Immigration Bill Will Cut Human Rights Appeals

Cynthia Barker writes...Good morning from sunny London during local and European election week! UKIP leader Nigel Farage has been 'Romanian bashing' again, as part of his campaign to leave the EU and regain control of our borders.

Many Brits are fed up with EU and EEA regulations, which among other things override UK Home Office Immigration Rules, which is why Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an '"in out" referendum on European Union membership if he wins the next general election in 2015.

Britain has little control over how many Europeans can move here, however, it works both ways with millions of UK citizens living and working in France, Spain and other EU nations.

But Mr Farage is not bothered about French or Germans coming to live in the UK - his wife is German. It's those less well off migrants from much poorer countries like Romania and Bulgaria that he wants to stop, as he claims they are "taking all our jobs" and driving down wages for British citizens.

Employers, like Concept Care Solutions, would argue that Romanians and Bulgarians are needed to fill thousands of UK job vacancies for nurses and care workers and have no choice but to recruit from overseas.

The Immigration Bill passed through the House of Lords last week and will receive the Royal Accent before becoming law or an Act of Parliament and enshrined into the Immigration Rules.

The latest Immigration Bill promises tougher measures on immigration appeals - by removing 17 grounds on which a person can appeal, for instance when facing deportation by the Home Office - and powers to remove revoke British Citizenship from foreign-born terror suspects.

Many people associate immigration appeals and tribunal decisions to allow foreign criminals indefinite leave to remain on Article 8 or right to a family life grounds with the European Union.

It is common misconception that the European Court of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) are EU institutions when in fact they are entirely separate bodies.

Leaving the EU will not change the UK Human Rights Act or membership of the European Convention of Human Rights. The convention was formed in 1959 and has passed 17,000 judgments, half of which concerned 5 countries: Turkey, Italy, The Russian Federation, Poland and Romania - the UK accounted for just over 2% of judgments. Source ECHR website.

If you need advice on any immigration matter, including overstaying your visa, EU or UK immigration law, or want to appeal against a refusal, call Cynthia Barker on 07850 307687 or 0208 731 5972 or email her your details to immigration@londonccs.com. Cynthia Barker is a qualified OISC Registered Immigration Adviser, with 15 years experience in immigration matters, with a team of Level 3 Immigration Law Practitioners, Concept Care Solutions, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, HA8 7UU.