Certificate of Approval Criteria Relaxed

The Home Office has again started processing Certificate of Approval (COA) applications that would have failed under the previous Home Office guidance.

The requirement to obtain a COA for couples who wished to marry or enter into a civil partnership where one or both parties is not settled in the UK was introduced in the Asylum & Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004. However if the couple were to marry in the Anglican Church (Church of England), then a COA is not required.

In April this year the High Court ruled that the exemption discriminated against couples of other religious persuasion. However in a later judgment in June the same judge ruled that where the non-settled person is illegal in the UK, then the exemption is not discriminatory (see article on this site ?Permission to Marry Requirements Do Not Breach Human Rights When the Applicant is Not Lawfully in the UK?, updated 21 June 2006).

Following the April ruling the Home Office announced that it was suspending decisions made on certificate of approval applications where the application would normally be refused under the current guidance at the time. One of the criteria for a COA is that the person must have been admitted for more than 6 months and there must be at least three months leave to remain unexpired.

The Home Office has recently announced that it will now not refuse COAs from applicants who have valid leave to enter of remain at the time of the application. This is a huge change from the requirement that more than six months original leave was required and that three months must still be remaining. The Home Office has said that those applicants who had been previously refused but who now meet the criteria may reapply.

If you require advice on this or any other UK immigration matter, please do not hesitate to contact one of our specialist lawyers and advisors.