20 November 2013
Changes to the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK requirement for settlement and naturalisation
As of the 28 October 2013, the government has introduced changes to the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK (KoLL) requirement which will apply to any application for permanent residence (settlement) in the UK for adults (aged 18 and above). The new requirements will also apply to individuals applying to naturalise as British citizens.
15 November 2013
Immigration Update: Home Office Launches Consultation on Charging
On 12 November 2013, the Home Office launched a consultation looking at changes to the charging principles. The consultation will last for 3 weeks and as part of the consultation the Home Office will be seeking views on how the Home Office charges customers and the services it provides. The last consultation on charging was carried out in 2009 and this is now a good opportunity for stakeholders to have their voice heard.
15 July 2013
Nationality and immigration pitfalls in international surrogacy
Entering into an international surrogacy arrangement is becoming an increasingly popular option for prospective parent(s). This growing popularity is spurred on by the wider availability of global surrogacy services, high profile celebrity surrogate babies and increasing frustration with adoption services both domestic and foreign. As more children are born as the result of a surrogacy arrangement, family, immigration and nationality laws in the UK and across the globe have struggled to keep up with this developing area of law.
9 April 2013
Couples torn apart by UK family migration rules
It has been almost a year since the introduction of new draconian immigration rules relating to family migration. We shared some of our concerns about the changes in a previous blog, ‘New rules for family migration – unrealistic specified documents’, and evidence would now suggest that these rules continue to result in partners being split up.
18 January 2013
Applying to naturalise as a British Citizen – are you of good character?
Those applying for naturalisation now need to be aware that any criminal convictions and tax issues can be taken into account when their applications are assessed.
On 13 December 2012, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) announced a change to the way it assesses criminal convictions and this affects how the UKBA will assess the ‘good character’ requirement for naturalisation applications. No longer will criminal convictions be considered ‘spent’ but instead they will be evaluated according to a ‘sentence based threshold’.