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Immigration: Statement of Changes in Rules

My Lords, I cannot give the precise reference this evening, but I shall ensure that the noble Lord has the references that work. The noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, repeated the point about consultation. It is worth making it clear that we said in our statement of intent on tier 1, which was published in December last year, that we would use general grounds to refuse those people with a bad immigration history. That has attracted fairly general and widespread support. It is an important point. The noble Baroness also asked about the adequacy of the remedy for tier 1 general applicants and the possibility of appeal. There is no appeal for those applying to come to the UK under the points-based system, but a person refused entry can apply for an administrative review of the decision of the entry clearance officer if they believe that an honest mistake has been made. This review will be carried out by an official who is different from the official who made the original decision. So there is a measure of distance between the original decision-maker and an effective review of the case. If people are dissatisfied with the outcome of an administrative review, the possibility of a judicial review remains clear. Applications to come to the UK for work or study do not raise the fundamental issues that justify a full right of appeal, as one might expect under the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Section 4 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 removes the full right of appeal for those who apply from abroad to come to the United Kingdom under the points-based system. The legislation will take effect as each points-based system tier rolls out. Appeal rights will be abolished in all the highly skilled subcategories except where the appeal is brought on human rights or race discrimination grounds.