Blog
Kingsley Napley’s Medical Negligence Team ‘walks together’ with the Dame Vera Lynn Children’s Charity
Sharon Burkill
17 December 2018
Deal or no deal: what Brexit could mean for my German mother
With less than four months to go until the UK leaves the European Union (EU), we still don’t know what deal, if any, the UK will have with the EU. A big part of that deal relates to securing the rights of the more than 3 million EEA citizens living in the UK. While the Government has confirmed their intention to roll out the proposed Settled Status scheme regardless as to whether the withdrawal agreement is approved, those seeking greater certainty about their status and who are eligible, are looking to naturalise as British citizens. For some Europeans, the decision to naturalise is a simple one. For others, it may mean giving up their existing nationality.
15 May 2018
It shouldn’t be so hard for EU citizens to become British
Tough fees and bureaucracy put EU citizens off naturalisation. Making the process easier is win-win for both Home Office and society.
20 April 2018
Will Windrush help reset attitudes to immigration?
‘Positive, welcoming, liberal, forward-looking’. This is how Michael Gove summarised the Government’s approach to immigration only this week. Did he not get the Windrush memo? Immigration lawyers, human rights organisations and migrant communities have for years now tried to draw attention to the dangerous impact of the Government’s policy of establishing a ‘hostile environment’. However public discussion of immigration has instead focused on net migration figures and linking immigration to crime and a crisis in public services. There has been publicity about successful appeals against deportation and doubts over the true age of asylum seeking children.
10 April 2018
UK Immigration Authorities complete a ‘180’ on absences from the UK
Since 13 December 2012, Americans coming to the UK with a visa issued under one of the popular ‘Points Based System’ categories, have been allowed to spend up to 180 days outside the UK in each 12 month period and still qualify for indefinite leave to remain at the end of five years. This 180 day period was calculated by looking back at each fixed 12 month period in the five years leading up to the date the applicant applied for indefinite leave to remain. Unfortunately, a change to the Immigration Rules which came into effect on 11 January 2018, has thrown this careful planning into disarray. The 180 day limit is now to be applied to a rolling 12 month period. This new calculation is also to be applied retrospectively and will impact anyone who applies for indefinite leave to remain after January 2018.
23 August 2017
Brexit and relocating with children overseas – mind the immigration and family law gaps
According to the Office of National Statistics, over a quarter (27.5%) of live births in England and Wales in 2015 were to women born outside the UK. It’s reasonable to assume that a number of other births were children with foreign fathers. What will happen to such families comprised of EU citizens when Britain leaves the EU?
