Court of Appeal finds that EU law does not entitle Turkish workers to settle in the UK

In a judgment handed down on 31 July, the Court of Appeal has found that an EU law designed to facilitate the accession of Turkey to the EU does not confer on Turkish workers a right of permanent residence in the UK: R (Buer) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWCA Civ 1109.

The Appellant argued that the Article 13 of Decision No 1/80, known as “the Standstill Clause” required the Home Secretary to assess an application for permanent residence in the UK under the Immigration Rules as they existed in 1980.  The Court of Appeal rejected this argument, holding that whilst the Standstill Clause entitled a Turkish worker to reside in the UK under the same conditions as existed in 1980 in order to access employment here, that Clause did not relate to settlement in a Member State and did not therefore prohibit the introduction of new restrictions on the right of settlement.

Ben Lask represented the Home Secretary.

Click to read the full R(Buer) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department Judgment