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Oct 29
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More change is on the way

By | Home Office, immigration, nationality | No Comments

This week saw changes announced in both nationality law and the Immigration Rules.

From 12 November EEA nationals and their family members who wish to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen will no longer be able to do so by submitting evidence of having exercised Treaty rights in the UK for the required period of time, but will need a document to show that they have permanent residence, thereby adding one additional step to the process.

Whilst most of the changes to the Immigration Rules are minor and many are of a technical nature, two important changes are the addition of nurses and some digital technology jobs to the Shortage Occupation list, meaning that these posts can be recruited to without conducting a recruitment campaign, and also, from 06 April 2016, the coming into force of plans announced many years ago, whereby people on Tier 2 will only be able to apply for settlement if they are earning £35,000 or more.

Sep 10
0

New paternity laws

By | nationality | No Comments

Old, circa 1948, blank British Birth Certificate showing the main headings.

Until now, the people named as  your parents on your birth certificate were – well, accepted as your parents.  You took your nationality from them, and if they died intestate, you were their next of kin and natural inheritor.

This is to change from today, at least for the purposes of UK nationality law.  For birth certificates issued from today onwards, the Home Office will no longer automatically accept the person named as the father on a birth certificate as the natural father – which is not to say that they will not, but that they may not.

The circumstances in which they would query the relationship is not clear, but presumably this means that there will be an increased need for DNA tests to establish relationship.