Where an immigration official alleges that a document used in an application is false or forged, a ‘Document Verification Report’ (DVR) is routinely prepared. This
I’ve had quite a few queries asking for updates on the spouse minimum income case, MM & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013]
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
Theresa May spent over a year saying her new immigration rules would weaken Article 8 rights for “foreign criminals” but conceded the point within a
An application for entry clearance is made on the date on which payment of the relevant fee is made.
Comes into force today. Clarifies that Tier 4 students on post graduate courses of 12 months or longer can sponsor family member dependants. TB screening introduced for
Fantastic video by Maryam Tafakory about the effect of the minimum income rule for spouses. Hat tip to Migrants Rights Network.
Short case reiterating that Home Office has to act in accordance with its policies, including that designed to give effect to the earlier Patel case
Last week saw the anniversary of the miserable new family immigration rules, introduced on 9 July 2012. Heartache and anguish was predicted and has, tragically,
F (Para 320(8); type of leave) USA [2013] UKUT 00309 (IAC) New reported immigration tribunal case on paragraph 320(18) of the immigration rules, one of
Akhtar (CEFR; UKBA Guidance and IELTS) [2013] UKUT 00306 (IAC) New reported tribunal decision on the English language requirements. IELTS scores need to be at B1 or
Almost exactly a year after they were first introduced, Mr Justice Blake sitting in the High Court has in a lengthy, complex and very carefully
I was recently reviewing the long residence policy for an informal advice and noticed that since I last looked at it (admittedly a little while
Rumours as to the death of the ‘evidential flexibility’ policy prove to have been exaggerated. A new version was recently published. Hat tip to Adam
A new Freedom of Information request has revealed that British women have been affected disproportionately compared against men by new minimum income rules for spouse
With thanks to the excellent Fawzi Zuberi of Lighthouse Solicitors, I thought it might be worth flagging up an obscure, very well hidden but very
There are some detailed blog posts to come on some of the more important things that happened in the last fortnight, but for those who
The High Court has endorsed the controversial approach of the Upper Tribunal towards the new immigration rules on human rights. Mr Justice Sales, drawing on
It has been over a year since the High Court heard a challenge to the introduction of pre-entry English language tests for spouses and partners
A batch of new Upper Tribunal cases have been approved as safe for general consumption by the reporting committee. I posted up three of them
Just a quick note to flag something up that emerged from the forum a couple of weeks ago. A friend of the blog was kind
Two Statements of Changes to bring to your attention, HC1038 and HC1039. On Monday 1 April 2013, HC1038 came into effect and can be viewed
A big thank you goes to Jane Heybroek of Bell Yard Chambers for persisting with her Freedom of Information request in relation to further documents
Ahmed (benefits: proof of receipt; evidence) [2013] UKUT 84 (IAC) Useful best practice case for practitioners still dealing with old-style maintenance cases, particularly where the sponsor
Theresa May this weekend launched a blistering and unprecedented attack on ‘a minority of judges’, accused them of ignoring the will of Parliament by refusing
This instrument is drawn to the special attention of the House on the grounds it may inappropriately achieve its policy objective. House of Lords Secondary
“I agree with my noble friend that no area is more complex than the whole business of the Immigration Rules and the procedures surrounding them.”
Statement of Changes HC 820 was laid before Parliament yesterday, 12 December 2012, to come into effect today, 13 December 2012. You need look no
On 22 November 2012 a new Statement of Changes was laid which brings in quite a few amendments to the Immigration Rules. A large proportion
The Upper Tribunal has rejected the Government’s attempt exhaustively to define the scope and meaning of Article 8 private and family life in the controversial
On Tuesday this week the Court of Appeal handed down two important new cases on deportation. The first is Mohan v Secretary of State for
In his judgment in the case of R (On the Application Of Bhavyesh & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 2789 (Admin) Blake
Yes another Statement of Changes – HC 565 – has been laid and (hold your breath), most of it comes into force… today! I am grateful
As the second in a series of blog posts on the radical new July 2012 immigration rules we turn now to long residence requirements. Transitional
In June 2012 human rights organisation Liberty issued a briefing on the proposed changes to the Immigration Rules on spouses and partners and introduction of a
A new “subjective” element has been discovered and can be found in the Immigration Appeals Family Visitor Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1532). Watch out for this
Following the Supreme Court decisions in the cases of Munir and Alvi, as reported on this blog yesterday, the UK Border Agency has acted suspiciouslyextremely
View image | gettyimages.com The judgments The judgments in Munir [2012] UKSC 32 and Alvi [2012] UKSC 33 are perhaps the most important in immigration
[UPDATE: for more analysis see new post The Case of the Lost Prerogative] This is huge news in immigration law: the Supreme Court has dismissed
When I attempted to read Kafka’s The Castle I gave up halfway* through on the basis that the castle K strives to reach was a
Where an immigration official alleges that a document used in an application is false or forged, a ‘Document Verification Report’ (DVR) is routinely prepared. This report states the reasons why immigration officials believe the document is false. It is vital that an applicant suspected of deception can answer the charge,...
I’ve had quite a few queries asking for updates on the spouse minimum income case, MM & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWHC 1900 (Admin). The challenge to the rules essentially succeeded in the High Court but the Home Office have appealed to the Court...
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...
Theresa May spent over a year saying her new immigration rules would weaken Article 8 rights for “foreign criminals” but conceded the point within a day at the Court of Appeal. MF (Nigeria) v SSHD [2013] EWCA Civ 1192 makes clear that the Immigration Rules governing deportation now provide a...
Comes into force today. Clarifies that Tier 4 students on post graduate courses of 12 months or longer can sponsor family member dependants. TB screening introduced for those entering from Mauritania for over 6 months and TB screening only required for those entering for settlement from China, Hong Kong and...
Short case reiterating that Home Office has to act in accordance with its policies, including that designed to give effect to the earlier Patel case on the situation of students whose college has its sponsor licence suspended or withdrawn. Outgoing President urges Home Office to engage in litigation at an...
Last week saw the anniversary of the miserable new family immigration rules, introduced on 9 July 2012. Heartache and anguish was predicted and has, tragically, come to pass. I attended and spoke at the demonstration outside the Home Office co-ordinated by JCWI, MRN, Brit Cits and others. It was, frankly,...
F (Para 320(8); type of leave) USA [2013] UKUT 00309 (IAC) New reported immigration tribunal case on paragraph 320(18) of the immigration rules, one of the discretionary general grounds for refusal. The Entry Clearance Officer had failed to exercise discretion one way or t’other. In this case there was only...
Almost exactly a year after they were first introduced, Mr Justice Blake sitting in the High Court has in a lengthy, complex and very carefully considered judgment found that the controversial immigration rules requiring a minimum income of at least £18,600 for spouse visa applications are ‘unjustified and disproportionate’ where...
I was recently reviewing the long residence policy for an informal advice and noticed that since I last looked at it (admittedly a little while now) it has been substantially liberalised in respect of those who have gaps in their lawful residence. This might not be news to everyone else,...
Rumours as to the death of the ‘evidential flexibility’ policy prove to have been exaggerated. A new version was recently published. Hat tip to Adam Pipe of No 8 Chambers in Birmingham. The policy covers the circumstances in which a Points Based System application will not be refused because of...
A new Freedom of Information request has revealed that British women have been affected disproportionately compared against men by new minimum income rules for spouse and partner applications. There has been a 20% drop in the female-sponsored proportion of applications made, which suggests that women have been disproportionately put off...
With thanks to the excellent Fawzi Zuberi of Lighthouse Solicitors, I thought it might be worth flagging up an obscure, very well hidden but very useful part of the modernised guidance on General grounds for refusal. It comes at p98 onwards of a ridiculously long document (which of course is...
There are some detailed blog posts to come on some of the more important things that happened in the last fortnight, but for those who missed their beloved Free Movement updates here is a brief round up of developments I’ve spotted looking through my emails on my return from holiday....
The High Court has endorsed the controversial approach of the Upper Tribunal towards the new immigration rules on human rights. Mr Justice Sales, drawing on concessions made by the Home Office, has found that the correct approach is a two stage one whereby the rules must first be considered and...
It has been over a year since the High Court heard a challenge to the introduction of pre-entry English language tests for spouses and partners (and fiancés and proposed civil partners). It was argued in Chapti & Ors, R (on the application of) v SSHD & Ors [2011] EWHC 3370...
A batch of new Upper Tribunal cases have been approved as safe for general consumption by the reporting committee. I posted up three of them yesterday as new short-form ‘link format’ posts with no real commentary, but I wanted to highlight the case of Farquharson (removal – proof of conduct)...
Two Statements of Changes to bring to your attention, HC1038 and HC1039. On Monday 1 April 2013, HC1038 came into effect and can be viewed here. Far weightier are the changes contained in HC1039 which will be brought into force on Saturday 6 April 2013 HC1039. These can be viewed...
A big thank you goes to Jane Heybroek of Bell Yard Chambers for persisting with her Freedom of Information request in relation to further documents concerning the Evidential Flexibility policy. You can access the disclosure here. The policy (but not Jane’s FoI instructions) was very recently covered by the Upper...
Theresa May this weekend launched a blistering and unprecedented attack on ‘a minority of judges’, accused them of ignoring the will of Parliament by refusing to deport foreign criminals. Remarkably, she said that: A minority think it is their role to determine whether or not foreigners who commit serious crimes...
This instrument is drawn to the special attention of the House on the grounds it may inappropriately achieve its policy objective. House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, 6th Report of Session 2012-13, Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 194) (source)
...“I agree with my noble friend that no area is more complex than the whole business of the Immigration Rules and the procedures surrounding them.” Lord Taylor of Holbeach in response to Lord Lester of Herne Hill, Hansard, 12 December 2012: Column 1087 (with thanks to Alison from ILPA).
...Statement of Changes HC 820 was laid before Parliament yesterday, 12 December 2012, to come into effect today, 13 December 2012. You need look no further than the fact that this is the ninth Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules this year alone if you need to know what...
On 22 November 2012 a new Statement of Changes was laid which brings in quite a few amendments to the Immigration Rules. A large proportion of those changes are yet again to clarify, correct and/or put into place what was apparently always intended with the July 2012 changes. Other changes...
The Upper Tribunal has rejected the Government’s attempt exhaustively to define the scope and meaning of Article 8 private and family life in the controversial new immigration rules introduced in July 2012. The case is MF (Article 8 – new rules) Nigeria [2012] UKUT 00393 (IAC) and the result will...
On Tuesday this week the Court of Appeal handed down two important new cases on deportation. The first is Mohan v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 1363 and concerns the interaction of family and immigration law. The second is R (on the application of George)...
In his judgment in the case of R (On the Application Of Bhavyesh & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWHC 2789 (Admin) Blake J has dismissed the latest attempt to challenge the requirement that foreign spouses learn English before entering the UK. This challenge is...
Yes another Statement of Changes – HC 565 – has been laid and (hold your breath), most of it comes into force… today! I am grateful to Alison Harvey at ILPA, whose hard-work is truly immeasurable: an e-mail was sent out at 11pm last night alerting members to this following...
As the second in a series of blog posts on the radical new July 2012 immigration rules we turn now to long residence requirements. Transitional Provisions Applications for indefinite leave to remain made under Paragraph 276B(i)(a) of the Immigration Rules which relate to the 10 years continuous lawful leave in...
In June 2012 human rights organisation Liberty issued a briefing on the proposed changes to the Immigration Rules on spouses and partners and introduction of a minimum income threshold. The old rule required that spouses and partners show they had ‘adequate’ support and would not have recourse to public funds,...
A new “subjective” element has been discovered and can be found in the Immigration Appeals Family Visitor Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/1532). Watch out for this worrying little element as it has the potential to restrict the appeal rights of unmarried partners. The 2012 Regulations defines who is a “family member”...
Following the Supreme Court decisions in the cases of Munir and Alvi, as reported on this blog yesterday, the UK Border Agency has acted suspiciouslyextremely quickly: see the Statement of Changes CM 8423 dated 19 July 2012, to come into force on 20 July 2012. All 296 pages of it....
View image | gettyimages.com The judgments The judgments in Munir [2012] UKSC 32 and Alvi [2012] UKSC 33 are perhaps the most important in immigration law since the Immigration Act 1971 was passed. The Supreme Court holds that the ancient royal prerogative to control the entry of aliens has been...
[UPDATE: for more analysis see new post The Case of the Lost Prerogative] This is huge news in immigration law: the Supreme Court has dismissed the Home Office appeal in Alvi [2012] UKSC 33, upholding the earlier Court of Appeal judgment in Pankina. The press summary can be found here...
