All Articles: Spouses

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...

15th April 2013
BY Sarah Pinder

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...

4th April 2013
BY Iain Palmer

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 described by the...

18th October 2012
BY Free Movement

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 another...

6th September 2012
BY Sarah Pinder

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, which...

8th August 2012
BY Nishan Paramjorthy

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...

18th July 2012
BY Colin Yeo

[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...

18th July 2012
BY Colin Yeo

Fresh off the press is the Government’s Statement of Intent: Family Migration which proposes not just to change but to direct the way in which the UKBA and Courts decide Article 8 cases. FM has recently discussed whether it is legally permissible to do this but, for the time being...

13th June 2012
BY Iain Palmer

It has been announced that a minimum income threshold will be introduced for foreign spouses to be eligible to come to or remain in the UK. The level will be set at £18,600 for those without children and at higher levels for those with children. In doing so on Sunday...

11th June 2012
BY Free Movement

A couple of cases on marriage were recently decided in the Family Division and are worth reporting here as they could have a bearing on immigration cases where the validity of a marriage is significant in some way. The first of the cases might also be relevant to defining ‘subsisting...

18th April 2012
BY Free Movement

The BBC’s Inside Out Yorkshire programme ran a  story tonight on sham marriages, trailed in a BBC News item the day before. There are six days left to watch the programme on iPlayer if for some reason you would like to see it. As with Team UK Border Force: World...

14th February 2012
BY Free Movement

Several important new cases have just emerged on the subject of marriage and the immigration rules for spouses. They all deal with the evidence and burden of proof in such cases. The President of the Upper Tribunal’s Immigration and Asylum Chamber, Mr Justice Blake, has had a hand in all...

7th February 2012
BY Colin Yeo

I’ve just been doing the appeal on a not-terribly-well-prepared spouse case. It was a frustrating experience as the appeal may fail, although the case might potentially have been a strong one. It is difficult to tell where the fault lies for the problems in the preparation of the case, however....

20th June 2007
BY Free Movement
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