Changes to the Immigration Rules.

Some of you might remember I almost used the 28-days thing last year when I was in a bit of a tight spot. A lawyer told me I could use it while I got my fiancée visa together. She was so wrong. When I confronted the company they told me they staid that because it was in my best interest so I could stay with my partner for as long as possible! I would've been in more trouble now for sure (and a lot more in debt for paying them for it!)

The thing is, overstaying is still overstaying. Nobody knows how many days of overstaying they will allow in the future, if any, to pass the Good Character requirement.

This will be partly why they have brought in the no in country appeals law (unless the HO grant this). Those that got refused, appealed in time, got refused, appealed again and got refused, put in a human rights claim on time, got refused and appealed that etc, and dragged this on for years, were never counted as an overstayer.

They were even putting in for visas they knew they would never get and appealing all those refusals, just to drag out years more of staying in the UK. In fact they got protection under 3c of the immigration rules if they applied in time and could, if their now long ago expired visa allowed, keep working. Many used this appeal abuse to drag out their legal stay for years to reach '10 years of legal stay' for ILR.

The more that carried out this appeal abuse, the more the courts got clogged up. Some even asked on forums, which courts had the biggest backlog to buy more time. Or they asked how long they could delay their BRP for, to gain more time.

So once again, the abusers will make it harder for the genuine who just make a mistake with no intention of "frustrating" the immigration rules.

Personally I can't see anything short of 'hit by a bus the day before' being a good reason for being late.

It just occured to me, doesn't the IHS (bill free access to the NHS) expire at the same time as the visa?

Explanatory Memorandum

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/564937/57079_-_HC_667_-_EM__memorandum_.pdf

Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC1078, 16 March 2017

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc1078-16-march-2017


EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM TO
THE STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN IMMIGRATION RULES 
PRESENTED TO PARLIAMENT ON 16 MARCH 2017 (HC 1078)
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/600367/58896_HC_1078_EM_Print.pdf

If the Mods want this in it's own thread, feel free to move it.

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules  printed 20 July 2017.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630926/60429_HC_290_Accessible.pdf

From the above link on Page 4 of 5

Make other minor  and technical  changes and  clarifications  to Appendix
FM. In particular:

-ensuring  that children are granted  leave of  the same duration  and  subject
to the same conditions  as their  parent,  who is  or has been granted  leave
under  these Rules;

What does that mean? The other two things listed with this are making it harder, which made me wonder what this is.

From the above link on Page 4 of 5

Make other minor  and technical  changes and  clarifications  to Appendix
FM. In particular:

-ensuring  that children are granted  leave of  the same duration  and  subject
to the same conditions  as their  parent,  who is  or has been granted  leave
under  these Rules;

What does that mean? The other two things listed with this are making it harder, which made me wonder what this is.

You're way better at interpreting these things than I am but it looks to me like they are making quite a few concessions.

Are they really saying here that third party support  will be considered, as well as other previously prohibited sources of income?

Page 3 of 5.

Refer to the  new paragraph  21A  of Appendix  FM-SE,  inserted  by these changes,  which  makes provision as to the other sources of income, financial  support  or funds  which  the decision-maker  will  take into  account in  such  cases. These are a credible  guarantee of sustainable  financial support  from  a third  party;  credible  prospective  earnings  from  the sustainable  employment  or self-employment  of the applicant  or their partner; or  any other  credible  and reliable  source of income  or funds available  to the couple.  Paragraph 21A  also  makes provision  for  particular factors which  the decision-maker  will  consider  in  determining  the genuineness,  credibility  and  reliability  of such other source of income, financial  support  or funds; 

I had a very quick read an it seems they will be on the 10 year route to ILR (4 visas to ILR and 4 lots of the health surcharge)? I assume that bit about children that I put above, means these will be on a 10 year route too??? As the fees go up every year, this isn't going to be cheap for them.

But they can change to the 5 year route when they get the money to sponsor. Changing to the 5 year route means they reset their ILR clock and as we have often seen, they pay the IHS again and can't have a rebate on what they have already paid as they were the ones who decided to change.

Happening from August, when the 5,000 (as of up to June that they mention) being held up, will need to be processed. That's a busy time for UKVI anyway as students are still putting in their applications for a visa for a September start.

You're way better at interpreting these things than I am but it looks to me like they are making quite a few concessions.

A future problem might be that the Home office don't seem to waive the fees if there is someone in the family allowed to work, so they will need to save for these every time.  Someone on another site said she tried that as she is an overstayer of over a decade with British children now, but she was refused as her husband is allowed to work (even though he doesn't much). She is now at the stage where the Home Office make her report every few weeks, she can't work and has to pay to use the NHS.

And this immigration change has been delayed just long enough for most of the welfare changes to come in, which perhaps many of these were likely hoping they would have got/carried on getting,  if they don't even earn 18.6 and have children to house and feed?
 i.e. the 2 child benefit limit, the 2 year wait for benefits that the CAB have said there will be if they have been outside the UK for more than 4 weeks. And the new, both parents to work and achieve at least a MIF (minimum income floor) or they are working for their welfare.
A Brit already in the UK and claiming benefits, will be likely triggering a move to the new benefit system (depending on the number of children they are aksing for benefits for) instead of being moved onto htis new welfare system when their time came. Those who trigger a change, lose their transitional protectioin that would have kept their benefits at the higher amount. Plus they still have the immigration fees to save for.

If the non-Brit can earn a lot then they will be ok, but it seems these will pay more in immigration fees to reach British citizenship and have a longer wait for that.

I'll have a proper read of these changes over the weekend.

I'll have a proper read of these changes over the weekend.

Thank you for doing that so we don't have to!

Does this still only apply to people inside the UK or will they now grant 10 year path from outside the UK?

Thanks for posting, it's really helpful and appreciated


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks for your thanks both of you

Does this still only apply to people inside the UK or will they now grant 10 year path from outside the UK?

I'm reading it as from outiside the UK too, but I'm not sure if this will mean it is harder from inside the UK now and for when those from outside the UK have to renew their 30 month visa inside the UK?

Under the rules in place before 10 August 2017, if foreign national adults in the UK couldn't make the financial requirement to be spansored, then they could apply to stay under the 10 year route if they have a British child and there was no financial requirment to meet at all for that. 

Now it is reading like there will be a financial requirement for these to meet too now, as they can use other means to meet i?. So no more 10 year route for these if they can't make the new requirments either? Am I reading that correclty?

Having a chid that will be born British, has been a favourite route to stay in the UK with overstayers/illegals: but as these people are not allowed to work, will these be refused if they can't meet the new requirements? These won't be able to fallback on using the EU rules either to stay, now there is Brexit.

It is also saying in that link that all these thousands of applications (from inside and outside the UK) have been held since February 2017 and will all be processed under the new rules. If they are granted a visa under the new rules, any foreign children they have with them will be on the 10 year route to ILR, instead of the 5 years they could have had before February 2017.

A child becomes an adult at age 18 under UK immigration laws. I assume those foreign children arriving in their teens and going on the 10 year route, are going to have to prove dependancy to renew their 30 month visa after that if they age 18 and the same to use a parent for their ILR?.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with the ending of Discretionary Leave and the relacing it with the 10 year route. The old DL favoured those who broke the rules, while those who kept to the rules to get a visa, even though they had many a terarful leaving at airports, lost out. This replacement of DL was brought in to make it fair to all those who kept to the immigration rules.

Under the old rules, these could lie and say they were just visiting to gain entry and then apply for DL.  Once they got DL, they had bill free acess to the NHS and immediate full access to the UK's welfare state in their own name with no need to wait until they had ILR. Two visas of 3 years to ILR. If they had entered legally on a spouse visa, they could not have had full access to the UK welfare state in their own name.

The replacement of DL with the 10 year route, is not cheap, 4 visas to meet the requirments for ILR and 10 years of the health surcharge to be paid for. These no longer get any access to the UK's welfare state in their own name, until they are granted ILR. 

For those who got DL before this change to the 10 year route, when their visit time ended and while they waited in the UK to get DL, they were overstayers. The British citizenship rules were changed the other year so that any overstay of more than 28 days is a fail of the Good Character requirement needed to be granted citiizenship, for 10 years. This is a fail of the GC, even if when they overstayed, it would not have caused them to be refused British citizenship.

I'll put this over here too as posts on the visa board easly slip onto the next page.



Page 55 and 56 of the government's link states that if you don't meet the financial requirement, but -


"refusal of the application could result in unjustifiably harsh consequences for the applicant, their partner or a relevant child, (taking into account, as a primary consideration, the best interests of any relevant child affected by the decision)."  (their bold).

then the decision maker will consider other credible and reliable sources ...........................

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/636615/Appendix_FM_Section_1.0a_Family_Life_as_a_Partner_or_Parent_-_5-year_rou....pdf



It reads like there might be a part to meet, to then be considered for the new financial part for the 10 year route?

Is anyone else reading it that way?