News

22.08.2019 - New Innovator visa attracts just four applicants in first three months

According to Home Office there have been only four applications for the new Innovator visa for foreign entrepreneurs since its introduction in April 2019. Two of those applications have been resolved, of which both were granted. What is interesting is that the visa it replaced on 29 March 2019 — Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) — had 1,900 applications in 2018. These figures will raise questions about the viability of the Innovator route. Aimed at experienced foreign entrepreneurs who have at least £50,000 in capital behind them, it requires applicants to be endorsed by one of a limited number of endorsement bodies. Experts had warned that the design of the Innovator visa scheme is flawed. Issues include the frequent need to participate in a business accelerator programme to secure endorsement; having to give up equity in the start-up; and the “extremely high” bar for getting settlement. The model is perceived as unattractive to the calibre of people who would meet the criteria for an Innovator visa, which include being able to bring their start-up business into international markets. The Home Office said in the past that it expects to grant fewer visas under the new Innovator and Start-up routes than under the schemes they replace, however, it seems unlikely that such an insignificant number of applications would make the cost of designing and administering the route worthwhile. The Start-up visa is off to a slightly better start. It attracted 32 entry clearance applications in its first quarter of operation, of which 25 were decided on and 23 granted. However, these numbers are still very small.

20.08.2019 - Home Office update on EU Settlement Scheme

The Home Office published the update on the EU Settlement Scheme today, according to which the EU citizens and their families can stay in the UK and there are no changes to the deadline to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. This scheme covers all EU citizens and their families living in the UK by 31 October, and EU citizens have until at least 31 December 2020 to apply. EU citizens will still be able to come to the UK on holiday and for short trips, but what will change is the arrangements for people coming to the UK for longer periods of time and for work and study. Details of other changes immediately after 31 October and improvements to the previous government’s plans for a new immigration system are being developed. Boris Johnson has announced that he wants to introduce an Australian style points-based immigration system. The Home Secretary is commissioning the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine this.

20.08.2019 - Migrants working illegally still have employment rights

In the high profile lawsuit “Okedina v. ChiKale” [2019] EWCA Civ 1393, Ms. Okedina arranged for Ms. Chicale to move to the UK as a domestic worker and made an application for her British visa. Ms. Okedina was not able to extend the visa of her domestic worker, hiding this fact from Ms. Chikale. In the end, the relationship between the employer and the employee was broken, and Ms. Cicale demanded compensation from Ms. Okedina for various violations of employment law, including illegal dismissal, racial discrimination and illegal deductions of wages. Ms. Okedina's position was that Ms. Chikale did not have any employment rights because she worked in violation of UK immigration laws. This argument failed in the employment tribunal, the employment appeal tribunal and, most recently, in the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice Underhill noted that he could not interpret the current legislation in favor of Ms. Okedina, stating that often in cases of illegal employment the employee himself was not at fault.

12.08.2019 - A significant increase in Home Office fees

Application fees for British citizenship have increased significantly over the past 5 years. The Times have stated that the Home Office profits have increased by nearly 91%. The applicants must pay £1012 and the Home Office receives profits in the amount of £640 from each application. According to the critics, the profits received by the Home Office show that it still continues to operate a hostile policy despite the fact it abolished it after the “Windrush scandal” when thousands of illegal immigrants’ bank accounts were heavily scrutinised. The increase in fees had a particularly significant effect on the children of migrant parents who were born in Britain or moved here when they were young. Boris Johnson has appealed to review the system and warned that thousands of applicants are at risk because of the potential repeat of the “Windrush scandal”.

11.08.2019 - Changes in the UK law offer hopes for adopting families

It is likely that changes in UK law will soon facilitate the process of children adopted by EU citizens in Muslim states reuniting with their families in the UK. At present, the so-called “Kafala” rules operate in many Muslim countries, according to which the full adoption of children is prohibited. In the case of SM (Algeria) v Entry Clearance Officer [2018] UKSC 9, a French couple could not obtain permission for their adoptive daughter from Algeria to enter the UK for a very long time, because, according to the existing Kafala rules, she was not a direct descending relative, but just a distant relative. The former receive an automatic right to enter the UK, while visa applications of the latter are heavily scrutinized. In accordance with the new Resolution 8 (1A) introduced by the 2019 Immigration Regulations, applicants, in addition to the adoption decision, must show, in particular, that the child: -Lived with an EU citizen from the moment the adoption decision was taken; -Became a member of an EU citizen’s family; -Developed relations with an EU citizen, meaning that the EU citizen bears parental responsibility, as well as legal and financial responsibility for the child.  Naturally, the new legislation was a big step forward for many people who adopted children from Muslim countries. At the same time, it will still be very difficult to gather evidence for parents of very young children.

08.08.2019 - Fast-track immigration for top scientists

Boris Johnson has promised to cancel any restrictions related to visa entries for the leading scientists to counteract any fears that the reputation of the science hub in Britain could be seriously damaged by the upcoming Brexit. The prime minister will give tasks to the Home Office and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to develop a new strategy plan for the world’s scientists’ ease of entry into Britain, starting with the employees of prestigious educational establishments and finishing with students who show great potential, for example, the students who won mathematical Olympics. Sceptics believe that this announcement should have been made immediately after the referendum as the country has lost a lot of reputable scientists and researchers since the referendum results.

29.07.2019 - UK government lifts Tier 2 visa annual cap for PhD applicants

The UK government will remove the Tier 2 visa limit for scientists and researchers with PhD qualifications. First time this proposal was announced by David Cameron in October 2011. Besides, the Home Office will add a new exception in requirements for obtaining ILR status for those who were absent in the country more than 180 days in every continuous residency periods of 12 months. Excessive absence will not be a reason for refusal if it is related to “research activities abroad.” The new changes will come into force this autumn in attempt to attract “the brightest and best” especially in the c...

23.07.2019 - Launch of judicial review against the Home Office regarding the refusal to provide personal data of EU citizens

The3million and the Open Rights Group activists have filed an application with the High Court for a judicial review of the UK government refusal to provide European citizens with access to their personal data stored in the Home Office in connection to their immigration cases. Activists claim that the provision in the Data Protection Act 2018 illegally excludes the rights of EU citizens to receive private information that is owned by third parties.

During the hearings, it turned out that 60% of requests for disclosure of EU citizens' data were rejected from the beginning of 2019 referring to th...

21.07.2019 - Deadlines for filing acknowledgement of judicial review’s service

The Upper Tribunal in case of Sutharsan (UT rule 29(1): time limit) [2019] UKUT 217 (IAC) reviewed the interpretation of the rule regarding the deadline for filing service acknowledgement of judicial review application. The rule itself requires the Home Office to confirm receipt of the application no later than 21 days after the applicant has provided them with a copy of it. Though it is not entirely clear what exactly the word "provided" means: the date when the applicant sent the documents or the date when Home Office physically received it.  The Tribunal ruled that the 21-day period begins ...

16.07.2019 - Mandatory requirement of individual assessment for EU citizens waiting for deportation

The Court of Appeal in the case of R (Lauzikas) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 1168 ruled out that the Home Office can not detain an EU citizen who is awaiting deportation from the UK without first assessing whether doing so is a “proportionate and necessary” measure in accordance with EU Law. Any decision to detain the person cannot be justified only by his/her previous charges. On the contrary, Home Office should conduct individual assessment of the situation before or immediately after the detention of an EU citizen.

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