I wasn’t criminal I was study

  14. I’ve done some light editing of some of the comments left about this post.

    It can be seen from the comments that the new rule is already separating families in a very painful way, and in the name of encouraging compliance with the law it is affecting people who acted as they did before the new rule was even proposed. See later posts for the extent of the concession and suggestions on ways forward. It will take time and money, though, neither of which I suspect many affected people have in great supply.

    As it says on the ‘advice’ page, I am afraid I cannot give direct legal advice on this website for a variety of reasons.

  15. Is this the law or is jest comments which they says who left the uk before the 17 th of march is band it ? can any 1 help me pleas ?

  16. How can the courts allow this?Has anybody put up an objection to this cruel law to the high courts? honestly,my God,,this is unbelievable,”they will be allowed reentry after a year”..i mean cmon its similar to serving time.What happens to families and relationships?Has this great country been reduced to this?

  17. My brother is in mental health hospital because he can’t imagine he is going to be separate from his wife. My mum and sister are in hospital tonight with him. His blood pressure is 230. So this is what UK new law is doing to people on 21 century? Someone should do something about this new law. This is crime, people ending up for the hospitals. HOW CAN YOU SEPARATE FAMILY? If anyone can help me with my brother what to tell him what is going to happen with his situation? He left before 17 of march and he submit it on 31 of march the reason he was refused is he enter the UK illegal and he return on public funds when they offered him to go back with IOM and now he is banned for 5 years. CAN ANYONE HELP WITH MY BROTHER SITUATION PLEASE?

  18. I got married in Uk.But My husband betrayed me and he came with me to india and left me here without informing me.So i again went to UK to get divorce.By the time i got divorce,my visa got expired.So please tell me what is my mistake is somebody betrays me .For such types.The girl should get visa’s for for PR.

  19. Hi.We were refused a fiance visa under the new banning rule.My partner left in december.However my solicitor pointed out that one cannot apply a law to somebody retrospectively when no such law was in place at the time of the alleged offence.Hopefully the appeal courts will recognise this and overthrow such refusals

  20. Our fiance visa application was filed on march14th only to be refused,yes you’ve guessed it,in April! Quite a coincidence for an embassy stating 5to10 day turnaround,even despite an easter break.Having seen the other reasons dug up for refusal I have small hope for overstayers getting back into the uk,even if they return in the concession time.Hope they prove me wrong but am not impressed with how these clearance posts clearly operate.And I speak without prejudice as am uk born and bred

  21. Andy, there have been several reports of such odd coincidences. In one of my cases, the application was made in early February and the interview was scheduled for 1st April. I checked with the visa post, though, and normal waiting times were 4-6 weeks, and it fell within that period. As discussed in another post, there are very strong human rights arguments to put forward, but by the time the case is heard and decided a year will probably have passed anyway.

  22. my wife came to uk and seek asylum after we were separated by relegious crises in my country, since 2003 we lost contact and by the time we lost contact she was pregnant and had a baby here in the uk

    however i later heard from her after three years and was willing to join her and my baby, i apply for uk visa and was given and getting here (uk) i was told my passport was forge and i was removed on public fund since 2006, since then i have not been able to see my wife and mi child and now i want to apply for family re-union because my wife have been granted indefinite leave to remain in the uk, the govt is saying i will stay away 10 years please where the human right, the eu, and the immigration stakeholders pls. do something before a lot family are been separated for life.

  23. This is unbelievable in gods name.The uk is becoming something else.I tell you what all the visa officers know what they are doing when refusing all this family visas.
    Its all about making money.i am in the same situation with two refusals already when i came back last year and now they say am banned.my wife and kids are in the uk.I am making my way back illegally if nothing is done.lets see how the battle goes this time.I am not living here without my family.

  24. i’d like to know what happens if the appeal hearing ends up being a year after the applicant left. ie no longer banned under 320 7b (if having left voluntarily etc).Do the courts have to rule on the circumstances at the time of the application?Or can they overturn the decision on the grounds that the applicant has now done their 12months out?Would be helpful to know

  25. In out-of-country cases, the appeal is concerned with facts and law at the date of the decision under challenge. In-country cases are a little different. The facts are taken at the date of the appeal hearing, but they are decided under the law at the date of decision. Where a policy (rather than a law as such) has changed, it gets more complicated. This could be a problem with outstanding DP3/96 cases.

  26. Thankyou for clearing that up.It means that,if the new banning rule holds firm,then there is no hope for our appeal,despite the lady having done her year out.Quite significant if paying a solicitor to help.The alternative for me would be to make a fresh application,possibly have her refused on other ludicrous grounds,then another 8mnth wait for a more realistic appeal.Seems a high price to pay for trying to do the honest thing before the concession started!Sympathy to the other people on here who obviously have far greater problems over 320 7b than i have

  27. p.s at every single twist and turn we have been thwarted by the powers that be,for basically trying to be honest.If the immigration minister wishes to encourage immigrants to stand up and be counted then he’d better have a re think.As am sure the word on the street will still be ‘keep your head down’

  28. I just want to ask how long does anyone has to wait for his appeal to answered after they have been refused spouse visa to the UK.

  29. Margaret, quite a long time I’m afraid. It is often 8 or 9 months before an appeal eventually gets heard properly, and then a couple of weeks to get the decision and then the visa officer usually takes two or three months to issue the visa if you do win.

  30. Im congused regarding this 3207b. If one did deception in the uk 4 years ago. im a spouse of a a british citizen. when i return for entry clearance do i face a 1yr ban or a 10yr ban. Am i right in thinking the 10yr ban is for deception whilst applying for entry clearance and the 1yr ban is for breach of immigration rules whilst in the uk?? please put my mind at ease. thanks

  31. HI, Were confused now, i hav 1 year old daughter. My partner and i are both 2 years overstayers. My Question is, are these announcements or new Rule reliable 320 (7B) ?
    Do they have a word of honor.? I can difinitely assure that if i apply as a student for re-entry clearance, there is no reason to refuse me in regards with all the requirements. Please show us a sample of person who returned back already to UK. Thanks

  32. Jun, you need to seek professional legal advice, this really isn’t the place for this kind of discussion. If you are worried about paying, consider the effect that getting this wrong will have on your lives and that of your daughter. I suggest going to a proper, specialist immigration solicitor.

  33. Hi,
    Recently i got married to an indian guy who used to live illegally here in uk.He entered illegally nd then he ben lived here for 3 yrs.he went back voluntarily in dec,2007.I m on work permit here.Then we got married in jan,08 in india.He applied his visa on 2nd june,08.They didnt call for interview & refused his visa on 6th june,08.So we are very upset bout all that.so i need some advice plz coz they gave the reason for refusal that he has breached the law by living illegally in uk.Its ok thats true.but he didnt do any crime or anything else here.Now he wants to come here & they r changing the rules day by day.SO PLZ CAN ANYBODY HELP ME TO SORT IT OUT.PLZ PLZ PLZ.
    THAX

  34. Hi,
    I have been married for 7 years to the love of my life. I got married in April 2001 to my husband who was illegal in the UK. He had been living here for 11 years. We didnt apply for our case straight away as we were very glad to be with each other. we applied for his stay in the UK which went to court here but was refused and were told to go back to india and apply from there. However, my husband went back to India in Aug 2007 and the interveiw took place on the 21st of October. Unfortunatley i was unable to attend this interveiw as i was unable to get holiday off work, though i did go to visit him with my sister for 2 weeks in Sep 2007. Unfortunatley he was refused his visa as one i wasnt there and secondly they didnt belive that our marriage was genuine and thirdly they said we didnt show any evidence of our house deed etc. This really hurt us and we were absolutly devastated. I went to see a solicitor and he advised me that i would need to re apply for the interveiw. This time i gathered a lot of evidence to prove that we are a genuine couple and after being married for 7 years and living together as a family how could they not beleive us. I attended the second interveiw which took place on the 3rd of April, this time they beleived that we were a genuine couple but once again this was refused as we were told that my husband is subject to the new 320 rule. This has really torn both my husband and i apart as we have been living without each other for nearly a year now and i just want my hubby back where he belongs with me. I seriously dont understand how these immigration law work as who are they to decide what my future is and where it lies. I fell in lovewith a man that didnt have a right to stay in the UK but who are you to keep us seperated like this? My husband worked in the UK, paying taxes just like everyone else and went back volunterily paying for his own ticket… please tell me where i stand as we cant go on living with out eachother….

  35. Please can you advise me, if the new 320 rule was not applied from the time of my husbands interveiw, and now they’re saying its been cancelled, how long will it take before my husband is issued a visa?

  36. Vanisha, I’m really sorry to hear your story. There are countless others like you who have been treated in this cruel way. Anyone who has been refused under this new rule 320 can ask for a review of the decision as the rule has now been changed, and an appeal should be lodged within the time limit as well, just in case.

  37. Hi, thank you for your reply
    At the moment my solicitor has advised me that a reveiw will take place again, do you know how long this will take please? he also advised that he has had a reply from the home office but will know more after the 30th of June.

  38. Hi

    Well this new law is a good idea but Ive got a problem about it. Im engaged and he is an overstayer. We were planing to have the wedding done next year because of my education and my parents wants. Now we have decided to have the wedding done this year. But he says his heard that we could have the registration done in England as well and apply for the visa from England. I didnt hear about this at all. I want to find out is this true? Could we have the registration done in England or do we need to go to his country and have it done there? I am a UK citizen and am eligable to work and live in the country. Can you please provide me with an answer or information about this.

    Thank you for all your time

    Dilek

  39. Hi Vanisha,
    I read ur story.I can feel it coz i m sailing on the same boat.Its realy painful.So i just wanna know if ur hubb got visa ?????????
    coz we also aplied for review.we r so tensed.plz tell me more about this.
    THAX
    MANU

  40. Hi Manu,
    How are you?
    I spoke to my solicitor las week and was advised by him that the home office are still reviewing my husbands case. Unfortunatley my husband hasnt been given his visa yet as my solicitor said it may take another 4 weeks till we hear anything. Im really sick and tiered of how we all are being treated, its so unfair and they have given us so much pain.
    Manu, if you dont mind me asking where do you live? I live in Hayes.
    How are you getting on with each day? I find each day a struggle, my hubby left to go back to India last year Aug and next month will be a year since he’s gone. I really wish and pray that we get some good news soon, this goes for everyone like us who have been suffering.

    Thanks,
    Vanisha

  41. Hi, everyone i went to UK in’03 overstayed an came bk ’11/07 got married in feb’08 and applied got refused on june under deception coz i lied that i came bk and went again anyway ave appealed am waiting 4 review in Nov plz anyone who’s been in my situation b4 help let me know if the 10 yr ban has affected someone am so scared in S.A

  42. Dilek, there’s no immigration rule that allows an overstayer present in the UK to get a visa to stay on in the UK as a spouse. Applications can be made outside the rules but rely on the Home Office exercising their discretion – which is incredibly unlikely. I have often advised clients to leave the UK and apply for a visa from abroad. It means that a fortnight later they are back in the UK lawfully, rather than either waiting indefinitely for a decision is almost always negative or staying here unlawfully. You need good quality legal advice and you need to follow that advice.

  43. HI,

    I have been here for over 14 years in UK. I was bought here when i was 11 by an agent. I put my case forward in 2003 it was refused in 2005, resulting in going to Tribunal for an appeal which was refused.

    The last letter i recived from Home Office was in 2006 saying i will be allowed to finish my BSc degree and I must leave after that.

    I have finished the degree and I did not hear anything from the Home Office so i continued with an MSc which I have just completed.

    So I was refused before because i had was in the UK for 12 years. But not that i am still here, its been 14 years but since I was given removal direction that does not count.

    So now i am applying to be consedered outside the Immigration and Human rights article 8, I am not sure what the outcomes going to be but if they refuse that and remove me, DOES THAT MEAN I WONT BE ABLE TO RE-ENTER FOR 5 YEARS?

    Also is there any chnace of this rule being removed as it seems unfair anyway!

    I would appriciate any help or direction…

  44. I am marred to a british citize and we have a three months old baby when I was applying for permission to marry I had a month visa now that we are marred and I have been told that I have overstayed do I need to go back to my country and apply or I can apply for a visa here and what will happen after 1 october

  45. i,am illegal in this country for 10 years i have left my country in 1998 because of the war in Kosovo and i,am still illegal in england any help from you thank U NICE PEOPLE

  46. I was granted a tourist visa to stay up to January 2004. But I stayed there upto May 2008. on May 2008 I returned back to my native country. Is there any chance that I can go back to UK. I have some good employers there to help me by giving me a work permit. Is it possible that I get their help and leagally work in UK. During my stay in UK I didn’t break any law of the land other than the immigration. This also is only because of unavoidable circumstance.

  47. After staying about 4 years illeagaly in UK, I left, middle of May 2008 and reached in my native place. Under the new immigration law, what is my chance to get a visa if I apply for visit or a work permit visa after one year or so. While coming bace the immigration officers at Airport questioned me and issued a letter and also put a remark on my Passport saying I an overstayer. In this context can I get a visa ? It will be appreciated if anybody can guide me in this direction. Pls…

  48. Hello sir,

    I am currently on a legal visa with my wife as dependent. Around 1.5 years back, I beacme a victim of a doggy solicitor who was oisc registered, he had applied for hsmp stage 1 for me, I do beleive he might have used doggy documents in ym application but i have no idea what thoese dosucments were still have no clue but i must take my repsonsibility for the same, It was my stupidity and naviety i regret it every day of my life. I realized my mistake and did not want the visa illegaly so withdrew my application some months later. Around a year later, I applied for a new visa and was granted it. I enetered uk legally, stayed legally and have got my visa legally and ymy wife is my depenedent. If Ho relaize about hsmp previous application, would i be deported . please help me and advice.

  49. hi i have a question iv searched of what i can do but i really dont know, my fioncee had to go back to pakistan as his mother was ill he was there for 4months when his mom passed away he came back to the uk, he was on a student visa and still had two years left, he got stopped by magration and he had to go back we hired a barrester and eveything and wasted all of our money we saved up. i have diabetes and suffer with epolepsy and im only 16 will he be able to come back to the uk as everyone is saying it will be 5years and i have to be 21 and have my own house is this true i just need an answer

  50. Khadijah, you urgently need legal advice from a good solicitor or adviser. I recommend you read the ‘getting advice’ page on the blog (top bar). I cannot give legal advice directly to members of the public because I am a barrister.

  51. according to Home Office UK Border agency the Re-entry ban for illegal immigrants
    will not apply to you,if you are in any of this category

    7C) Paragraph 320(7B) shall not apply in the following circumstances:

    (a) where the applicant is applying as:

    (i) a spouse, civil partner or unmarried or same-sex partner under
    paragraphs 281 or 295A,

    (ii) a fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner under paragraph 290,

    (iii) a parent, grandparent or other dependent relative under paragraph 317,

    (iv) a person exercising rights of access to a child under paragraph 246, or

    (v) a spouse, civil partner, unmarried or same-sex partner of a refugee or person with Humanitarian Protection under paragraphs 352A, 352AA, 352FA or 352FD; or

    (b) where the individual was under the age of 18 at the time of his most recent breach of the UK’s immigration laws.

  52. Hi Manu,

    What can I say appart from Home office are not doing there job correctly. I won my court hearing on the 21st of October last year and was told to wait until they call my husband for his visa. Only on saturday we learnt that the home office have now said that the decision is a void and that the hearing shouldnt have gone ahead. When I arriced in court we were told only on that day that there was a 2nd refusal letter which non of us knew about. The representative, the judge and the barrister all agreed to go ahead with the hearing so I dont know why they have all of a sudden changed there minds which is totally wrong. I got my MP involved and this is what I got from him so if I didnt contact him I still would have been waiting for them to call my husband for his visa. I didnt recieve no letter from the home office to say that my hearing has been a void so this is where you can see that they are making there own laws up. My appeal was won on the basis of human rights so you can see now that we as humans are treated so bad. I hate this and it driving me mad. My solicitor is now taking this further with the Home Office and will be discussing with my MP what the Home Office are doing. In the letter they advised the only way forward is to do a fresh application. Now, what was the point of going to court???? I took a day off work to attend this and now I have to wait again to see what the out come is. I’ll let you know what the outcome is…

    Thanks,
    V

    1. Hi Vanisha.Thax for ur reply.I m really surprised,how could they do like that?I dont understand wat is the point to wait long time for hearing??? Anywaz hope for the best.I really wish ur husband get visa now.coz i know how hard all of these things for both of you.my hearing date is in may.so i m really tense now a days….i dont know wat is gonna happen in hearing???anywaz all the best & keep in touch.

  53. Hi, I’m terribly shattered by being deported after almost eight months in Uk, in 2007. Running from political threats in my native land, I applied for asylum and lost my case and my appeal as well. In 2008 I came back with my girlfriend who was granted a work permit.Desperate to enter and restart our lives,I lied to the Immigration officer about having had any troubles with the Home office before. To my great surprise,disappointment and loss, we were separated,I was held in custody,while my girlfriend was allowed to enter the country, and again I was deported and banned for 10 long discouraging years,without even seeing my girlfriend again. We were planning to get married in Uk soon and I wanted to study there too. Now, Tell me, what do I do. Is there any hope of justice for me in your great civilized land? What was my crime then?. Is this the British way of welcoming foreigners, while my country always receives them with open arms and flowers around their necks? If yes, then Congratulations…but if no, then please help me out of this situation so I can have a reason to live and have a life again.I’m one persistent being who will die to make it in life, no matter what it takes and by the time the ban is lifted,I will be 45 years old and god knows what would be of me in this life. do you even care at all?

  54. I have read with interest about this re-entry ban for illegal immigrants, and find myself wondering if this new rule has worked for anyone trying to come back. I would be so interested in just knowing the percentage of those who re-entered.

    I have be recently denied a student visa because my college failed to compile with the new requirement on the new Tier 4 point based system. Though my application was made before the rules came into effect, I was allowed to appeal but because my college failed to be registered, even after two more attempts before my appeal went through, it left me with nothing but loosing my legal status in this country. I was told I can have another appeal but can’t see how I can win this case, so soon I will be an overstayer and was considering going voluntarily and hoping this new rule does work would want to come back. I have being in the country for seven years. Please advise. Thank you.

    1. No personal advice can be given here, but you will have noticed that the rule applies to those who break immigration laws. It has no application to those who do not break immigration laws.

  55. i got married 3 years ago but my husbands only just come over we just united after 3years 3 months ago we want to go on holiday but i dont know if hes allowed loads of people keep telling me different things can you plese help i wnat to go on holiday to tunsia with my husband he doesnt have a uk passport he has a pakistani passport will that be a problem because i really want to go on holiday please help.