THIS blog is being written against the background of recent pronouncements by the Minister of State for Borders and Immigration, Phil Woolas, that the UK intends to make changes over time to its returns policy to Zimbabwe for failed asylum seekers.
Rumbidzai Bvunzawabaya aptly summarised the policy statements, and the general way forward for those affected, and it is not my intention to dwell on that. My intention here is to explore further options available to those who may be affected by this policy but still want to continue living in the United Kingdom in some other capacity.
The issue of immigration control in the United Kingdom always raises its often emotional head during or towards election periods and this time it is no exception. However, the UK has always maintained that it has immigration rules in place designed to maintain an effective immigration system that is fair and robust.
As mentioned by Taffy Nyawanza, there are other ways of staying legally in the UK other than as a refugee or as someone under Humanitarian Protection.
In this regard, I have chosen to deal with Rule 317 of the Immigration Rules that allows dependents of someone present and settled in the UK to be granted either leave to enter or to remain in the UK.
It is important to understand the terms present and settled in the UK as many people are often confused and end up doing the wrong things and at the end of the day suffering emotional stress.
Present and Settled in the United Kingdom
The term present and settled in the UK is used to refer to those individuals who are present in the United Kingdom, and are not under immigration control. These are people who have indefinite leave to remain in the UK or those who are citizens of this country. Therefore, those with limited leave to remain in the UK even if it is for five years are not considered settled in the UK although they are present in the country.
Dependent Relatives
Dependent relatives of a person present and settled in the UK are the following:
(a) Mother or grandmother who is a widow aged 65 years or over
(b) Father or grandfather who is widower aged 65 years or over
(c) Parents or grandparents travelling together of whom at least one is aged 65 or over
(d) Parent or grandparent under 65 if living alone outside the UK in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances and mainly dependent financially on relatives settled in the UK
(e) The son, daughter, sister, brother, uncle or aunt over 18 if living alone outside the UK in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances and mainly dependent financially on relatives settled in the UK.
It is clear that this is a viable route to either come or to try and regularise one’s stay for those already in the UK, on condition of course that one remains in good books with one’s relatives. It is always advisable to always treat everyone as you would also like to be treated, although to some extent this seems to be ignored with monotonous regularity by our fellow Zimbabweans. However it remains a fact that you never know when your relative may come to your rescue.
That having been said, it remains pertinent to assess how those who have no leave to remain in the UK may make use of this provision of the Immigration Rules. I must hasten to add that settlement in the UK can be granted as a result of different circumstances for each individual, it can be through work, asylum, long residence, ancestry etc. So when it comes to applying for leave to enter or remain in the UK as a dependent of someone present and settled in the UK, one only has to show that the requirements of rule 317 are met and not how the sponsor acquired his settlement.
Therefore, for most failed asylum seekers who are due for removal to Zimbabwe in the near future as hinted by the Immigration Minister, the option may be to look as those around you.
Do you have any relatives in the UK? What is their status? Do you fall in any one of the categories under Immigration Rule 317? Is your relative prepared to sponsor you?
If you are able to answer positively to these questions then you may be able to regularise your status in the UK.
However, the general rule is that one must now go back to his country of origin and apply for entry clearance from there. This is what many people do not want to hear. It is important for individuals to realise that those who voluntarily return to their countries of origin following refusal of their applications in the UK are viewed in a favourable light than those who have to be forcibly returned.
There may be some exceptional cases when the Secretary of State may be persuaded to look at individual deserving applications, especially where children are involved, that it may be disproportionate in the circumstances to ask the applicant to go back to Zimbabwe for the sole purpose of applying for entry clearance which is likely to be granted anyway.
It must, therefore, be understood that being served with removal directions to Zimbabwe is not the end of the world in its own, but may at the end of the day open further opportunities to those people who have relatives with a big heart.
George Tizirai-Chapwanya, BL (Hons) LLB LLM is a Solicitor with Bake & Co Solicitors. He can be contacted on gtchapwanya@bakesolicitors.co.uk or visit Bake & Co Solicitors’ website at www.bakesolicitors.co.uk; 0121 616 5025
Disclaimer: This article only provides general information on immigration law. It is not intended to replace the advice or services of a Solicitor. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of use of this information