Regulating Marriage Migration into the UK
A Stranger in the Home

Marriage migration is a controversial and problematic issue in the UK as elsewhere in Europe. This timely analysis is a comprehensive examination of the regulation of marriage migration into the UK. With international relevance, the book uses the analysis to examine the relationship between government priorities and the dynamics of transnational family life. The book is one of the first to scrutinise the control of UK marriage migration after 1997 and explores the dilemmas faced by the post-1997 government in managing this form of migration in a changed domestic and international environment. Using high-quality sources from across the political spectrum, it analyses regulatory decisions made by government, the judiciary and the visa service, and suggests that there is an unofficial and unarticulated hierarchy predicated on assumptions and beliefs about acceptable marriages. Finally, the book establishes a principled basis for the future regulation of marriage migration.

Chapter 1 Introduction: The ‘Problem’ of Marriage Migration; Part 1 1962–1997; Chapter 2 Before the 1962 Act; Chapter 3 Inclusion to Exclusion: Marriage Migration, Commonwealth Citizens and the Legislature 1962–1997; Chapter 4 Marking the Boundaries of Exclusion: Marriage Migration and the Judiciary before 1997; Chapter 5 Doubt and Cynicism: Entry Clearance on the Indian Sub-continent 1969–1997; Part 2 1997–2010; Chapter 6 A Conditional Welcome: Immigration Policy 1997–2010; Chapter 7 No Surrender: Legislative Control of Marriage Migration 1997–2010; Chapter 8 Marking New Boundaries: The Judiciary and Marriage Migration 1997–2010; Chapter 9 A Partial Reorientation?: Marriage Migration and the Visa Service 1997–2010; Chapter 10 Conclusion: A Stranger in the Home;

Helena Wray worked as a solicitor for several years before becoming a law lecturer and academic. She has published widely in academic journals on British immigration law and policy.