Language, Marriage Migration, and the Law

In recent decades one of the most consistent migration routes has been through marriage; that is, where the marriage relationship is the basis of entry rights. From the perspective of government, marriage migration permits the entry of migrants who would not otherwise be admitted. Marriage can pose a fundamental challenge to governments’ attempts to manage migration. This article considers how successive British governments have introduced legislation to limit or prevent marriage migration to the UK. A recent dimension of this legislation has been the introduction of a requirement for candidates for entry, settlement and naturalisation to demonstrate a certain level of proficiency in the English language. The article particularly focuses on the introduction of pre-entry English language tests for applicants for marriage visas. The analysis examines the judgment of the High Court in a test case which engaged with the legislation to introduce the pre-entry language requirement.