Marriage visas - UKBA implements new policy guidance following Supreme Court’s judgment striking down rule requiring partners to be at least 21

As we reported on this site, on 12 October 2011 the Supreme Court issued a judgment (Quila and Bibi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 45) to the effect that a change in the Immigration Rules which took place in November of 2008, whereby no applicant could be granted a visa to come to the UK unless both the applicant and his or her spouse or partner were at least 21 years old was not compatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and was therefore unlawful.

The United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) yesterday (7 November 2011) announced that in Immigration Rules which will come into force on 28 November 2011 the Immigration Rules will be changed back so that as before the change in 2008, spouses and partners of people living in the UK who have “settled status” (i.e. they either have indefinite leave to remain in the UK or are British nationals) will be eligible for visas provided that they and their partners are at least 18 years old.

The UKBA has also announced that it has implemented a policy designed to enable people whose applications to join their spouses and partners in the UK had been refused because one or both of them were not aged at least 21 to apply for a review of the decision refusing their applications. There is a special form to be completed in these cases, and no fee is payable for the application for review. The UKBA says that the policy will operate until May of 2012.

Anyone who feels they may be eligible for a review, or who has been unable to join their spouse or partner due to the Rules which are now recognised as having been unlawful, is strongly advised to seek professional legal advice prior to making any application to the UKBA.