News
05.05.2023 - New Hong Kong British Nationals (overseas) visa concessions
As of last month, the Hong Kong British Nationals (overseas) (BN(O)) route includes two new visa concessions. Details can be found in the relevant Home Office guidance.
Please disregard the rules in respect to cases where financial or residency requirements cannot be met
The legacy concession enables the Home Office to grant 12 months leave outside the rules to applicants who apply from within the UK for the BN(O) visa, but who fail to meet a) the financial requirements and/or b) the ’ordinary residence’ requirement, at the time of the application. The current amendment grants an extension to ...
28.04.2023 - Court of Appeal re-affirms restrictive parameters of domestic violence provisions in immigration rules
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 R (SWP) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 2067 (Admin).
This sad case concerned an Indian national who came to the UK as a dependant of her Tier 2 migrant husband. SWP had fled the family home with her son and sought refuge at an emergency shelter for victims of domestic abuse. She had various qualific...
12.04.2023 - Home Office takes steps to protect British citizenship rights for children born to EU citizens
An important update confirms British citizenship rights for people born to EU citizens between 1 January 1983 and 1 October 2000 following a change in the Home Office’s position on how British nationality law applies to them.
The change was first announced during a hearing before the High Court in October 2022 and although litigation in this case continues, the intention of the Home Office to make these changes now is a useful and practical step.
Background
Historically every child born in the UK was automatically British. Then the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force on 1 January 1983...
11.04.2023 - New crackdown to prevent illegal migrants accessing bank accounts
Data sharing with the financial sector will begin today as the government cracks down on illegal migrants accessing banking services.
Making it more difficult for unlawful migrants to access financial services is an important tool to help deter illegal migration by preventing people from working illegally and profiting from services they are not entitled to.
Having access to a current account can assist those here unlawfully in obtaining work illegally and securing credit. It can help those without permission to be in the UK gain a foothold in society, regardless of their immigration status.
I...
03.04.2023 - Global Talent visa: Tech Nation shall continue operations until a new endorsing body is approved
The Home Office announced on 01 April 2023 that Tech Nation will continue to assess digital technology applications for the Global Talent visa after it ceased operations on 31 March 2023 as per its service agreement.
From 31 March 2023, applicants applying for visa under the visa category shall still be able to:
- use the Tech Nation website to continue an application started
- start a new application
A new endorsing body will then take over from Tech Nation.
Details on the new body will be published as soon as possible.
31.03.2023 - Hong Kong veterans settlement route to be introduced in Autumn 2023
On 29 March 2023 the UK government announced that the new Hong Kong Veterans Settlement route will soon be open and enable Hong Kongers who served in the British military to live and work in the UK.
Hundreds of Hong Kong veterans of the British military will be able to apply to settle in the UK under a new Government visa route to open later this year, following decades of campaigning and being refused citizenship.
The Government's Hong Kong Veterans Settlement route will enable hundreds who served in the British Armed Forces to live and work in the UK.
The settlement route will be open to all...
30.03.2023 - Amended data protection exemption for migrants declared unlawful
The High Court has ruled that the government’s second attempt to produce an immigration exemption to the Data Protection Act 2018 is still incompatible with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Only a week after the hearing, the judgment in R (on the application of the3million & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2023] EWHC 713 (Admin) has been published.
The immigration exemption
Data protection laws give people various rights over their personal information, including the ability to request a copy of what an organisation has on file about them. This rig...
28.03.2023 - New amendments to the ILR under the 10-year long residence from 12 April 2023
The current definition of what constitutes lawful residence in the UK under the long residency rules is unclear and this has lead, apparently, to “confusion for customers and a broader interpretation than intended”.
Since 12 April 2023 the time spent on the following visa categories shall not count towards time lawfully and continuously resident in the UK:
- Visitor visa
- Short-term student visa
- Seasonal worker visa
- time spent on immigration bail, and
- time spent on temporary admission granted while an application for asylum or humanitarian protection is under consideration
T...
27.03.2023 - Refusals of naturalisation on good character grounds can only be challenged by irrationality
In a colourfully-worded and expressive judgment, the High Court has found that challenges to the Home Secretary’s decision to refuse citizenship naturalisation applications can only be challenged on grounds of irrationality. The judgment is R (Sandy) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 640 (Admin).
The facts
Kanja Sandy was born in Sierra Leone in 1972. He had aligned himself with Johnny Paul Koroma, who seized power during a coup in 1997, acting as his aide-de-camp. Personnel from the Koroma regime were known to have committed numerous atrocities amounting to war crimes.
...24.03.2023 - Good sponsorship management updates from the Home Office
The Home Office has emailed sponsor licence holders today to announce a few small but significant improvements that used to clog up the sponsor management system.
Annual certificate of sponsorship (‘CoS’) allocations will now be automatically renewed with the same number as the previous year’s allocation. This saves the annual crystal ball-gazing hassle of requesting and justifying a fresh allocation for each upcoming year. If extra CoS are needed for any upcoming year, sponsors can still request an increase.
The automatic allocation renewal will only kick in for those whose allocations that e...
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