The Courts rejected the Secretary of State’s appeal against an earlier Court of Appeal decision which outlawed the ban on under 21’s as arbitrary.

Following the Supreme Court’ Judgment the Immigration Minister Damian Green announced that the minimum age of marriage shall be reverted back from 21 to 18.  This decision was followed to avoid what the Court termed ‘disproportionate interference’ of rights under article 8 ECHR.  The change will take effect from 28 November 2011.

This change is likely to be welcomed by many applicants who have found themselves having to wait until they reach 21 or who have had to apply in a different route.

Mr Green also said that a breach of Forced Marriage Civil Protection Orders will be criminalised and the government will be consulting on whether they should criminalise the act in forcing someone to marry.  This remains to be seen in due course.

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She is currently challenging deportation action in the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).  Lawyers acting for the Home office argue that she started the affair with the MP because she thought he was an influential figure who would benefit her.

Ms Zatuliveter told the tribunal that in July 2006 they had travelled to Brussels for a week before travelling to Rome a few weeks later.  She also said that he paid for her to visit her parents in Moscow in 2007.

In the autumn of 2009 she was interviewed by an MI5 agent.  She was interviewed again by the security services in the summer of 2010 when she was detained in Gatwick airport travelling back from Croatia.  She was arrested in December 2010 when deportation action commenced against her.

The immigration authority’s position is that she should be deported as her presence in UK endangers national security.  One can liken this to be a storyline line similar to the BBC drama ‘spooks’ or a spy espionage film.  The government believes that she is using her position as an MP’s assistance and mistress to pass on information to Russian intelligence.

She has known to have contacted a ‘Boris’ who works in the Russian Embassy in London who has since been expelled from UK.  The case has concluded today, and the Judges have reserved Judgment for several weeks.

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This seems to be the centre of attention for politicians, because in 2008 the age went up from 16 to 18, and even then it was deemed to be unlawful.

This ruling was made in order to uphold a judgement which was made earlier which was seen to be intruding with family life for those who will be affected by such ruling and it is against their basic right to family life under article 8 ECHR.

These appeals were made on the basis that a 21 year old is likely to be able to resist forced marriages than one at the age of 18 or 16, how do you assess the maturity of an individual? On and how was this conclusion reached that a 21 year old is more likely to be able go against those who is forcing him/her to marry in order to allow an individual to remain in the UK or to enter the UK?

Forced marriages can take place anywhere and at any age resistance is down to the individual, how they want to or when they break free from such force.

The government believes it has a legitimate reason, however, it isn’t proving to be good enough, in such cases where couples are made to live apart, or forcing British nationals to live away from the country until their spouse has reached the age requirement, this is a clear violation of Article 8 ECHR. This is the 21^st century couples should not be made to live apart or give up their right to live at home in the UK this is what is happening and they believe this is ok. This new ruling should now prevent government’s ill conceived ruling and reinstate the age to 18 under the immigration rules.

This ruling would no doubt be seen with optimism for couples where one or more party is currently aged under 21, and should be a sign of hope to allow common sense and human rights to prevail.  For couples where one or both party are under 21 the ruling is great news for them as this indicates that they will no longer have to live apart, or require one spouse having to move from UK in order to be with a loved one.

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The Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) is a residence card which holds a migrant’s personal details (name, place of birth, date of birth) and biometric features (fingerprints, facial ID), and shows his/her immigration status and rights of entitlements while in the UK.

The BRP is currently compulsory for Tier 2 and Tier 4 applications.

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In what many see as a surprise move, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said intra-company transfers would be excluded from the cap.

Most of the skilled non-EU migrants come via this method.

However Minister Damian Green said it would not stop the government cutting net immigration to “tens of thousands”.

In 2009, net immigration to the UK stood at around 196,000.

Mr Green when speaking to the BBC said government was still committed to more than halving that number within five years – and he indicated the government would place further restrictions on family reunions and international students once the new cap on skilled workers was in place.

“Once we have got this limit on, we are going to look at the student route, and we are going to look at the family routes, because you do have to bear down on all types of immigration to hit the tens of thousands,” he said.

The government has been accused of allowing Indian IT companies to bring in cheap labour through intra-company transfers. It is claimed this has the effect of shutting out UK graduates from the jobs market.

Mr Green also said that intra-company transfers should only be available for senior people adding: “You need to look quite carefully at who is coming in”.

He also said that the transfers would also have to pass a certain minimum salary threshold that was yet to be decided.

“He (Mr Cameron) is not exempting any intra company transfer at any salary level,” he said to the BBC.

Last week, a Commons Home Affairs Committee report said the government could not meet its net immigration target without including intra-company transfers in the cap.

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For a no obligation free chat please call Spouse Visa UK on: +44 (0)8000 337 111 or email Spouse Visa UK via our contact form and we’ll call you right back.

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If you are married or are a civil partner of a person who is present and permanently resides in the UK then you may apply for a UK Spouse Visa for leave to enter, or leave to remain in the UK. However in order to make the spouse visa application both partners in the relationship will need to satisfy the follow UK spouse visa requirements.

Eligibility Criteria:

Age: For a spouse visa application, both the applicant and spouse must be at least 21 years of age.

Relationships: To be eligible for the spouse visa the married couple must fulfil the following requirements:

• They must be legally married to each other (and can prove it by showing the necessary paperwork) .
• They must plan to live together.
• They must have met each other.
• They must be able to support themselves entirely without recourse to public funds.
• They must have adequate accommodation where dependants can live without recourse to public funds.

If you have more than one husband or wife, then you can only bring one partner in as your spouse.

Dependants: Children of the marriage who are under 18 years of age will be granted entry to the UK as dependants. They will be able to make their application at the same time as the main applicant.

If you want a no obligation free chat please call Spouse Visa UK on: +44 (0)8000 337 111 or email Spouse Visa UK via our contact form and we will get back to you.

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