Human Rights at the Core of UK's Updated Entry Clearance Guide
19/05/2008 by Tamar Blieden
The basic rights of people have been held up in last week's publishing of the updated Entry Clearance Guidance. For the first time the rights of the applicants are being elevated, however if the law has been contravened entry will be vehemently refused.
These new UK immigration rules come as a relief to all those people who have had their applications refused due to past breaches of the immigration law. A list of all instructions for the department of immigration in relation to refusals has therefore been announced.
Only if it can be successfully proven with good evidence in hand that an applicant has breached UK immigration laws, could a refusal come into play. This follows an announcement by Immigration Minister Liam Byrne's statement last week that refusal rules will not apply to spouses or civil partners. This however will only apply if they have not deceived immigration laws in any way in the past ten years.
These rules, which came into being from April 1st, ultimately reflect who is in fact exempt from the Home Office refusal rules 320. Beside spousal and partner exemption, so too are all dependents exempt from application refusal. Also if you are applying to access your child or you breached immigration law when you were younger than 18 years of age you cannot have your application refused.
Global Visas, an international immigration and visa authority, receive applications for UK immigration permits and visas on a daily basis. Many applicants have to be turned away due to past contraventions of the law. However now there is a chance for these people to apply for entry.
Often the reason for false entry into a country is not the fault of the applicant. This issue has come to the fore and the rights of those, previously treated unfairly, are now being promoted. This is highlighted by the exclusion of those with false documentation unbeknown to the applicant, or if they are a victim of human trafficking.
"These exclusions to entry refusal can be very difficult to prove, but if it can be done then there is no reason why the Home Office could ever be called unjust in relation to applications," so says Bryan Palmer of www.globalvisas.com. "These rules are strict but fair," he adds.
Refusals however still apply to illegal entrants, those who have overstayed their visa requirements for more than 28 days or those who have breached their visa, for example working illegally. These people will be refused entry for up to a period of ten years, dependent on voluntary exit, public expense or deportation.
These rules ultimately point UK immigration officials in the right direction both legally and ethically in relation to refusal of entry and clearance.
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