The points based system is further adjusted by complex new Immigration Rules.
Since Monday 15 February 2010 the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal is no more. But has anything really changed?
The UK High Court has considered the case of the detention of a Jamaican woman, her daughter and her son who were detained under immigration act powers, at a time when D was a baby under one year old and C was about to start school.
The UK Borders Bill, a proposal for a new law on immigration, is currently being considered by the UK House of Lords in the UK parliament. But already there are proposals for more legislation on immigration and asylum in the new Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill.
In BM and AL (352D(iv); meaning of “family unit”) Colombia [2007] UKAIT 00055AIT, a Tribunal chaired by Mr Justice Hodge, President of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT), considered the definition of ‘family’ in cases where recognised refugees seek to sponsor applications for entry clearance by family members so that the family members can join the refugee in the UK. The UK Immigration Rules set out the requirements for such family reunion. The appeals of BM and AL failed.
The UK High Court in Nasseri v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2007] EWHC 1548 (Admin), has declared a UK ‘safe third country’ provision incompatible with Article 3 (the prohibition on torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). A declaration of incompatibility means that the legislation has been found by the courts to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, although it is for the UK Parliament to decide whether it will remove the offending legislation. Such declarations are not made frequently and it is to be hoped that the UK would not wish knowingly to remain in breach of the Article. A new proposal for legislation on immigration, the UK Borders Bill, is currently being considered by the UK parliament and would provide an opportunity to make changes to the law. The UK government has not yet announced what it will do. It could try to appeal the decision.
The UK Court of Appeal strongly criticised the Home Office for putting targets before fairness in their consideration of an asylum claim in the recent judgment of SSHD v R(S) [2007] EWCA Civ 546.
In response to increasing pressure that the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) be made subject to the duty in section 11 of the Children Act 2004 to have regard to safeguarding and the promotion of the welfare of children in carrying out their functions, the UK government have proposed a compromise as an amendment to the UK Borders Bill currently before the UK House of Lords and in a Grand Committee there from 2 July 2007.
The United Nations has designated 20 June World Refugee Day, an opportunity to focus attention on those forced to flee persecution and seek protection in a country of exile.
For several years the UK has used the week around World Refugee Day to focus on those fleeing persecution in different parts of the world, and in particular the lives and contributions of those in exile in the UK.
The Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) has addressed the question of a person who marries outside the UK after being recognised as a refugee in the UK and then seeks entry clearance (a visa) for their spouse to join them in the UK.