APPENDIX 10: IMMIGRATION RULES AND RECENT
STATISTICS
Family Members
The Immigration Rules provide for the following family
members of British citizens or settled persons to enter or remain
in the UK: fiancés, proposed civil partners, spouses, civil
partners, unmarried partners, same sex partners, children, parents,
grandparents and other dependent relatives. To qualify for leave
as a family member, an individual would need to demonstrate that
they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules (see below).
Provisions for fiancés and proposed civil
partners
To qualify for leave to enter as a fiancé
or proposed civil partner (of a British citizen or settled person),
the following requirements must be met:
- the parties to the marriage/civil partnership
must have met;
- both parties must intend to live permanently
with the other as his or her spouse or civil partner after the
marriage/civil partnership;
- the parties must be able to maintain and accommodate
themselves without recourse to public funds
If the requirements of the rules are met, leave to
enter will be granted for 6 months.
Provisions for spouses, civil partners, unmarried
partners and same sex partners
To qualify for leave to enter as a spouse or civil
partner (of a British citizen or settled person), the following
requirements must be met:
- the parties to the marriage/civil partnership
must have met;
- both parties must intend to live permanently
with the other as his or her spouse or civil partner;
- the marriage/civil partnership must be subsisting;
- the parties must be able to maintain and accommodate
themselves without recourse to public funds.
In addition, to qualify for leave to remain as a
spouse or civil partner, a person must have been granted a period
of leave of more than six months (unless they entered with a fiancé
or proposed civil partner visa). This prevents applicants who
have arrived as visitors or short term students from 'switching'
into the marriage category.
To qualify for leave to enter as an unmarried or
same sex partner (of a British citizen or settled person), the
following requirements must be met:
- the parties must have been living together in
a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership which has
subsisted for two years or more;
- the parties must intend to live together permanently;
- the parties must be able to maintain and accommodate
themselves without recourse to public funds.
If the above requirements are met, a person will
be granted a period of 2 years leave to enter or remain ('the
probationary period'). This period allows us to test the genuineness
and permanence of the relationship.
To qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) If
the marriage/civil partnership/relationship is still subsisting
at the end of this period and the partner is, a person will be
granted ILR.
Provisions for children
The Immigration rules provide for leave to enter
or remain to be granted to a child of a parent, parents or a relative
present and settled or being admitted for settlement in the UK.
The main points are that the child must be:
- under the age of 18;
- not leading an independent life, is unmarried
and has not formed an independent family unit;
- maintained and accommodated without recourse
to public funds.
The rules also provide for indefinite leave to enter
to be granted to an adopted child of a parent or parents settled
and settled or being admitted for settlement in the UK.
Provisions for parents, grandparents and other dependent
relatives
To qualify for indefinite leave to enter or remain
as a parent, grandparent or other dependent relative (of a British
citizen or settled person), the following requirements must be
met:
- a parent or grandparent aged 65 or over (or if
under 65 living alone in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances);
or
- the son, daughter, sister, brother, uncle or
aunt over the age of 18 if living alone outside the UK in the
most exceptional compassionate circumstances;
- is financially wholly or mainly dependent on
the relative present and settled in the UK;
- has no other close relatives in his own country
to whom he/she could turn to for financial support;
- will be maintained and accommodated without recourse
to public funds.
Statistics
These statistics are taken from Control of Immigration
Statistics 2006.
Grants of leave to enter for 2 year probationary
period
|
| 2003
| 2004
| 2005
| 2006
|
| Spouses, fiancés, civil partners, proposed civil partners, unmarried partners and same sex partners
| 31,400 | 35,300
| 41,600 | 47,100
|
Grants of settlement by category
| | 2003
| 2004
| 2005
| 2006
|
| Spouses, civil partners, unmarried partners and same sex partners
| 48,160 | 21,105
| 24,295 | 42,725
|
| Children | 8,950
| 5,850 | 6,715
| 9,290 |
| Parents and grandparents |
3,090 | 1,985
| 1,450 | 1,470
|
| Other | 5,000
| 4,300 | 4,880
| 6,325 |
Source: Home Office note received in March 2008
|
