Category: citizenship

FAS v Bradford Metropolitan District Council and another – WLR Daily

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in adoption, children, citizenship, family courts, immigration, law reports by sally

FAS v Bradford Metropolitan District Council and another [2015] EWHC 622 (Fam); [2015] WLR (D) 128

‘It remained the case that the court would rarely make an adoption order when it would confer no benefits upon the child during its childhood but gave it a right of abode for the rest of its life. The proposition to that effect in In re B (A Minor) (Adoption Order: Nationality) [1999] 2 AC 136, 141–142, decided in the context of section 6 of the Adoption Act 1976 and the need to promote and safeguard the welfare of the child “throughout his childhood”, still applied despite the change in the welfare test effected by the Adoption and Children Act 2002, which now provided that the paramount (as opposed to the first) consideration was the child’s welfare “throughout his life”. Thus, where the court was in effect being asked to use adoption to confer citizenship prospectively upon an adult the courts were reluctant to trespass upon the area of the Home Secretary’s authority entrusted to him by Parliament.’

WLR Daily, 13th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Zambrano carers and social assistance – NearlyLegal

Posted February 16th, 2015 in appeals, benefits, carers, citizenship, EC law, equality, homelessness, housing, human rights, news by sally

‘There must be times when Court of Appeal judges think that they have bit parts in an ongoing drama – they have a walk on role. And that must be how the Court felt in Sanneh v SSWP and others [2015] EWCA Civ 49, which concerns the eligibility rules for Zambrano carers of a raft of social assistance benefits. Leading QCs and junior barristers appeared on all sides in a right ding dong that is bound to end up at the Supreme Court, which almost certainly will refer the issues to the CJEU. It also provides a glimpse of how the recent, potentially contradictory, judgments of the CJEU in Brey and Dano are, or might be, treated (although it looks like the UKSC will have the next bite of those rather earlier, in the Mirga and Samin appeals in March) and the question of the ambit of “social assistance”, which in itself is not uninteresting, is also raised, but parked by the CA, in these appeals ([84] – note: this is an important point for the future).’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 12th February 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Landlords shunning foreigners because of their accents, after new rules preventing illegal migrants from renting – The Independent

Posted February 16th, 2015 in birth certificates, citizenship, equality, housing, immigration, landlord & tenant, news, passports by sally

‘Landlords are preparing to turn away tenants just because they have a foreign accent, as a consequence of new rules making it an offence to let rooms to illegal migrants.’

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The Independent, 15th February 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Spouse migration rules ‘unfair’ to UK citizens, admits minister – BBC News

Posted February 11th, 2015 in citizenship, families, immigration, married persons, news, visas by sally

‘Home Office Minister James Brokenshire has admitted UK-born citizens who want to bring their spouses into the UK from outside the EU are getting a raw deal.’

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BBC News, 10th February 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hayley Hooper: The Counter Terrorism and Security Bill: A Potential Further Erosion of Citizenship Rights in the UK – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted January 29th, 2015 in bills, citizenship, human rights, news, passports, terrorism by sally

‘The Counter Terrorism and Security Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 7 January 2015 using a semi-fast-track procedure. The Bill provides for new powers to seize travel documents from individuals suspected of terrorism, for increased powers to retain internet data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), and more intrusive measures under the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011. This comment focuses on one aspect of the Bill: the “temporary exclusion orders” (TEOs) proposed in Chapter Two. These TEOs would allow the Home Secretary to make an executive order to invalidate an individual’s passport whilst s/he is abroad if there is “reasonable suspicion” that s/he has been involved in terrorism or terrorism related activity outside of the United Kingdom. Such orders may remain in force for up to two years. This means that affected individuals can only return to the UK if they become the subject of a “managed return” during which they may be subject to conditions consistent with obligations in the existing Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act.’

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th Janaury 2015

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Good character citizenship criteria quietly tightened up – Free Movement

Posted January 9th, 2015 in citizenship, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘The Home Office has quietly tightened up the criteria for granting British citizenship under the good character test. This had passed me by so I thought it useful to flag up – and many thanks to Alex Moran for point it out. A number of undesirable behaviours have been added to the list of disqualifying behaviour, including illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and evasion of immigration control. The changes seem to have been made on 11 December 2014. The previous version of the guidance can be seen here and the new version here.’

Full story

Free Movement, 8th January 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Regina (Hysaj) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; Fathollahipour v Aliabadibenisi; May v Robinson – WLR Daily

Posted December 19th, 2014 in appeals, citizenship, civil procedure rules, delay, law reports, litigants in person, time limits by sally

Regina (Hysaj) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; Fathollahipour v Aliabadibenisi; May v Robinson [2014] EWCA Civ 1633; [2014] WLR (D) 538

‘The approach to applications for extensions of time for filing a notice of appeal should be the same as for applications for relief from sanctions and should attract the same rigorous approach.’

WLR Daily, 16th December 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Extensions of Time to File Notices of Appeal and Relief from Sanctions: R (on the application of DINJAN HYSAJ) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: Fathollahipour v Aliabadibenisi: May v Robsinson – Zenith PI Blog

Posted December 17th, 2014 in appeals, citizenship, civil procedure rules, delay, internet, legal representation, litigants in person, news, time limits by sally

‘CPR r.3.9 rears its growling head again…but a more robust approach, nevertheless, should not be taken as encouragement to refuse reasonable extensions of time or to seek tactical advantage in every minor default.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 17th December 2014

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Counter Terrorism and Security Bill unveiled – Home Office

Posted November 27th, 2014 in bills, citizenship, news, passports, terrorism, visas by sally

‘Urgently-needed legislation which will give the UK some of the toughest powers in the world to tackle the increasing threat from international terrorism was introduced today.’

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Home Office, 26th November 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Statelessness, deprivation of nationality, and EU Citizenship…what is B2 in the Supreme Court really all about? – Free Movement

Posted November 26th, 2014 in citizenship, EC law, news, terrorism, United Nations by sally

‘Many practitioners are concerned about the increasing use of draconian powers to deprive people of their citizenship and the related “evil of statelessness” (which is the subject of the UNCHR’s latest campaign.) Last week, a 7-member Supreme Court panel heard the latest round of arguments on these issues in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v B2. The appeal comes in the wake of government proposals to limit the right of British Citizens to return to the UK following suspected terrorist activity abroad. It could have profound implications for the government’s approach to “British jihadis”.’

Full story

Free Movement, 26th November 2014

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Counter-Terrorism Bill – the proposals in a nutshell – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 26th, 2014 in bills, citizenship, insurance, news, passports, religiously aggravated offences, terrorism by sally

‘Whatever else can be said about the war on terrorism, it has been hugely influential in the shaping of the law (statutory, common law and European). The latest proposal to come from the Coalition is a “Temporary Exclusion Order”, announced in the press in September. It was “re-booted” in November and we are told that these will feature in the new Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill (name not confirmed) due before Christmas. The Bill is in fact scheduled to be published later this week, but these things sometimes slip.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th November 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Alleged extremist stripped of citizenship appeals to Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted November 18th, 2014 in appeals, citizenship, international law, news, Supreme Court, terrorism by sally

‘A Muslim convert, stripped of his British citizenship because of alleged extremism, is appealing to the Supreme Court that he has been left stateless.’

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BBC News, 18th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cognitive Deficit, Capacity And Quantum: A fresh look at how to approach cognitive deficit in PI claims – Zenith PI Blog

Posted October 21st, 2014 in appeals, citizenship, fraud, learning difficulties, news, personal injuries by sally

‘The Court of Appeal found a significant cognitive deficit, and consequent lack of capacity, notwithstanding recent evidence of minimal cognitive dysfunction, resulting in damages of equivalent to £2.3 million on a full liability basis.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 21st October 2014

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Former MI6 counter-terrorism chief warns against rush to overhaul UK laws – The Guardian

Posted August 26th, 2014 in bills, citizenship, news, proscribed organisations, terrorism, visas by tracey

‘Britain should resist a rush to overhaul its fundamental legal principles in the face of an “unproven threat” from homegrown militants fighting in Syria and Iraq, the former global counter-terrorism director of MI6 has said. In an interview with the Guardian, Richard Barrett criticised government plans for new laws to tackle British extremists and warned against Boris Johnson’s suggestion that Britons who travel to Iraq or Syria should be presumed guilty of involvement in terrorism unless they can prove their innocence.’

Full story

The Guardian, 25th August 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Foreign criminal cannot be deported because of his right not to be discriminated against on grounds of illegitimacy – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 24th, 2014 in appeals, citizenship, deportation, human rights, news by sally

‘The proposed deportation to Jamaica of a man convicted of drug smuggling and manslaughter would breach his rights under Article 8 and Article 14 because he had not obtained British citizenship on grounds of illegitimacy, the High Court has ruled.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd July 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Surrogacy overseas – Home Office

Posted June 27th, 2014 in citizenship, immigration, news, surrogacy by tracey

‘Information for British nationals who are considering entering into surrogacy arrangements in foreign countries.’

Full text

Home Office, 26th June 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Citizenship (Armed Forces) Act 2014

Posted March 14th, 2014 in armed forces, citizenship, legislation by tracey

Citizenship (Armed Forces) Act 2014 published

Full text of Act

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

EU uncertainty – the impact on EU migrants in the UK – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 13th, 2014 in citizenship, EC law, freedom of movement, immigration, news by sally

‘Recently I have seen an increase in EU nationals enquiring about becoming British. I always ask the client why they feel the need (given the extensive rights that EU law secures) to move between EU states. The invariable answer is a fear that Britain will leave the EU.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 12th February 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Onuekwere v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

Posted January 20th, 2014 in appeals, citizenship, EC law, freedom of movement, immigration, imprisonment, interpretation, law reports, married persons by sally

Onuekwere v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Case C-378/12); [2014] WLR (D) 7

‘Under article 16(2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states, periods of imprisonment in the host member state of a third-country national, who was a family member of a Union citizen who had acquired the right of permanent residence in that member state during those periods, could not be taken into consideration in the context of the acquisition by that national of the right of permanent residence for the purposes of that provision. The continuity of residence was interrupted by periods of imprisonment in the host member state of a third country national who was a family member of a Union citizen who had acquired the right of permanent residence in that member state during those periods for the purposes of article 16(2) and (3).’

WLR Daily, 16th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Terror suspect loses British citizenship appeal – The Guardian

Posted November 13th, 2013 in appeals, citizenship, news, terrorism by tracey

“An Afghan national suspected of travelling abroad for terrorist training has failed in an attempt to retain British citizenship.”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk