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Commonwealth Veterans’ Legal Action – High Court reject our call for judicial review (27 October 2020)

Date: 27/10/2020
Duncan Lewis, Main Solicitors, Commonwealth Veterans’ Legal Action – High Court reject our call for judicial review

The High Court has rejected our call for judicial review into eight Commonwealth veterans’ immigration cases.

In dismissing the application for judicial review, the high court judge said that the veterans were ‘out of time’. However our team – led by immigration director Vinita Templeton – has placed an application for an oral renewal hearing which has been listed for 1st December 2020, where the veterans will make a final attempt to win the right to remain in the UK.

Commonwealth nationals who serve more than four years in the British Army have the right to remain in the UK if they can afford the application fees, the eight veterans in this case argue that because of systemic administrative errors they were not properly informed of their rights when discharged.

Earlier this year Vinita, along with Anthony Metzer QC and Sarah Pinder of Goldsmith Chambers, lodged a claim for judicial review on behalf of a group of eight Commonwealth Veterans (“the Claimants”) against the Secretary of State for Defence (SSD) and the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD).

The claimants challenge Home Office and Ministry of Defence (MOD) practices, which include failures to follow their own guidance and duties concerning Foreign and Commonwealth HM Forces personnel at discharge. These failures had a large impact on the Claimants’ rights to reside in the UK. The Claimants seek a Declaration that these failures occurred as a result of serious, systemic and illegal administrative errors and that they should therefore be entitled to Indefinite Leave to Remain (‘ILR’) free of charge. They also seek a Declaration that other veterans who have already returned to their country of origin who were subject to the same historic injustices, should be given an opportunity to apply for Indefinite Leave to Enter (‘ILE’).

Full details of our challenge can be found here.

This is a disappointing setback in the case but we look ahead with confidence to the oral hearing in December.

For more information contact: public law director Vinita Templeton at vinitat@duncanlewis.com or on 0207 923 4020

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