Vreemdelingenrecht.com - het weblog

  SM (Algeria) v Entry Clearance Officer, UK Visa Section [2015] EWCA Civ 1109   A child (SM) who was adopted in Algeria by a French couple living in the UK was refused an application for a right of entry as a family member. Having been overturned in the Upper Tribunal, the Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal. SM was not, the court held, a family member of Mr M. A keen human rights observer might think this was an apparent infringement of article 8 ECHR (the right to family life). This post will look at two questions: Why was SM not considered to be a ‘family member’? Where was article 8 hiding? Mr and Mrs M, a French couple of Algerian origin, living in the UK, sought to adopt a child from Algeria. In 2009, they underwent an assessment of their suitability to be legal guardians in Algeria under the kafalah system (Islamic alternative to adoption). They were found to be suitable, applied to be legal guardians, waited...

A man who disrupted last year's University Boat Race by swimming in front of the crews has been refused leave to remain in the UK. The Home Office said Trenton Oldfield's presence in the country was not "conducive to the public good". The Australian was jailed for six months after being found guilty of causing a public nuisance. Oldfield told Isleworth Crown Court that his actions were a protest against elitism and inequality. A Home Office spokesman said: "Those who come to the UK must abide by our laws. "We refused this individual leave to remain because we do not believe his presence in this country is conducive to the public good." Oldfield, who has a British wife, Deepa Naik, who is expecting a child, said he had appealed against the decision. Sentencing Oldfield in October last year, Judge Anne Molyneux said he had ruined the race for everyone. "You caused delay and disruption to it and to the members of the public who h...