All you need to know about domestic abuse and ILR – EIN Blog

‘Anyone in an abusive relationship is in a dangerous and terrifying situation. But if you are in the UK on a Spouse Visa, Civil Partnership Visa, or Unmarried Partner Visa, the situation is especially frightening. But you are not alone. And you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which will allow you to stay permanently in the UK if your relationship breaks down because of domestic violence/abuse.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 9th November 2020

Source: www.ein.org.uk

UK passport photo checker shows bias against dark-skinned women – BBC News

Posted October 8th, 2020 in bias, computer programs, internet, minorities, news, passports, photography by tracey

‘Women with darker skin are more than twice as likely to be told their photos fail UK passport rules when they submit them online than lighter-skinned men, according to a BBC investigation.’

Full Story

BBC News, 8th October 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Passports: Foreign law must be proved by expert evidence – EIN Blog

‘Hussein and Another (Status of passports: foreign law) [2020] UKUT 250 (IAC): CMG Ockelton VP has explained that (i) a person who holds a genuine passport, apparently issued to him, and not falsified or altered, has to be regarded as a national of the State that issued the passport, (ii) the burden of proving the contrary lies on the claimant in an asylum case, and (iii) foreign law (including nationality law) is a matter of evidence, to be proved by expert evidence directed specifically to the point in issue. The appellant Mr Hussein, who had permission to appeal, and the applicant Mr Abdulrasool, who was seeking permission to appeal, were father and son who made asylum claims, which were refused. The applicant, who was born in 2000, additionally claimed that he was so dependent on his parents that it would be disproportionate to remove him from the UK. Mr Hussein’s wife and two minor children were included in the appellant’s claim as his dependents. Both men gave their oral evidence in a hearing before FTTJ McAll in January 2020 as did Mr Hussein’s brother. The SSHD was not present and FTTJ McAll considered Mr Hussein’s claimed history in detail. He decided that he was untruthful and concluded that he had fabricated important parts of his account supporting his asylum claim. He decided that Mr Hussein was a national of Tanzania and could be returned there. He disbelieved the asylum claim and concluded that there was no good article 8 reason why he should not leave the UK and return to his country of nationality. Both appeals were dismissed.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 7th September 2020

Source: www.ein.org.uk

‘I feel targeted’: Windrush victim decries compensation delays as racism – The Guardian

‘Anthony Williams arrived in Birmingham from Jamaica aged seven in 1971, and went to primary and secondary school before joining the army and serving with the Royal Artillery for 13 years. Later, he had a successful second career as a fitness instructor until 2013, when he found himself classified as an illegal immigrant and sacked from his job.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

R (Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – Blackstone Chambers

‘The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in an appeal brought by a non-gendered person, Christie Elan-Cane, challenging the Government’s policy not to issue non gender-specific “X” passports to non-gendered, non-binary and other trans persons who do not identify as, or exclusively as, male or female.’

Full Story

Blackstone Chambers, 10th March 2020

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Windrush inquiry report submitted to home secretary – The Guardian

‘An investigation into the causes of the Windrush scandal has been completed and presented to the UK home secretary, who must now decide when and whether to make the findings public.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lack of gender neutral option on passport forms: no breach of human rights – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 12th, 2020 in gender, news, passports by tracey

‘R (on the application of Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department with Human Rights Watch intervening [2020] EWCA Civ 363. When we apply for a passport, we are generally asked to state on the form whether we are a man or a woman, and this is generally reflected in our passports. However, in our modern day and age, there are now more than two genders – some people can choose to define as gender neutral, essentially meaning that they don’t like to describe themselves using the normal terms of “man” or “woman”. MX Elan-Cane is one of those individuals. They sued the Home Office because there was no “X” (as in, no gender neutral) option on the passport form as it was a breach of their Human Rights. The High Court said that yes, this engaged Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention (the right to private and family life), but the current passport policy did not breach that right. The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court, both that this engaged Article 8, but that the rights to a private life were not breached here.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 12th March 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

People cannot define themselves as gender neutral on passports, court rules – The Independent

Posted March 10th, 2020 in gender, news, passports, privacy by tracey

‘A campaigner who wants passports to include a category for those who do not identify as male or female has lost a Court of Appeal challenge over gender neutral passports.’

Full Story

The Independent, 10th March 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Forced Marriage Protection Orders – the approach to take – UK Police Law Blog

Posted March 5th, 2020 in family courts, forced marriages, human rights, jurisdiction, news, passports by tracey

‘Applications for forced marriage protection orders (“FMPO”s) made pursuant to s.63A of the Family Law Act 1996 are on the rise: in 2018, the government’s Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support in 1,764 possible forced marriage cases; a significant increase from the following 1200-1400 cases in 2017. Also in 2018, Family Court statistics indicate that 322 applications were made and 324 orders granted. Despite applications being made by police, who must seek leave to make such an application under s.63C(3) of the Family Law Act 1996, and local authorities, the legislation itself does not provide clear guidance as to how the court should deal with such applications. The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has now done so in Re K (Forced Marriage: Passport Order) [2020] EWCA Civ 190.’

Full Story

UK Police Law Blog, 5th March 2020

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Three generations of Windrush family struggling to prove they are British – The Guardian

‘Three generations of one Windrush-descended family are struggling to prove that they are British in a protracted fight for documentation which has left a London-born woman facing homelessness with her two-year-old son.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th December 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Gender-Neutral Passport Rules: A Human Rights Breach? – Rights Info

Posted December 9th, 2019 in equality, gender, human rights, news, passports, sex discrimination by sally

‘The Court of Appeal heard this week that the government’s passport rules, which force non-gendered people to apply as either male or female, are a human rights breach. The case was brought by activist Christie Elan-Cane, who has campaigned on the issue for more than 25 years, and believes the rules are “inherently discriminatory”. How could what is written on our passports affect our rights? Emily Kent examines.’

Full Story

Rights Info, 6th December 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Settled Status, Permanent Residence and Indefinite Leave to Remain – Richmond Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2019 in brexit, citizenship, immigration, news, passports, time limits by sally

‘With the UK’s impending exit from the EU, the Government has created new appendices to the Immigration Rules, Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit). The purpose of Appendix EU is to set out the basis on which an EEA citizen and their family members, and the family member of a qualifying British citizen, will be granted settled status or pre-settled status. These applications are under the Immigration Rules.’

Full Story

Richmond Chambers, 25th November 2019

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Court of Appeal to hear bid for gender-neutral passports – BBC News

Posted December 3rd, 2019 in appeals, gender, human rights, news, passports, sex discrimination by tracey

‘A campaigner who wants the government to provide gender-neutral passports will have their case heard at the Court of Appeal later.’

Full Story

BBC News, 3rd December 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Manchester Arena bomber’s brother held in UK after extradition – The Guardian

‘The brother of the Manchester Arena attacker, Salman Abedi, has been extradited from Libya to the UK to face multiple murder charges over his alleged role in the attack.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th July 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office faces investigation over Windrush scandal from equalities watchdog – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been referred to the equalities watchdog over the Windrush scandal and the wider “hostile environment”. More than 80 MPs from six political parties have called on the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to investigate whether the department unlawfully discriminated against the Windrush generation and continues to discriminate against ethnic minority Britons as a “direct result” of its immigration policies.’

Full Story

The Independent, 1st May 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Windrush: Home Office admits data breach in compensation scheme – BBC News

‘The Home Office has admitted breaching data protection rules when it launched the Windrush compensation scheme.’

Full Story

BBC News, 8th April 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Windrush scandal: Eligible victim wrongly denied help – The Indpendent

Posted February 5th, 2019 in citizenship, colonies, compensation, deportation, immigration, news, passports, victims by tracey

‘The lawyer overseeing a compensation scheme for victims of the Windrush scandal has asked for “urgent clarification” after a woman was wrongly refused Home Office help.’

Full Story

BBC News, 5th February 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

British boy stranded in Belgium returns home after Home Office grants emergency passport – The Independent

Posted September 11th, 2018 in children, immigration, news, passports by tracey

‘A British-born boy who was blocked from returning to the UK after a holiday has arrived home after Britain agreed to grant him an emergency passport.’

Full Story

The Independent, 11th September 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

High Court refuses bid for gender-neutral passports – BBC News

Posted June 22nd, 2018 in gender, news, passports by tracey

‘A campaigner has lost a High Court challenge calling on the government to provide gender-neutral passports.’

Full Story

BBC News, 22nd June 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Family’s £15k debt from fight against Section 322(5) immigration rule – BBC News

Posted June 21st, 2018 in debts, deportation, immigration, news, passports, taxation by tracey

‘A family say they have been left £15,000 in debt, without passports and unable to register their son as British because of the Home Office’s actions. The Bristol couple are among 1,000 highly-skilled migrants said to be facing deportation because of how the government has applied immigration law. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has ordered a review into use of Section 322(5).’

Full Story

BBC News, 21st June 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk