The abolition of "marriage license for non-EU people" in Britain has mixed feelings among Chinese.

Luke Yan confirmed to reporters that the draft of "Britain abolished COA on 9 May" was passed in the House of Lords on 29 March and the House of Commons on 4 April respectively. He said that the cancellation of the marriage license, on the one hand, is because the law can not fundamentally prevent the occurrence of fake marriages; On the other hand, it is because the law does conflict with the EU human rights law.

The controversial COA was finally abolished

It is understood that this policy, which was implemented in February 25, has been controversial since its launch. Six years ago, this regulation issued by the Home Office of the United Kingdom required that couples who intend to register for marriage in the United Kingdom, if either of them is a non-EU citizen, must meet one of the following conditions before registering for marriage in marriage registration offices around the United Kingdom: they have already held a fiance/wife visa; Have permanent residency; Has obtained the "non-EU marriage license".

This means that all visa holders (including student visas, work visas and PSW visas, etc.) who intend to get married in the UK, regardless of whether the other party is a British citizen, must first apply for a "non-EU marriage license".

Initially, the applicant must pay the application fee, hold a long-term visa (more than 6 months) and apply to the Ministry of the Interior 3 months before the visa expires. However, non-EU people who hold a fiance/wife visa, have permanent residency or choose to get married in Anglican Church instead of registering their marriage in the marriage registry do not need to apply for permission.

This regulation was subsequently questioned by all walks of life and challenged by immigration lawyers. On April 1, 26, the British High Court announced that the system of "marriage license for non-EU people" of the Ministry of the Interior was not in line with the European Convention on Human Rights and must be stopped. The judge believes that this law will make applicants discriminated against because of their nationality and religious beliefs.

since this ruling, not only the legality of COA itself has been questioned, but also its effectiveness in actual operation has been greatly reduced. After April 29, based on another case of the High Court, the fee for applying for the permit was cancelled, and all those who applied for the permit before and paid the relevant fees could get a refund.

finally, on March 29th and April 4th this year, the policy was approved by the British House of Commons, and it was decided to be cancelled on May 9th this year.

British and Chinese people have mixed feelings

Luke Yan, an immigration lawyer at Kerry Law Firm, believes that on the positive side, the abolition of marriage license application objectively reduces the procedures and time for Chinese and other non-EU people to apply for marriage visas.

However, the abolition of the COA system does not mean that the British government has reduced its efforts to crack down on fake marriages, but only shows that the government will find more effective and powerful measures to crack down on fake marriages and strictly control the path of obtaining British identity through "marriage".

"We must note that while announcing the cancellation of the COA, the British Immigration Bureau once again stressed that it will continue to strengthen the crackdown on false marriages." Lawyer Luke Yan said.

He believes that the recent series of immigration policy changes in Britain are, in the final analysis, to reduce the number of non-EU immigrants, and the current policies will be constantly adjusted according to the actual effects of various policies. The cancellation of COA is the embodiment of this adjustment. With the cancellation of this license, there may be measures such as extending the "observation period" of marriage.

It is understood that before this, non-EU people could get a marriage visa for two years after they got married with British citizens, and they could apply for permanent residence after two years, and then they could apply for naturalization after one year. Judging from the current situation, this two-year period is likely to be extended, with other control measures, including: non-EU people who marry British citizens must pass the English test first, and they cannot apply for social welfare during the period when they have not become British citizens with marriage visas.

It is reported that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) launched a special program to make unannounced visits to British foreigners' false marriages at the same time that Britain announced the cancellation of marriage licenses. This program shows the public a clear interest chain of the fake marriage industry, from the introduction of people from Eastern Europe to the help of law firms in applying for fake marriages, to the fake weddings of 6 pounds each time.

"This tone of reducing the number of non-EU immigrants will not change in the short term. Specific to the marriage visa, the marriage license has been cancelled, and it is entirely possible to restrict fake marriage by strengthening the investigation and extending the period from the marriage visa to the application for permanent residence. " Lawyer Luke Yan said. He finally reminded British Chinese that after the cancellation of COA, Chinese can directly register for marriage in the UK and then apply for a visa. Those who have just mailed the COA can also apply for a refund. ()