New Immigration & Citizenship Bill

[mirnat]

I've seen a few posts on this board about the new Borders, Citizenship & Immigration Bill introduced in January 2009 that is currently going through Parliament with a view to becoming an Act of Law. The last posted thread I can see on this topic on these boards is by '1963British' on 12th February 2009. The view expressed in that post was that the effective date of this Bill would be December 2010. Does anyone have updated info on the progress of this Bill and when it is likely it will be effective from?

I ask because I'm a British Citizen and my husband was granted ILR in March this year and can under the current rules apply for British Citizenship in March 2010. Is this new Bill going to prevent him doing this in March next year if it becomes an Act? Obviously he cannot apply any earlier to avoid the new rules as he would not have met the qualifying residential conditions until next March but does anyone know also if there will be some kind of transitional arrangements for those already on the path to citizenship under the current rules?

[nksg]

Please find the updated information on the link below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=32413

it looks like your partner wont be affected by the new laws as he already has ILR.

Second thing is link states the bill will be implemented in dec 2010.

[ejobs_01]

Please find the updated information on the link below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=32413

it looks like your partner wont be affected by the new laws as he already has ILR.

Second thing is link states the bill will be implemented in dec 2010.

Hi nksg,

From what I am hearing, the bill (and any other immigration bills) could be implemented by August 2009.

Regards,

[drjabberwocky23]

Please find the updated information on the link below:

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=32413

it looks like your partner wont be affected by the new laws as he already has ILR.

Second thing is link states the bill will be implemented in dec 2010.

Hi nksg,

From what I am hearing, the bill (and any other immigration bills) could be implemented by August 2009.

Regards,

Really?

Please could you let us know where you've heard about the August 2009 implementation date?

[mirnat]

Yes, please do! That would be dreadful for my husband as he cannot apply for citizenship until March 2010! I hope Nksg you are right and the new regime/rules will not apply to him as he already has ILR!

I’d hope that Parliament’s summer recess might get in the way of this Bill being progressed although I learnt from a friend of mine who is a Civil Servant that Bills must be given Royal Assent/become an Act of Law within one year of being introduced otherwise they fall away. They can be reintroduced again after this one year but obviously it might not be treated with the same degree of force as Parliament would have debated on it already etc.

I think this Bill was introduced in January 2009 so I guess it must be given Royal Assent by January 2010 although I have seen other Acts of law that come in but the dates they are effective from can be set in the future (or sometimes they are retrospective and apply in the past although I think this would be unfair if it was retrospective to all those people who had already put in applications under the old rules!) Oh how the debate rages on….!

[ejobs_01]

Yes, please do! That would be dreadful for my husband as he cannot apply for citizenship until March 2010! I hope Nksg you are right and the new regime/rules will not apply to him as he already has ILR!

I’d hope that Parliament’s summer recess might get in the way of this Bill being progressed although I learnt from a friend of mine who is a Civil Servant that Bills must be given Royal Assent/become an Act of Law within one year of being introduced otherwise they fall away. They can be reintroduced again after this one year but obviously it might not be treated with the same degree of force as Parliament would have debated on it already etc.

I think this Bill was introduced in January 2009 so I guess it must be given Royal Assent by January 2010 although I have seen other Acts of law that come in but the dates they are effective from can be set in the future (or sometimes they are retrospective and apply in the past although I think this would be unfair if it was retrospective to all those people who had already put in applications under the old rules!) Oh how the debate rages on….!

Mirnat,

As I said earlier, it is only heresay (and I hope I am wrong). But one cannot deny the fact that the govt is keen to implement this bill including the citizenship asap (proof is successive debates) without any reference to transitional period. Once the thumbs up sign is given for a upto Dec 2010 date, it can be implemented anytime upto 2010. Do you think anyone will care later for words viz. "unfair", "retrospective" etc. Tories will think "one less headache when in power" and people are too busy with their daily routines to act.

I do hope I am absolutely wrong but I remind myself of the boy scouts motto.

Regards,

[mirnat]

Yes I really hope so too ejobs_01 that you are wrong or at least that the Bill/Act is implemented with some reference to transitional arrangements. I noted that when the Bill was debated in the House of Lords they suggested that it should not apply to those already with ILR and 12 months away from applying for ILR but the Government/Commons was vehemently opposed to this - damn!

Any idea then if it does become effective say from April 2010 and my husband has put in his application for British Citizenship in March 2010 (I am making sure he applies as soon as he meets the current qualifying conditions!) – obviously his application is unlikely to have been decided on by April after submitting it in March, does that mean the Home Office/Border Agency would then have to ditch his application and invite him to make a fresh one in accordance with the new requirements or because he got the application in before the new law came into force, would the old rules still apply?

PS. What is the boy scouts motto? (being female, I am somewhat unfamiliar with this!)

[ejobs_01]

Yes I really hope so too ejobs_01 that you are wrong or at least that the Bill/Act is implemented with some reference to transitional arrangements. I noted that when the Bill was debated in the House of Lords they suggested that it should not apply to those already with ILR and 12 months away from applying for ILR but the Government/Commons was vehemently opposed to this - damn!

Any idea then if it does become effective say from April 2010 and my husband has put in his application for British Citizenship in March 2010 (I am making sure he applies as soon as he meets the current qualifying conditions!) – obviously his application is unlikely to have been decided on by April after submitting it in March, does that mean the Home Office/Border Agency would then have to ditch his application and invite him to make a fresh one in accordance with the new requirements or because he got the application in before the new law came into force, would the old rules would still apply? It really is like I’ve heard it described in one debate, like a game of snakes and ladders for immigrants on the path to citizenship!

PS. What is the boy scouts motto? (being female, I am somewhat unfamiliar with this!)

Mirnat,

My best guess with your husband's case would that he should be okay unless the govt implements the citizenship bill before his application. Unlikely, but we all have been through this before, haven't we? My miniscule intellectual power keeps asking me "why the transitional arrangements were not unveiled in so many debates?" Was it so difficult to set a criteria/cut-off date? Everything else under the sun was discussed but the transitional arrangement. To me, this only points towards some "magic date" upto Dec 2010 (and that can start from 2006, isn't it?). We seem to take the words (printed or spoken) at face value and to the dismay of WP holders, they found it otherwise. You can easily play with words and who is to deny that? If you are an optimist you can take it one way and a pessimist the other way. Along with snakes and ladders we will also have to play the game of wait and watch !

Boy scouts motto = Be prepared.

Regards,

[mirnat]

Lol you’re right there ejobs_01 - be prepared! I’ve seen that term of snakes and ladders being referred to in debates about this Bill, saying that it is like playing snakes and ladders for the many immigrants (such as my husband) who are already on the path to Citizenship!

It is slightly worrying how the transitional arrangements have not been up for discussion in debates, lets hope there are going to be some! This is what is most annoying about Governmental implementation of Acts – the retrospective aspect and yes it is true they could backdate the rules to apply from anytime they wanted to effectively but lets hope they don’t!

Like u say, nothing to do but watch and wait!

Just out of my own curiosity, what is the interest in progression of this Bill for u or have u already succeeded on the path to Citizenship? (PM me if u'd prefer!) Having seen what my husband has had to go thru, it makes me grateful to have been born in this country with an automatic right to a British passport!