Immigration Barristers' Blog

The UK Border Agency has completed the rollout of biometric residence permits in the UK. This significantly increases the number of biometric residence permits issued by the agency.

From 29th February 2012, all applicants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) applying to stay in the UK for more than six months have to register their fingerprints and digital facial image. Successful applicants will be issued a biometric residence permit as evidence of immigration status and entitlements in the UK. This includes refugees and those granted settlement.

Since the rollout began in November 2008 the home office has issued around 650,000 biometric residence permits, containing fingerprints and photograph on a secure chip. Biometric residence permits are an important step in fighting immigration abuse and illegal working and make it easier for employers to verify a foreign national's right to work in the UK.

Source: The Home Office

The UK Border Agency has announced that the Ministry of Justice is to introduce appeal fee charges for some asylum and immigration appeals from 19th December 2011.

People who want to appeal against a decision notice dated 19th December 2011 or later will need to pay a fee. The appeal fee will apply to most categories of visas and decisions. Any exemptions to the fees will be outlined by the Ministry of Justice. This will not affect any decision notices that are dated before 19th December.

Also, from 19th December people will need to lodge their appeals at the tribunal in the UK. The UK Border Agency will no longer accept appeals at any of its overseas visa application centres.

Third country migrants working legally within the EU should enjoy certain comparable rights to those of EU nationals under a new "single permit" directive agreed by Parliament and Council and backed by the Civil Liberties and Employment committees.

The "single permit" directive - which complements other measures on legal migration - is designed to facilitate such migration where it meets the needs of the EU labour market.

The proposed directive would simplify administrative requirements for third-country nationals by enabling them to obtain work and residence permits via a single procedure and grant them a standard set of rights comparable to those enjoyed by EU workers, such as decent basic working conditions, recognition of educational and professional qualifications and access to social security.

Member States would have four months within which to decide on a single permit application. These rules do not affect EU countries' power to decide whether or not to admit non-EU workers or how many to admit.

The agreed rules would apply to non-EU nationals who wish to reside and work in a Member State, or who already legally reside or work in a Member State. The new law would not cover long-term residents, refugees and posted workers (who are already subject to other EU rules), seasonal workers or intra-company transferees (who will be covered by other EU directives). Au pairs and seafarers sailing under the flag of a Member State are also excluded.

Parliament as a whole is to put the agreed text to a vote in the next plenary session. Member States will have two years in which to transpose the directive into their national laws.

The Court of Justice of the European Union recently handed down judgment in the case of Ruiz Zambrano (C-34/09). This judgment creates a right to reside and work for the sole carer of a dependent British citizen when that carer has no other right of residence in the UK, and removing the carer from the UK would mean the British citizen would have to leave the European Union.