UK immigration clarifies 7 year child concession
May 12 2009 by Gareth McConnell
Continuous residence still important
On behalf of everyone who left comments on the Global Visas blog expressing their concerns at the withdrawal of the 7 year child concession I wrote to Lin Homer, Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency, to relay the gravity of fear you all live with.
Your concerns have been addressed by Assistant Director, Richard Honeyman.
I provided a link to the UK Immigration drops 7 year child concession blog, to which over 200 people left questions.
Whilst the UKBA can't respond to individual cases or examples the Assistant Director acknowledges he has read your comments and explains what the withdrawal of DP5/96 means in line with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights:
"There has been some confusion and misunderstanding by many outside organisations, legal representatives and individuals as to how DP5/96 operated prior to its withdrawal, as well as how cases concerning children will be dealt with now that the child policy is no longer in place," Mr. Honeyman told Global Visas.
"As you are aware, on the 9th December 2008 when the Immigration Minister Phil Woolas formally withdrew the policy he made the following statement:
'The fact that a child has spent a significant period of their life in the UK will continue to be an important relevant factor to be taken into account by caseworkers when evaluating whether removal of their parents is appropriate. Any decision to remove a family from the UK will continue to be made in accordance with our obligation under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Immigration Rules.'
'The withdrawal of DP5/96 and replacing it with consideration under the Immigration Rules and Article 8 of the ECHR will ensure a fairer, more consistent approach to all cases involving children, whether accompanied or unaccompanied, across UKBA. Withdrawing the policy will also prevent those overstaying or unlawfully present in the UK having the benefit of a concession which does not apply to those persons who comply with the Immigration Rules and remain in the UK lawfully.'
Mr. Honeyman draws particular attention to the fact the UK Immigration Minister states all circumstances of a case will be taken into account, including the length of a child’s continuous residence in the UK, which remains an important and relevant factor.
“I note contributors to your website are disappointed by the withdrawal of DP5/96. However, it has been apparent for some time that DP5/96 had become an outdated policy which treated families unlawfully in the UK more favourably than families who remained here lawfully and abided by the Immigration Rules,” said the Assistant Director.
“As you know, DP5/96 did not apply to cases where individuals had remained lawfully in the UK. In this regard, it had the adverse effect of encouraging individuals to overstay their leave so that they could have the policy applied to their case.”
“As a matter of procedural fairness, transitional arrangements have been put in place for the cases that may still qualify for consideration under DP5/96,” he added.
For further information on transitional arrangements read the Global Visas blog.
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