Certificate of Approval (CoA)
People who are not EEA nationals are required to obtain permission from the Home Secretary before marrying or contracting a civil partnership in the UK. The permission is issued as a certificate of approval.
Certificate of Entitlement
A passport endorsement indicating that the holder has the right of abode in the United Kingdom.
Civil Partners
Civil Partnership was introduced into UK law in October 2005 and allows same-sex couples to make a legal commitment similar to marriage. In general, no distinction is made in the Immigration Rules between spouses and civil partners.
Common Travel Area
The common travel area is made up of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. In broad terms, people travelling from elsewhere in the common travel area to the United Kingdom are not subject to immigration control.
Commonwealth Citizens
This group includes all types of British national, except British Protected Persons, and all citizens of Commonwealth countries.
Convention reasons
Under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees a person outside their country of origin is only a refugee if they face persecution on the grounds of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. These five are together known as the ‘Convention reasons’.
Council of Europe (CoE)
Over 40 European states, and thus larger than the European Union (EU). The source of international agreements affecting immigration, asylum and nationality, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Court of Appeal (CA)
The second level of national court in the UK, in-between the High Court and the House of Lords.
CUKC (Citizen of the UK and Commonwealth)
Until 1983 this was the form of British nationality held by British nationals in the UK and other people born within a UK colony. It was not the same as the status of Commonwealth Citizen.
Curtailment of leave
Curtailment means ‘cutting short’ and in immigration law the term is a reference to cutting short a person’s leave. This might be done where the person does not observe the conditions on which the leave was granted, or where they have ceased to satisfy the requirements of the Immigration Rules for their particular category of leave.