BAILII is celebrating 24 years of free online access to the law! Would you consider making a contribution?
No donation is too small. If every visitor before 31 December gives just £1, it will have a significant impact on BAILII's ability to continue providing free access to the law.
Thank you very much for your support!
[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback] | ||
England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
||
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Akturk, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWHC 297 (Admin) (08 February 2016) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2016/297.html Cite as: [2016] EWHC 297 (Admin) |
[New search] [Printable RTF version] [Help]
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand London WC2A 2LL |
||
B e f o r e :
____________________
THE QUEEN ON THE APPLICATION OF CELAL AKTURK | Claimant | |
v | ||
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT | Defendant |
____________________
WordWave International Limited
Trading as DTI
8th Floor, 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2DY
Tel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7404 1424
(Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
Miss Deok Joo Rhee (instructed by the Government Legal Department) appeared on behalf of the Defendant
(Hearing Dates: 31 January and 1 February 2017)
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
MR JUSTICE HOLMAN:
The issues
(1) A claim for judicial review of both refusal decisions on the grounds that they are wrong on the facts of the case on conventional judicial review grounds (issue (1));
(2) A claim that the published "guidance" of the Home Office in cases such as this, which the officials applied in reaching their decisions, is unlawful because (i) its effects breach the ECAA, by which the United Kingdom is bound; and/or (ii) it amounts to introducing an immigration rule which has not been laid before Parliament. If that is correct, then it must also afford an additional ground for judicial review of the actual decisions in this case in that the officials avowedly applied the guidance which, on that hypothesis, is unlawful (issue (2));
(3) A claim that the abolition of the statutory right of a judicial appeal and its replacement by administrative review is incompatible with the ECAA. The claimant asserts that an appeal is a less restricted remedy than judicial review; that he had good prospects of success on an appeal; and that he should not have been forced to apply for judicial review (issue (3)).
"The claim raises an issue which is common to a growing number of similar cases. It is sensible for one case (ie the present) to be determined and others to be stayed pending resolution of this case."
The facts in more detail
"• Personal bank account statements in your name from a bank account in the UK (the statements should cover the previous 6 months showing that you have the funds to set up your business).
- A letter from your sponsor [viz his father in Turkey] confirming that you do not have to repay the funds they [sic] have given you to establish in self-employed business."
" ... our client could not open a bank account in the United Kingdom as he had visitor visa. The sponsor transferred the funds by Western Union and our client keeps the money with himself. He keeps these funds with himself and he will open a bank account once he is granted relevant visa and will put in his bank account."
Issue (1) and judicial review of the actual decisions of 27 October and 23 November 2015
(i) The 1973 rules, HC510
" ... In deciding these matters account is to be taken of all the relevant facts: the fact that the applicant satisfies the formal requirements of these rules for stay, or further stay, in the proposed capacity is not conclusive in his favour ..."
"Any such application is to be considered on merits. Permission may depend on a number of factors, including evidence that the applicant will be devoting assets of his own to the business, proportional to his interest in it, that he will be able to bear his share of any liabilities the business may incur, and that his share of its profits will be sufficient to support him ... The applicant's part in the business must not amount to disguised employment, and it must be clear that he will not have to supplement his business activities by employment for which a work permit is required ...."
"These rules, which are intended to provide guidance as to the practice to be followed, are not ... to be construed too rigidly ... the paragraph [21] is not ... specifying prerequisites for the grant of permission. It is specifying factors which must be taken into account, but failure to comply with any one of them will not necessarily be fatal to the application ... after considering all the relevant factors, the case has to be looked at in the round. That is because, as the paragraph provides, any application is to be 'considered on merits' ..."
(ii) The 2015 guidance
"You [viz the caseworker] must decide on a case by case basis whether it is appropriate to request further information from the applicant."
"Fluency in English is not a requirement of the 1973 business provisions but should be taken into account as part of the overall assessment of the evidence provided. In some circumstances common sense will tell you that it may be possible for the applicant to establish business with little or no English. In other circumstances, not being able to speak good English may present severe difficulties ... In cases where the applicant does not provide sufficient evidence of proficiency in English and this is relevant to the application, you must ask the applicant to provide further written evidence of their fluency ... In cases where proficiency in English is particularly relevant, you may consider interviewing the applicant ...."
"If you are unable to determine whether an application is genuine solely from the documents provided you must consider if it is necessary to interview the applicant in person. For example, you may have concerns about:
- ....
- significant omissions in the documents required
- ....
- ....
- the credibility of the application is in doubt"
(iii) The decision letter of 27 October 2015
"We have considered your application on behalf of the Secretary of State and your application has been refused. In making the decision to refuse your application, careful consideration has been given to the following:"
"As you have not been able to show that you hold a bank account with sufficient funds to establish in business and meet your everyday living expenses, I am not satisfied that you have any spare capital to meet any liabilities that your business may incur. Consequently, we cannot be satisfied that you have provided evidence of a genuine intention to start in business providing window cleaning services. Therefore, your application has been refused."
Point (i): Under the first heading as to genuineness the letter concludes:
"You have stated on your entry clearance application form that you wish to visit the United Kingdom to spend your holiday and the length of trip being 14 days. However you have stayed beyond the 14 days which you declared without providing any explanation of why your visit lasted more than 14 days. Furthermore less than two days [underlining in the original] before the expiry of your 6 months visit visa, you have submitted an application for self-employment under the ECAA scheme.
The timing of your application, the fact you declared your visit to the United Kingdom to last 14 days (which it did not) suggest your application is more of an attempt to secure leave rather than reflective of a genuine intention to establish in business. This seriously undermines the credibility of your application and the legitimacy of it."
"You have not provided any qualifications or evidence that you have proficiency in the English language. Without English language skills, we cannot be satisfied your level of English is sufficient to allow you to run the business with a realistic chance of success. Failure to communicate in English will significantly limit your business prospects in the United Kingdom. Therefore it is unclear how you will communicate with customers, suppliers and deal with statutory bodies such as HM Revenue and Customs, or be able to comply with any regulations your business may be required to fulfil."
"In cases where the applicant does not provide sufficient evidence of proficiency in English and this is relevant to the application, you must [my emphasis] ask the applicant to provide further written evidence of their fluency."
"The letter you have provided is a basic list consisting of name, address, contact number and signed by each potential client. With the heading paragraph confirming they will be using your services once you are granted leave to establish your own business in the United Kingdom.
This does not detail what exactly the potential clients will be expecting from your service, for example, how times and days that you would be likely to be working for them or any window cleaning services you are likely to be providing them with.
Without the potential client letters dealing what they are likely to need undertaking and you providing and an in depth accurate quote, this letter of support is insufficient as evidence."
i. "Further into your business plan, on page 6, you have mention cost effectiveness. But no price list has been provided with the application or included as part of the business plan. It would be difficult to ascertain how profitable or how cost effective your business would be, especially when competing with rival competitors in your area ...."
"Our pricing policy is simple and cost-effective when total costs of services considered; we will be charging £5.00 per window inclusive of material and equipment."
"Also on page 4 of the business plan, it details that you will not be looking until the third year of trading to get your own transport and commit to a full UK driving licence. Yet no reason has been given as to why these actions could not be attempted in the first year of trading."
(iv) The administrative review and the decision letter of 23 November 2015
"There is no lawful basis for any challenge to the applicant's application based on these considerations ... the applicant has demonstrated no fraudulent intent or abuse of rights ... "
"You also claim in reference to our response to the timing of your applications 'there is no lawful basis for any challenge to the application based on these considerations'. As stated in your [sic] original application:"
Outcome on issue (1) and the impact on issues (2) and (3)
The Ankara agreement and the "standstill" provisions
"1. The Contracting Parties shall refrain from introducing between themselves any new restrictions on the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services."
"In the fields covered by this Protocol, Turkey shall not receive more favourable treatment than that which Member States grant to one another pursuant to the Treaty establishing the Community."
Issue (2). The lawfulness of the guidance
" ... a rule is any requirement which a migrant must satisfy as a condition of being given ... leave to remain ... any requirement which, if not satisfied by the migrant, will lead to an application for leave ... to remain being refused is a rule within the meaning of section 3(2)."
"The key requirement is that the Immigration Rules should include all those provisions which set out criteria which are or may be determinative of an application for leave to enter or remain."
"This page explains what type of documents should be submitted to show that a person ... is devoting funds or assets of their own to the business ...."
"While the 1973 Rules do not specify the types of documents to be submitted ... caseworkers should assess whether failure to provide relevant and/or requested documents undermines the credibility of the applicant's business proposal."
"[Applicants] should provide evidence of the available funding. This should include original bank statements for the last 6 months."
Issue (3). Is the abolition of the right of appeal incompatible with the ECAA?
"Whether or not domestic law, as it now is after the abolition of that appeal right and now affording only administrative review, gives to the claimant a remedy not disproportionately different from that of a EU citizen under the relevant Directive and the related domestic legislation."
"69. Having regard to all the foregoing considerations, the answer to the question referred for a preliminary ruling must be that article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol is to be interpreted as prohibiting the introduction, as from the entry into force of that Protocol with regard to the member state concerned, of any new restrictions on the exercise of freedom of establishment, including those relating to the substantive and/or procedural conditions governing the first admission to the territory of that state, of Turkish nationals intending to establish themselves in business there on their own account."
"67. In order for those individual rights to be effective, Turkish workers must be able to rely on them before national courts. To ensure the effectiveness of that judicial protection, it is essential to grant those workers the same procedural guarantees as those granted by Community law to nationals of Member States and, therefore, to permit those workers to take advantage of the guarantees laid down in articles 8 and 9 of Directive 64/221 ... such guarantees are inseparable from the rights to which they relate."
"If he would not have been entitled to an in-country right of appeal under the immigration legislation then in force, there is no reason why he should be entitled to such a right in 2006."
"26. Given the importance of procedural rules in the immigration field (as shown by Parliament's repeated amendments to the legislation over recent years) and the extent to which matters of procedure and matters of substance may well be inextricably interlinked in such cases, I would not be prepared to accept, in the absence of further and more detailed argument, that there is necessarily a clear-cut distinction to be drawn between procedural and substantive rules in this field.
27. As Dorr and Unal shows, substantive rights may well be ineffective or less effective if they are not backed up by appropriate procedural guarantees in relation to matters such as rights of appeal. It will be recalled that in paragraph 67 of its judgment the ECJ agreed with the point made by the Advocate General that such procedural guarantees 'are inseparable from the rights to which they relate.' There is nothing in Savas or in Tum and Dari to suggest that making procedural rights less favourable for an applicant who relies on the standstill agreement is acceptable in terms of Community law. Community law is concerned with practicality rather than procedural formality. Much, for example, may depend upon the extent to which it is necessary in practice for applicants to appeal in order to succeed in establishing their claims. For example, if there is a very high rate of initial refusals and, correspondingly, a high rate of success on appeal, then removing the right of appeal might well have the practical effect of worsening the position for applicants, even though the substantive rules, applied both at first instance and on appeal, remain unchanged."
"The procedures provided for by articles 30 and 31 shall apply by analogy to all decisions restricting free movement of Union citizens and their family members on grounds other than public policy, public security or public health."
"Article 31
Procedural Safeguards
1. The persons concerned shall have access to judicial and, where appropriate, administrative redress procedures in the host Member State to appeal against or seek review of any decision taken against them on the grounds of public policy, public security or public health.
2. ....
3. The redress procedures shall allow for an examination of the legality of the decision, as well as of the facts and circumstances on which the proposed measure is based. They shall ensure that the decision is not disproportionate ..."