Figure 14: CID case records of decisions to grant or refuse indefinite leave to remain in
relevant nationality categories (2006-2010).
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
25
20
GRANTED
15
10
5
0
5
10
15
20
25
REFUSED
Officially stateless
Unspecified nationality
Article 1 1954 Convention
Nationality currently unknown
Source: Management information request CPO-11-1088 received 16 August 2011 from UKBA
performance services team. Please note the figures quoted are not provided under National
Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are
therefore provisional and subject to change.
Data relating to applications by relevant nationality categories for a residence permit on the
basis of their right in EU law to free movement were also examined in Figure 15. These cases
would include family members, unmarried partners or spouses of nationals of the European
Economic Area (EEA) and include individuals with permanent resident cards exercising rights
under the EU Citizen’s Directive.89
The data demonstrates that many more EEA applications in nationality categories relevant
to this research are granted than refused, with an overall grant rate average of 65 per
cent across all five years. The majority of cases, however, are derived from the categories
“Nationality currently unknown” and “Unspecified nationality”, with only 4 per cent of the
caseload being derived from the “Stateless Article 1, 1954 Convention” category. “Nationality
currently unknown” cases are much higher in 2006 and 2007 than in the later years, whereas
“Unspecified nationality” cases then comprise the majority of grants from 2008 onwards.
This data appears to show that there are a small number of stateless persons who obtain the
legal right to remain in the UK as a result of being a family member of an EEA national exercising
treaty rights in the UK. In most cases it is likely that the nature of the family relationship will be
that of a spouse, civil partner or long-term partner.
89
Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of
citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the
Member States, transposed by the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations S.I. 2006/1003.
in the United Kingdom
47