The decision affecting thousands of people applying in the United Kingdom through the Treaty of Ankara has been announced today on the Ministry of Interior’s official site.
In the statement, the Home Office announced that it would no longer accept ILR applicants under the ECAA Businesspeople category.
In regard to the statement, the Home Office stated that it will no longer accept applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the Turkish European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) Business Persons category.
The Home Office outlined that this decision has occurred in light of the Upper Tribunal’s reported judgment in the Aydoğdu case. The Upper Tribunal found that the settlement of Turkish nationals and their dependants did not fall within the scope of a provision of the European Community Association Agreement with Turkey, called the ‘standstill clause’. While the Home Office examined the implications of the decision, ECAA ILR applications continued to be processed until 16 March 2018.
It been said that no new ECAA ILR applications will be accepted on or after 16 March 2018. Any ECAA settlement applications postmarked prior to 16 March will be processed under the same terms as before.
The statement notes that Turkish business persons and their dependants can continue to apply for further leave to remain under the ECAA if they wish, for up to 3 years at a time, provided they continue to meet the relevant requirements. Applications for limited leave to remain under the ECAA provisions are unaffected by the Aydogdu judgment and will continue to be processed free of charge as normal.
Home Office announced that they will introduce a new ILR category for current Turkish ECAA business persons into the Immigration Rules. While the requirements of such a category are to be determined, this will be a charged route in line with others who are seeking to settle in the UK.
We will be sharing any new developments, as we learn new details that are given continue.