Page contentsChildrenBoth parents settled or BritishOne of the parents is not settled or BritishParent of a childAdult dependent relativesAdult relative of a UK sponsorDependencyLong term personal care to perform everyday tasksUnable to obtain the required level of care in the country where they are livingApplicants who cannot meet the requirements...
In this unit we move away from criminal law to look at financial penalties imposed under civil law. There are three civil penalty schemes, covering carriers, employers, and landlords. All of the schemes are designed to hinder the ability of undocumented migrants to enter the UK or go about their...
There are a lot of immigration-related criminal offences. The main offences are mostly contained in the Immigration Act 1971 as (heavily and repeatedly) amended but are sometimes set out in other immigration statutes. Some of the offences are very rarely, if ever, prosecuted. In this unit, we break down the various immigration...
Page contentsContriving to frustrate the intentions of the Immigration RulesImmigration law breaches that might trigger refusalReceiving “services or support to which they were not entitled”Aggravating circumstancesDealing with refusalsHelpful casesPast breaches of immigration rules: re-entry bansWhat periods apply and when?When does the ban period start?When do re-entry bans not apply?Can entry...
Diego Garcia did not have any sort of asylum system in place when it received its first asylum seekers in 2021. Following litigation, the British Indian Ocean Territory has for the first time put in place processes for protection claims to be lodged and decided there. What happens to people...
Anyone who is liable to detention may be granted immigration bail. They may be released or allowed to live outside of detention, subject to certain conditions. Bail is granted by either the Secretary of State or the First-tier Tribunal. The main difference is that the Secretary of State may grant...
On the face of it, refugee status and humanitarian protection seem like two sides of the same coin. Both are a form of international protection granted to a person in need. Both result in a grant of five years’ permission to remain in the UK on a pathway to settlement...
Theresa May’s unironically named book, The Abuse of Power, reveals that even now, five years later, she still does not understand what caused the Windrush scandal. She blames Clement Attlee’s government, other governments over the intervening years and issues a classic non-apology. It was anyone’s fault but hers. “At the...
This post is intended for refugees (including those with humanitarian protection), their families and their friends trying to understand the rules on refugee family reunion. The requirements to be met are fairly straightforward and simple for children and partners who existed at the time the refugee fled their country of origin. These...
There are certain general provisions which all applicants for family reunion must meet. The other requirements depend on the type of family member applying. Page contentsEligible sponsorsSpouses, civil partners and unmarried partnersProblem issues in spouse and partner casesChildren of the refugeeNot living an independent lifeWhere a child turns 18 before...
Adult dependent relative visas have one of the highest refusal rates of all immigration routes. Between 2017 and 2020, 96% of applications were refused. In this article I look at why these applications often go wrong and what you can do to try make them go right. This is not...
The word “deportation” is often used by journalists and in everyday language to mean “removal from the United Kingdom.” In fact, there are two different legal powers to enable forced removal of a person from the UK: So a deportation order involves more than removal from the UK: it involves...
While advisers qualified at OISC Level 2 can lodge notices of appeal against immigration and asylum decisions, they are not authorised to do substantive appeals work. This includes paper appeals work and making representations to, or appearing before, the courts or tribunals. In this unit we will look at which...
Naturalisation is the process by which a non-British adult is made a British citizen. When people talk about “getting my British passport”, this is generally what they mean. Naturalisation applications are made under section 6 of the 1981 Act. If the Home Secretary is satisfied that the person meets the...
For those who are not automatically British citizens by operation of law, there may still be an entitlement to register as British citizens. Registration is a process where a person can apply to the Home Office providing evidence that they are entitled to British citizenship under certain sections of the...
The vast majority of British citizens have acquired their citizenship automatically, by operation of law. This will have happened in one of two ways: Those who acquire British citizenship automatically do not need to apply for British citizenship. However, proof that a person meets the criteria for acquisition may be...
Page contentsOverviewValiditySuitabilityQualifying periods of residence for first grant of leaveContinuous residenceIntegrationGrants of leave and settlementAdultsYoung adultsChildren under 18 – born outside the UKChildren aged 7-18 – born in the UKChildren born in the UK to a parent on the private life route Overview In June 2022, Appendix Private Life was...
Article 8 family life cases outside the Rules are for people with family in the UK who cannot meet the normal requirements under Appendix FM for a family visa. Categorising this basis of application as “outside the Rules” is somewhat inaccurate. Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules has, in effect, codified...
Following Brexit, almost all EU/EEA nationals lost their permission to be in the UK as free movement ended — unless they secured themselves a new immigration status. This included those who had previously been issued a permanent residence document under the “EEA Regulations”. The EU Settlement Scheme was set up...
Page contentsOverview of family applicationsPartnersSuitability requirementsRelationship requirementFinancial requirementEnglish language requirementAccommodation requirementImmigration status requirementGrant of leave and settlementBereaved partnersVictims of domestic abuse Overview of family applications Family members (“applicants”) of certain people (“sponsors”) can apply to come to, or remain, in the UK on the basis of their family relationship. Such...
There are some common and recurring concepts that immigration advisers will encounter across the in their practice and those taking the level 2 assessments should have a good understanding of them. We look at some of the key ones here. Page contentsThe Immigration RulesDependantsSponsorshipNo recourse to public fundsFinancial requirementAdequate maintenance...
OISC level 2 advisers are expected to have a detailed knowledge of the structure and sources of immigration law, the procedures for making an application and the key principles of immigration control. In these next two units we go over these foundational concepts, before making a start on the different...
Following the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan earlier this year the UK government evacuated thousands of people. This included a number of Sudanese nationals, some of whom were single parents accompanying their British children. What their current entitlements and next steps are is unclear. There is no published...
The latest trafficking statistics show a huge increase in both refusals and delays, suggesting the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 had had a disastrous impact on the protection of survivors of modern slavery. Most of the trafficking provisions of the legislation came into effect on 30 January 2023. Changes were...
…some parts of the rules relating to the EU Settlement Scheme are so difficult to comprehend that it is at least arguable that they lack the clarity of law. An aspect of the definition of a ‘durable partner’ contained in Annex 1 of Appendix EU (definitions) is one such example. ...
A claimant wrongly given a deportation order couldn’t benefit from the Windrush Compensation Scheme because his indefinite leave to remain had already lapsed, the High Court has held in R (on the application of Thompson) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 2037 (Admin). The compensation scheme...
Digital technology plays a central role in the ongoing reform of British borders after Brexit, and the 2019 launch of the EU Settlement Scheme was a pivotal moment in this transformation. The EUSS introduced an online-by-default process to apply for immigration status and, crucially, an online-only process to evidence it....
Absences from the United Kingdom — time spent outside the UK, basically — can have an impact on whether a person qualifies for full settled status under the EU settlement scheme. If you spend too long outside the country, you may lose your eligibility for settled status. This rule has...
On 17 July 2023, a new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was published. As usual, it is accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum. Also as usual, it is largely concerned with cracking down on those perceived as abusing immigration law. There are, though, one or two positive changes. Asylum...
The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is regularly repeated by the government when justifying increasingly draconian legislation in an attempt to prevent refugees from travelling to the UK under their own steam. The argument is that refugees should use these safe and legal routes instead of arriving in small...
The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Act 2023 came into force on 29 June 2023. It inserts a new section 50B into the British Nationality Act 1981. Section 50B definitively and retrospectively confirms the British nationality status of all children born in the UK between 1 January 1983 and...
It has become fashionable for government ministers to refer to “bespoke” humanitarian schemes and such like, referring to programmes like those for Ukrainians and Hong Kongers. The illusory scheme for Afghans was once trumpeted as a “bespoke” scheme as well, but it has effectively been mothballed and some of those...
The Seasonal Worker route is one of those visas in the Temporary Worker family, allowing people to come to the UK for short stints without the right to stay long term. Seasonal Worker visas made up around half of all temporary worker grants in the year ending March 2023. 35,122 seasonal worker visas...
The common travel area enables passport-free and legal travel between the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands for British and Irish citizens and migrants with lawful status. Once a person is within the common travel area, there are no...
The Independent Monitoring Authority has released a report following an inquiry into the delays in issuing Certificates of Applications to EU Settlement Scheme applicants. The report confirms the government’s obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement and evidences where and why delays are occurring. It found that the Home Office failed to...
Job title: SENIOR IMMIGRATION ADVISER (Scotland and Wales) Reporting to: Immigration Advice Manager Duration: 35 hours/5 days a week (full time) Location: Responsible for work in Scotland and Wales, working from home orembedded in local services. Salary: £33,250 p.a., initially an 18 month contract with expectation of extension. Application closing...
The Court of Appeal has re-affirmed that the domestic violence provisions in the immigration rules are restricted to certain categories of partners and is not open to partners of Points Based System dependants, even if they have in fact suffered domestic abuse. The case is SWP v Secretary of State...
The Home Office is normally trigger-happy with refusals, but has been at pains to stress that it will not apply the same “computer says no” approach to the EU Settlement Scheme: Throughout, we will be looking to grant, not for reasons to refuse, and caseworkers will be able to exercise...
Since 1 July 2021, EU citizens living in the UK without having applied for pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or securing some other kind of immigration status, are here unlawfully. The Withdrawal Agreement on which the EU Settlement Scheme is based requires the Home Office to...
