A New Route to British Citizenship, Boris Promises to Hong Kong residents

As many may have read in the news, China has announced it has intention to impose a national security law on the city. Many residents in the city territory worry the law could affect Hong Kong’s unique freedoms.

In response to this, Boris Johnson has said the UK will change its immigration rules to offer “a route to citizenship” to millions of people in Hong Kong if China move forward with these plans.

What is this new security law?

You must bear in mind that this has not been made official in China, and details are not 100% clear, but as far as we understand the new security laws would make the following illegal in Hong Kong:

secession – breaking away from the country
subversion – undermining the power or authority of the central government
terrorism – using violence or intimidation against people
activities by foreign forces that interfere in Hong Kong

One of the main concerns is that bringing these laws will affect free speech and their right to protest. In China, this would be seen as subversion and could be a punishable offence.

What has Boris said about this?

Johnson said that if China passes the law, Hong Kong residents who hold British National (Overseas) (BNO) passports will be allowed to come to the UK for 12 months without a visa. At the moment they are allowed to come for six months.

BNO passport holders would be given further immigration rights such as the right to work, and Johnson described it as a ‘route to citizenship’.

This would be a very welcome change to the immigration rules for Hong Kong residents, and would give them some much needed breathing space.

At present, around 350,000 people in Hong Kong have a BNO passport, but 2.6m others are also eligible.

What is a British National Overseas Passport and Who Is Eligible for It?

A huge number of Hong Kong residents hold British National (Overseas), or BNO, passports. These are issued by the United Kingdom Government to Hong Kong residents who had British nationality due to a connection with Hong Kong before it was reunited with China in 1997.

There was an agreement made between Britain and China that such people would be entitled to continue to use British travel documents for their lifetime.

Only people who registered before the reunification of Hong Kong with China (1997) are entitled to obtain BNO passports.

Under Hong Kong and Chinese law, these passports are considered simply as travel documents, and do not come with any rights of citizenship on their holders. However, under United Kingdom law, holders of these passports are considered to be British, and are entitled to consular protection if they get into difficulties in any place outside of China.

What’s more, holders of these passports are permitted to visit the United Kingdom without having to obtain a visa beforehand. Although, they are not entitled to right of abode.

When resident in the United Kingdom, a BNO passport holder is also entitled to the right to vote in that country. These passports are also recognised by many other countries for visa-free travel purposes.

What Rights Do You Have In the UK If You Hold A BNO Passport At The Moment?

Basically, there is not much more you can do in the UK as a BNO passport holder. You are not allowed to work, do business or settle freely. Although you can enter the UK freely, without need for a visa, you are only allowed to stay for no more than 180 days on any single occasion. Hong Kong passport holders are also able to do so. It appears that the only benefit coming with this type of passport is that you can seek protection from the local British embassy or consular if you are overseas and experience difficulties.

What Has Boris Promised So Far?

It should be noted that what Boris has promised is not an outright amnesty, that is to recognise all BNO passport holders as British citizens right away. He only promises that these persons will be allowed to stay longer on one occasion and allow to work once in the UK.

It is not quite clear how the Home Office will implement such promise, if Boris really wants to act on his words. One way could be to grant status to these people something similar to what Turkish nationals are enjoying. They will have initially twelve months visa. If within this first twelve months, they are able to find work, they will be allowed to apply for longer period of leave to stay in the UK.

After five years, these persons will be allowed to apply for permanent residence in the UK. After another 12 months, they will be allowed to register themselves as British citizens under Section 4 of the British Nationality Act 1981.

Of course, Boris can be more generous. He can ask the Home Office to grant these persons five years visa right away, so that they do not need to apply for extension any longer before they are eligible to apply for permanent residence and citizenship subsequently.

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Reasonable or Criminal? Failing to produce Immigration Documents is a serious issue

It goes without saying that the only way one should enter into any country, including the UK, is by legal and correctly organised means, which involves having all the necessary paperwork and documentation on your person at the time of your arrival.

However, we are aware that life is not always so simple, and there will be times where people arrive in the UK and are unable to produce the correct documentation right away. This can mean they get into serious trouble if they cannot give a valid excuse for why they are without such documentation.

Under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971, Entering the UK without valid leave carries a maximum imprisonment of 6 months. A person can also be sentenced under the Identity Document Act 2010 if he/she possesses a false document without proper intention.

What do the Home Office see as a reasonable excuse?

If the applicant cannot provide a genuine document on arrival, there are certain reasons that they may be able to cite to avoid prosecution. Bear in mind that each case will be treated individually, and that these excuses will be investigated by immigration officials.

Some of these ‘reasonable excuses’ may be:

The political situation in their country has meant they are unable to get travel documents. This is usually more apparent in countries currently engaged in wars or under a political dictatorship.

Their genuine travel document was lost, destroyed or stolen whilst they were travelling to the UK, and it was not their fault. For example, they travelled as part of a group and somebody else was in charge of looking after their passport.

They did as they were told by someone else, for example, they destroyed their document, and the only reason they did this was because they were acting under duress (where unlawful pressure was put on them to make them do something they would not normally do).

They never had a genuine document and, can show they did not hold a document at any stage of their journey. For example they were hidden in the back of a lorry for the entire journey.

Where an applicant cannot produce a document within 3 days of an in country (after entering the UK) interview, the Home Office may grant them more time if there was a medical or family emergency that they can provide evidence of, or some kind of transport issue such as an accident, which can also be proven to be true.

Are the rules different for vulnerable people?

As you may expect, the rules are different for minors and people who have learning and mental disabilities.

Where minors are involved, the immigration officials are likely to be much more lenient when deciding what steps to take. The Home Office train their immigration staff to understand that:

Some countries do not issue immigration documents to minors.

Minors may be afraid to challenge an adult, and so do as they are told even where illegal activity is involved.

Minors may have different levels of understanding to adults and may not realise they need an immigration document to travel.

Where a person with mental disabilities is concerned, the immigration staff are trained to understand that:

The may rely on others to tell them what to do.

They may not understand what is required of them to legally travel.

What do we think of all this?

It is clear that people must be fully prepared to meet immigration officials when entering the UK, and the best way to enter is to have all documentation ready for inspection.

However, we live in the real world, and in this world there will always be people trying their best to either start a new life, escape from danger in their own country, or simply be unable to obtain proper documents through no fault of their own.

In particular, being foreigners just arriving at a new country, they have no or limited knowledge of the legal system in the UK. Such ignorance will make them more vulnerable. It is hard to say they arrive with a criminal mind. Therefore, it is important to have a flexible and fair system in place so that they can be dealt with in a more humane manner. Unless there is solid evidence, the decision should be made not to prosecute them.

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Immigration Detainees Have Dropped by More Than 75%

In a recent statistical report on Covid-19 and the immigration system, it was noted that between the start of the UK lockdown on 23 March and the end of April, 295 people entered immigration detention.

231 of these people were classed as “clandestine entrants”, which means they entered the UK via secretive means, or failed to make themselves known to Immigration Officers on arrival.

These 231 were held for no more than seven days at short-term holding facilities, but it must be remembered that this seven days does not include time spent being transferred from prisons to immigration centres.

Less people are currently being detained

The Home Office will not be emptying detention centres completely, which has been the source of some controversy given the current situation with coronavirus, but the number of people detained at any given time has fallen significantly.

According to the report, there were around 313 people left in immigration removal centres at the start of May, down from 368 in mid-April, 555 at the end of March and 1,278 at the start of the year. Most of these are foreign national offenders.

It is likely that the COVID-19 crisis has had a big impact on how many people the Home Office is detaining. We predict that once the lockdown rules are over, there will be a steady rise in these numbers once again.

What do we think of this?

It is clearly understandable that the Home Office must act where they find people are coming into the country illegally, or by questionable means. They must keep the public’s best interest at the forefront of everything they do, and making sure that no undesirable characters are coming into the country unchecked.

However, the safety of these detainees is equally as important, and they must be looked after in COVID-19 secure environments, and using methods which discourage the spread of coronavirus.

Provided reasonable requirements are met, such as residing at stable addresses and provision of sureties, or where the risk of absconding is low, the presumption should always be that the detainees should be released on bail.

Under the immigration laws, people can only be detained for removal purpose; however, where the detainees have valid applications or in-country appeals pending, or become irremovable, whether due to their non-co-operation or not, the Home Office is under duty to review their detention decision and consider whether continued detention can be justified; otherwise, the detention could well become unlawful and be subjected to legal challenges.

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Furlough scheme set to wind down as national debt goes through the roof

At present, almost 8 and a half million people are on furlough, equating to a quarter of the total jobs in Britain.

A quarter of company directors surveyed by the Institute of Directors say they would not be able to afford to pay even 20 per cent of the furlough scheme if required – as well as having to pay national insurance contributions, an additional 5 per cent, on top.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been vital in helping people stay afloat financially during the crisis, but it comes at a high price. The scheme is costing the Government billions every month. The scheme, which pays 80 per cent of people’s wages up to a total of £2,500, is assessed to have cost around £15billion so far.

Stopping the funds

Companies will likely be unable to furlough more staff as the Government looks to wind down the scheme.

Rishi Sunak is expected to announce the slow end of the emergency funds set aside to help struggling companies through the first phase of the coronavirus crisis.

However, part-time working from furloughed staff is expected to be allowed from August, following pressure from MPs and retail associations.

The Treasury is expected to make these announcements while locking in a cut-off date after which no employees will be able to join the furlough scheme.

So what can be expected?

As lockdown rules begin to ease slightly over the coming weeks and months, provided that the number of infections and deaths continue to decrease, more and more people will be encouraged to go back to work, even on a part-time basis.

It is thought that staff will be paid full wages by their firm for any hours worked and will continue to be covered by the furlough scheme for the hours they do not work.

Firms in all sectors will be required to contribute a quarter of the wages of any furloughed workers. Also, they will have to restart paying National Insurance, although the Government would cover pension contributions.

How about the self-employed workers?

The government is yet to decide whether to extend the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) beyond the end of May. The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), which has cost £10.5bn so far, is due to expire in five days’ time.

What do we make of all this?

There is no denying that the furlough scheme has helped millions of people during this hard time. A good government is there to help and protect its public, especially through the hardest times, which is what this scheme has done.

As a company ourselves, we understand the stress the coronavirus crisis has brought onto firms up and down the country, and around the entire world. If no such scheme had been brought in by the government, people would be in uproar, businesses would be closing and people would be losing their homes.

So yes, the scheme has been positive.

However, we also understand that money does not simply grow on trees, and firms will have to pay their own way again, the sooner the better, if we want to save our economy from total annihilation.

As we have said all along though, the safety of staff must always come first.

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Immigration News: All visas in the UK are automatically extended to July 31!

Although it was long overdue, the USCIS finally made the above announcement. This means that the identities of the following people have been automatically extended to July 31:

All those who hold a visitor visa in the UK expiring on or before July 31; and

All those who hold a student visa, spouse visa, work visa or other visas expiring on or before July 31

These people do not need to submit any application, they just need to report to the immigration office briefly.

The period of time the person stays in the UK due to this extension is legal and will not affect future applications for a visa to come to the UK.

This situation also includes those who hold a visitor visa, although the visa has not expired, but has been in the UK for more than 180 days.

However, it should be noted that:

If the parties are eligible for renewal and are willing to renew, the parties should continue to apply for renewal as usual. Although the visa centre is currently not open, the online application for immigration is working as normal.

If the parties meet the conditions for applying for other long-term visas, they usually need to go back to submit the application. According to the current Immigration Department’s policy, these people can apply for a transfer or new visas directly in the UK, and no longer need to leave the country.

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May 22, 2020
App, Competition, Lisa's Law, Website

Competition Time! Win £500 with Ease!

We at Lisa’s Law have a question for you… Do you want a chance to win a massive prize of £500?!

Then get involved in our ‘Find the Fault’ competition. It really could not be easier! Simply download our app and scroll through it, listing out even the smallest of faults, then do the same for our website, and send your findings to feedback@lisaslaw.co.uk.

The person who finds the most faults will win the prize!

Download our app for free through the below links:

iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lisas-law/id1503174541?ls=1…

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lisaslaw…

Website: https://lisaslaw.co.uk/

We are after faulty links, glitches, blurry pictures, spelling mistakes, format issues etc!

Anything that you can find, we want to know about!

Why are we doing this?

We are striving for perfection here at Lisa’s Law, and our main concern is that our clients are happy with the services we offer. This extends to the way our app and website looks, feels and works.

You could win £500 for simply scrolling on your lunch break – what a rare treat! Think of all the nice things you can buy with that money, all for looking through our app and website.

You will have until the 15th of June to submit your findings, so do not hesitate, get involved now!

Want more information?

Feel free to call us on 020 7928 0276 or email feedback@lisaslaw.co.uk if you want to ask any questions related to this competition!

Also, please follow this link for more information about our app and online services.

Good luck!

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Naturalisation Applications – Double Standards Continue

The Home Office has updated its guidance policy regarding naturalising as a British citizen. Naturalising this way requires the applicant to have been in the UK lawfully for at least 5 years before the application.

The Home Office’s policy is used to guide their caseworkers in their decision as to what residence should be treated as lawful and what should be seen as unlawful when dealing with naturalisation applications. The most recent updates are mainly focused on the potential immigration breaches that can affect the success of a naturalisation application.

Residence requirements:

It is required under the British Nationality Act 1981 that an applicant has to satisfy the following residence requirements in order to be legalised in the UK:

they are in the UK at the beginning of the period of 5 years ending with the date of the application
not absent from the UK for more than either 450 days in that 5 year period or 90 days in the period of 12 months ending with the date of application
not, on the date of application, subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on the period of stay in the UK
not, at any other time in the 12 month period ending with date of application, subject under the immigration laws to any restriction on their period of stay in the UK
not, at any time in the period of 5 years ending with the date of application, in the UK in breach of the immigration laws

Updates to breaching rules:

The Home Office allows for some discretion, in the special circumstances of a particular case, to disregard breaches of the immigration laws (unlawful residence) during the qualifying 5 year period.

Under the guidance, being in the UK without leave to enter or remain will be relevant to the issue of residence lawfulness, while other breaches such as taking employment illegally and harbouring other immigration offenders, will not usually be considered under the residence requirement, but under the good character requirement. This is fair enough, as it may recognise the reality that some applicants may do so with no choice. It may not be an indicator of their character.

Home Office caseworkers may choose to exercise discretion to disregard a period of unlawful residence if the reasons behind the period are clearly outside the applicant’s control, or if the breach was genuinely inadvertent and short.

Some examples of where discretion may be used in cases of immigration breaches in the guidance are as follows:

the breach occurred at a time when the applicant was a minor whose parents failed to obtain or renew their leave.

the applicant was a victim of domestic violence whose abusive partner prevented the renewal of leave.

the applicant had made an ‘in-time’ application, but the application was rejected and so they became in breach.

the person had made a late application for leave to remain which was subsequently granted and either the:

– application was not submitted more than 28 days after the expiry of their previous leave and before 24 November 2016

– application was not submitted after more than 28 days overstaying if it was an asylum application

– person had a period of more than 28 days between their leave expiring and them making a new application and there were exceptional circumstances such as a family illness or bereavement.

the person arrived the UK clandestinely (in secret) but either presented themselves without delay to the immigration authorities or was detected by the immigration authorities shortly after arrival:

– the maximum period involved should normally be 1 month, but may be longer if there are extenuating circumstances.

– in these cases you can waive the breach that occurred from entry until the person’s first application for leave or asylum was determined, provided the application was granted

an application for asylum or leave to remain was refused but was later acknowledged to be an incorrect decision and the appropriate leave was granted

the breach was because the applicant did not meet an additional/implicit condition of stay, rather than illegal entry or overstaying, such as an EEA or Swiss national not having CSI and can provide sufficient evidence to justify discretion being exercised in their favour

Surprisingly, the guidance provides that where an applicant has been granted temporary admission and/or release, even if he/she is subsequently granted status following an application for leave to remain, his residence between the time he/she was granted temporary admission/release and that when he/she is granted status will be treated as unlawful residence and will NOT be disregarded when the issue of lawful residence is considered in his/her naturalisation application.

This approach is startlingly different from the one the Home Office takes when considering settlement applications based on 10-year lawful residence. In such application, temporary admission and release is treated as lawful residence.

By granting an applicant temporary admission/release, it means that the Secretary of the State has allowed him/her to remain in the UK, even temporarily. Provided that the applicant has been complying with the conditions of his/her temporary admission/release, say, by reporting, he/she has been staying in the UK in line with the immigration laws.

Should not such residence be treated as lawful in their naturalisation and discretion be exercised in his/her favour?

Some good news, at least

A good point amid these updates is the fact that it is now confirmed that anyone who has been refused application or had their appeal dismissed will be given 28 days further leave to remain to enable to them to leave the UK, or, make a fresh application if that is the case. Before, as far as we can remember, it was an unwritten practice by the Home Office’s officers. This adds some much needed clarity, and provides extra time to sort out arrangements for those who find themselves being requested to leave by the Home Office.

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Jury trials to resume, but safety is paramount

HMCTS has confirmed that four Crown Courts have been assessed as currently suitable to hold jury trials and will begin to do so from next week.

They are:

Central Criminal Court, London (Old Bailey)
Bristol Crown Court
Cardiff Crown Court
Manchester (Minshull Street)

Courts expected to reopen in the coming weeks are:

Reading Crown Court
Warwick Crown Court
Winchester Crown Court

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there has been much concern about the safety of everyone who uses courtrooms and tribunal buildings. Investigations into making them ‘COVID-19 secure’ have been ongoing.

Over the past few weeks a jury trial working group, chaired by Mr Justice Edis, has been assessing ways to safely re-start some jury trials in England and Wales.

Co-chair of our Criminal Law Committee, Ian Kelcey, who was part of this working group has said:

“An immense amount of work has been put into getting a very limited number of courts into a position where they can hold jury trials. Safety has been the paramount consideration. This is a small step in what will undoubtedly be a long journey to return to where we were before the epidemic”.

Special arrangements in place for jury trials

Arrangements to allow appropriate social distancing to be maintained at all times include but are not limited to:

providing a second courtroom linked by closed circuit TV, to enable the media and others to watch proceedings
a separate courtroom for jury deliberations
entrances and exits are carefully supervised
increased building and touchpoint cleaning will take place

These safety measures will be closely looked at in practice, and will be altered accordingly if any issues arise.

While we understand that a jury is a vital part of many trials, the safety and well-being of everyone in the courtroom must take priority, and trials should be postponed if the right standards are not met.

Received a jury summons?

If you receive, or have already received a jury summons for a future date, please keep planning to attend court but do not attend court unless you have been contacted by a jury officer. They will contact you to confirm the days and time you need to attend during your service.

Presently, if following government advice you need to self-isolate, you will not be expected to start your jury service. You will need to contact the court and let them know if there’s another reason why you cannot attend. If you are not needed for jury service, the court will inform you.

If you are going to attend jury service, be aware that water fountains and cafés are likely to be unavailable. Make sure you bring sufficient food and bottled water (not glass) with you for the day.

Now that loss of taste and smell is listed amoung the symptoms of coronavirus, you may be required to taste test on entry to the building. You can claim towards the cost of your food and drink.

If you need to speak to someone about your personal circumstances, you can contact the Jury Central Summoning Bureau on 0300 456 1024.

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Wind Farm Workers – Extended Period to Join UK Workforce for non-EEA Nationals

In 2017, the Home Secretary introduced a concession to the Immigration Rules to allow the employment of non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals who are joining vessels engaged in the construction and maintenance of offshore wind projects in UK territorial waters.

The Home Office has just announced that this concession has been extended, with workers now having leave to enter under the terms of the concession until 31 December 2020.

The terms of the concession are as followed:

The Home Office has agreed to grant a concession, outside of the Immigration Rules, to workers essential to the construction and maintenance of wind farms within UK territorial waters.

The concession will allow non-EEA workers leave to enter the UK until 31 December 2020 for the purpose of joining a vessel engaged in the construction and maintenance of a wind farm within UK territorial waters. (Remember, EEA nationals do not require leave to enter the UK.)

Leave to enter under the terms of the concession will not be granted beyond 31 December 2020. During this period, firms involved in the construction or maintenance of wind farms within territorial waters should look to regularise the position of their workers. Those who require leave to enter the UK should have the appropriate permission to do so under the Immigration Rules, such as applying for Tier 2 visas.

In order to qualify for entry under this concession and satisfy border security, a person seeking entry for this purpose should produce:

A valid passport.
Home Office fees.
A letter from their employer stating that the worker is employed in the construction or maintenance of a wind farm project within territorial waters.

Applicants who require a visa should apply online for a visitor in transit visa and select the option, when prompted, “to start work on a ship or aircraft”.

Please do not hesitate to get in contact with us if you require more information, our experienced legal team will be able to guide you through the process step by step should you be interested in applying.

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Mortgage Lenders Introduce New Policies for More Flexible Routes for Buyers

The property market has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, but now mortgage lenders are beginning to introduce new measures to make things easier for people looking to buy or sell during this tough time. The aim is to reduce the amount of disruption caused to such transactions by COVID-19 in the coming months.

We have outlined some measure that we have come across ourselves, and we hope that they may be of help to our readers interested or involved in conveyancing.

Remote legal advice can be acceptable

Whenever there is potential conflict of interest issues or other occupiers rather than the mortgagees themselves, lenders will ask the relevant persons to seek independent legal advice and for a certificate to be sent to the lender to confirm that this has been satisfied. Such advice is normally done face-to-face. With the social distance rules in place, more and more lenders are starting to accept remote advice. It is worth enquiring with your specific lender if this is a possibility.

Property searches may not be demanded

In light of the fact that many solicitors have been unable to obtain property searches for their clients or had such searches severely delayed, to enable transactions to progress without delay, many lenders may be willing to accept in lieu of searches a “no-Search” indemnity insurance policy to cover any risks associated with proceeding with the transaction without search results being received.

Lenders may accept expired searches

In order to make sure their customers are able to complete within the period of their mortgage offer, where searches received in respect of the security property have, due to any delay in the transaction, recently expired, lenders may accept search indemnity insurance policies in lieu of customers obtaining a new set of searches. Once again, please do not hesitate to check with your lender.

Of course, not everything comes so easily. With the uncertainty caused by Covid-19, more and more lenders are also asking mortgagees to make further declarations to confirm that they have considered the financial risks and any other risks associated with the completion of their mortgage in this challenging economic environment and that they are still willing to go ahead with the mortgage.

The declaration may include confirmation of a stable financial position, no plan of requesting a mortgage holiday in the near future, and an understanding that the mortgagees may be contacted by the lenders if need be.

Such declarations may have to be signed before lenders are willing to make available any funds.