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UK out of order

01 September 1992

On 7 July the European Court of Justice ruled that the Home Office was wrong to try to deport Surinder Singh, the Indian husband of a British woman, when the couple's marriage broke down. Mr Singh and his wife had lived and worked in Germany before they moved to Britain, where they separated. The Court said that the EC directive on free movement applied, giving Mr Singh the right to stay in Britain for so long as he remained married, and not British immigration law, under which the Home Office could ask him to leave once he was no longer living with his wife.

The ruling was widely expected, and caused the Home Office to soften its instructions to Immigration Officers on the notorious 'primary purpose' rule, whereby non-EC spouses of British citizens must prove that they did not marry to gain settlement. The rule has been applied very strictly since its introduction ten years ago, separating thousands of couples. Now, the new instructions say that applications should not be refused under the rule if the marriage has lasted five years or there are British children.

The Court's ruling also means that the Foreign Office may have to refund the 80 visa application fees paid by non-EC spouses living with partners in Europe, and may additionally have to compensate them for any financial losses arising from the British failure to apply the directive since 1973.

Independent 8.7.92; 8.8.92.