Family Immigration

The United Kingdom Immigration Rules make provision for persons to be granted leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom to exercise access rights to their child, resident in the UK.

The United Kingdom immigration authorities implemented a provision for Leave to Enter the United Kingdom on the basis of access rights to a child, following the European Commission for Human Rights case of Hanna Yousef Abdulla. Mr Abdulla had been refused Leave to Enter the United Kingdom following the breakdown of his marriage to a British citizen and as a result was unable to exercise rights of access to his child who was resident in the United Kingdom. At this time there was no provision in the rules for the admission of divorced or legally separated parents to exercise access rights to their children and therefore Mr Abdulla had no effective legal redress or right of appeal against the United Kingdom immigration authorities preventing him from exercising his access rights. The United Kingdom was found to be in breach of Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Following this case the United Kingdom immigration authorities implemented Paragraphs 246 to 248 of the Immigration Rules. These rules made provision for a person to be granted Entry Clearance to the United Kingdom in order to exercise their access rights a child who is resident in the United Kingdom.

The Government's Five-Year Strategy on Asylum and Immigration, published on 7 February 2005, stated that current low-skilled migration schemes would be phased out over time in the light of the additional labour now available from the new EU accession states and after consultation with the sectors.

In this regard, the Sectors-Based Scheme (SBS) has ceased operating in the hospitality sector. Work Permits (UK) are therefore no longer accepting applications under the SBS Hospitality Sector.

The Sector Based Scheme will continue until June 2006 in the food processing sector or until its quota of 6,000 permits is reached.

As of 1st January 2005 the Immigration Rules have changed, increasing the age at which a person can be given a visa for marriage, as a fiance(e), or as an unmarried partner, from 16 to 18 years old.

For more information please contact Gherson & Co.

There have been some recent changes in the length of time granted to foreign national children wishing to attend school in the United Kingdom.

The amount of time (or leave) granted depends, in part, upon the age of the child:

Primary school age children should normally be granted leave for the duration of their primary school education, up to the age of 11.

Pre-GCSE and GCSE age children (11 to 16) should normally be granted leave for the duration of that part of their education, up to the age of 16.

A-level students (16 to 18) should normally be granted leave for their A-level education, up to the age of 18.