Ali272 wrote:1. Which immigration law or act does long residence belong to? I keep reading different forums and some people say human rights act of 1998, some say EU treaty and some say it just an immigration law.
Long residence is granted under
Part 7 of the
Immigration Rules, which are issued under the authority of the
Immigration Act 1971.
As delegated legislation, it can be modified by ministers at any time. Theoretically either of the two Houses can reject the changes, but neither House does that. So, if the ministers change the Rules, they come into force after at least 40 days. So, you will typically have 40 days notice of the change.
Ali272 wrote:2. They abolished the 14 year rule in 2012, why they haven't abolished this route? many foreign students come here early on to take advantage of this route. Why they haven't abolished it in the past 5 years? Is there any reason?
That is a question for the ministers in the Home Office. They certainly have the power to change it. They may also just modify it by adding requirements (such as demonstrating that it would be unreasonable for the applicant to leave the UK) rather than change the number of years that qualify for long residence.
BTW, they did not abolish the 14 year rule, they just increased it to 20 years.
Ali272 wrote:3. Do you think they are going to abolish it in this parliament?
As
CR001 has put it succinctly, we have not got a crystal ball, so we can not give you a definitive answer. I think
nasirkhan is being far too sanguine when he says
nasirkhan wrote:the probability that it is going to change is negligible.
It is likely that there will be changes, as it is far easier to change Immigration Rules than it is to change EEA Regulations. But before making changes, ministers would certainly want to consult lawyers to ensure that such changes do not fall foul of basic legal principles, such as human rights or unreasonableness. So, you would definitely hear of it in the news well before it hits you
