header-logo header-logo

Grave interference with family life

18 September 2009
Categories: Legal News , Immigration & asylum , Human rights
printer mail-detail

An Afghani wife from Pakistan has won the right to join her refugee husband in the UK because refusal by the Appeal Immigration Tribunal violated her Art 8 rights.

In refusing entry the Appeal Immigration Tribunal (AIT) said that under the Immigration Rules a wife could not join a husband who had limited leave to stay in the UK if they marry abroad after he came to seek asylum. The wife appealed on the grounds that it unlawfully interfered with family life under Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The AIT acknowledged that the Immigration Rules discriminate unfairly against such refugees particularly when other classes of migrants are not under such disability but it warned against using Art 8 to ‘correct perceived faults in legislative provisions’.

Richard Cahill, solicitor at Cahill De Fonseka and immigration specialist said that the lack of provisions for post-flight spouse to join recognised refugees in the UK was based on ‘concerns about speculative asylum claims’ and ‘entry clearance applications based on marriages of convenience’.

The Court

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Paul Madden

Gilson Gray—Paul Madden

Partner appointed to head international insolvency and dispute resolution for England

Brachers—Gill Turner Tucker

Brachers—Gill Turner Tucker

Kent firm expands regional footprint through strategic acquisition

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—William Charles

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—William Charles

Financial disputes and investigations specialist joins as partner in London

NEWS
Ministers’ proposals to raise funds by seizing interest on lawyers’ client account schemes could ‘cause firms to close’, solicitors have warned
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
back-to-top-scroll