“It is the policy of the agency to remove those persons found to have entered the United Kingdom unlawfully unless it would be a breach of the Refugee Convention or ECHR or there are compelling reasons, usually of a compassionate nature, for not doing so in an individual case.”
“Rule 395C simply sets out factors which must be considered. Chapter 53 did not affect or fetter such considerations, or change them. It gave guidance by way of a very broad spectrum for residence.... of 4 to 8 years. I say residence, because it is quite apparent that the reference in chapter 53.1.2 in the last bullet point of (iv) to ‘delay’ is not to a delay for which the Defendant is responsible, e.g. by way of delaying in dealing with the initial consideration, refusal (if such it be) and appeal, but to ‘delay’ by virtue of passage of time (see further paragraph 36 below).”
“I do not consider that it is arguable that there was a policy that leave would be granted on the basis of a sufficient long period of residence alone.”
“Where an individual has never had leave to enter, has his asylum claim refused and an appeal dismissed and thereafter fails to comply with reporting restrictions or absconds, the length of residence resulting from deliberate evasion of the authorities is most unlikely to weigh in that individual’s favour of a grant.”
“6. At the heart of much of the litigation over the years have been eventually largely fruitless and in my judgment misconceived attempts by claimants to show that there was a special and more favourable policy which should be applied to those in the Legacy Programme, derived from a target or aim as to the date by when decisions would be made. This target then was elevated into a legitimate expectation; missing it was said to create unlawful delay such as to create an historic injustice, leading to arguments that particular forms of leave should be granted, that policies should be treated as frozen, that particular periods of residence should be given great weight, all deriving from a misreading of policy and especially of alleged policy documents at a level below the EIG.”
“61. I think that Mr Morris rather overstated the significance in paragraph 78 of Mohammed if he was requiring the SSHD to demonstrate that she had given the period significant weight in her thinking in order to show that she had properly applied her policy. Or at least, what he said has been given significantly greater significance than he intended in relation to how such a period of residence should be approached. There is no requirement for an express reference to the EIG for the SSHD to show that it has been considered; nor is it necessary for her to demonstrate that it had been given significant weight. It is necessary for a decision to show that the period of residence of six years or more has been considered in the round with all the other factors. The significance of that period of residence may be diminished by residence if non-compliant, or discounted by periods of non-compliance; it matters not precisely how that is expressed. But all that is required is that the decision should explain why leave has not been granted after six years’ residence. The fact that all or a significant proportion of the period was non-compliant with the law is of itself a perfectly satisfactory reason for discounting the period, on the basis set out in the EIG.”