Cranbrook Legal's Blog

The new year has brought in a number of successful visa applications for our clients. Following a successful asylum claim on behalf of joint clients, we were able to bring their case to a complete end after the Home Office granted him them a Convention Travel Document.  The clients were overjoyed that they can finally put to bed their horrific past and begin their life together.  With the Travel Document they are now free to travel the world except the country they feared persecution in. Another client was successful in his Asylum claim fleeing persecution from Bangladesh.  This case was complex in nature as the client had previously been apprehended by the immigration authorities in an immigration enforcement raid.  Having successfully secures his release from immigration detention, Cranbrook Solicitors devised a plan that would ensure the client's success.  The case finally ended with the Client granted Refugee Leave for 5 years. We are now working on a numb...

In a recent case heard in the High Court, the Secretary of State has confirmed that Extended Family Members of EEA Nationals who have had their Residence Card refused will be granted an appeal right to have their case heard in the First Tier Tribunal. The case in question was due to be heard in May 2019 however it is reported that the Secretary of State invited the Applicant in this particular case to withdraw their Judicial Review Application with the Secretary of State expressing his intention to allow for Extended Family Members to be granted in-country appeal rights. Previously, appeal rights were granted to Extended Family Members whose applications were refused under the 2006 Regulations.  This did not however stretch to the 2016 Regulations as per Regulation 36.  Until now, an Applicant’s only remedy against a refusal would be to lodge Judicial Review proceedings against the decision.  These types of proceedings could be costly and lengthy and were limit...

The Home Office have recently updated their guidance on the Good Character Requirement for applications to become a British Citizen by Naturalisation. Background How is the Good Character requirement assessed in relevant nationality application? There is no definition of good character in the British Nationality Act 1981 and therefore no statutory guidance as to how good character should be interpreted or applied. The decision therefore is left solely at the hands of the decision maker. The Good Character requirement was controversially applied to anyone over the age of 10 and above since 4 December 2006. That provision was repealed and on 13 January 2010 was replaced by an insertion of Section 41A into the British Nationality Act 1981 on 13 January 2010 . The Act in layman terms simply states that no adult or young person shall be registered as a British Citizen unless they are of good character. The Home Office has a non-exhaustive list, from which they ask a great num...

A feasible alternative With the uncertainty surrounding Brexit , it is anticipated that Tier 2 Visa applications are likely to increase.  Businesses across the UK are now left in a precarious position and are considering their options going forward.  It would appear that in the Post-Brexit world, EU Citizens will not be differentiated from non-EU Citizens.  With this in mind, businesses are looking for alternatives in order to plan ahead.  One alternative advised by Cranbrook Legal is for businesses to look to employ foreign workers under the Tier 2 Visa category. How does it work An employer looking to hire a Tier 2 Migrant from outside the EU must hold a valid Tier 2 Sponsor Licence.  It is important to note that the Home Office will only allow you to fill vacancies through foreign workers if you are able to demonstrate that the vacancy cannot be filled by a suitably qualified British National or EU Citizen (although the EU Citizen aspect is like...

From recent discussions with out clients, it has become increasingly apparent that very few of the understand how and why it came about and what it means for them in the future.  To that end, we have prepared a bitesize review of what Brexit can mean for you. What is Brexit? A referendum (a vote) in which those who were eligible to vote was held on Thursday 23 June 2016 to decide whether the United Kingdom would leave the European Union or remain in the European Union.  More than 30 million people voted,  a turn out of 71.8%. When the votes were casted, 51.9% had voted to leave. An analysis of the results indicated that England and Wales both voted to leave and Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to remain.  Ultimately, it was decided that the UK would leave the EU. On 29 March 2017, the UK Prime Minister Theresa May submitted to the EU the UK’s formal notice to withdraw from the EU via Article 50.  It is of note that in the history of ...

With Brexit looming, Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes MP has dealt a devastating blow to employers in the UK by advising Parliament that in the event of a “No Deal Brexit”, employers will have to check whether their EU Citizen staff are eligible to work in the UK.  Unfortunately, Ms Nokes MP was not able to provide Parliament with detail about how these checks will be conducted. This would appear to contradict a media briefing earlier this year in which it was stated that there would be no requirement for “right to work checks” on EU Citizens. Currently, employers across the country are bracing themselves for a Post-Brexit world and with the uncertainty shown by the UK government, have thus far been unable to implement any meaningful strategies to deal with staffing issues.  The fact that employers will now have the additional task of vetting their staff for immigration documentation will only add burden to this burden. Immigration Advisors across the country fa...

We are pleased to announce that December 2018 saw a number of our clients granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom.  Particularly pleasing to us was the complex nature of these cases but with the assistance of Cranbrook Solicitors, our clients were able to navigate through the Immigration Rules to reach a successful outcome. We successfully obtained Entry Clearance for two clients on the basis of their marriage with persons who are present and settled in the UK.  In one instance, our client had made several unsuccessful applications for leave to remain in the UK however we were able to present a thorough and well-presented entry clearance application for the Entry Clearance Officer to consider. In addition, we successfully obtained leave for our client who is in a relationship with a British National and father to a British Child.  The case was made particularly complex as the client had previously claimed Asylum based on his sexual orientation.  We we...