And They Call It Puppy Love: Young Love, Forced Marriage and Immigration Rules

IN R. (Quila and another) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 45, [2011] 3 W.L.R. 836, the Supreme Court faced an immigration rule that pitted the prevention of forced marriages against young couples in genuine marriages who wished to live in the country together. A forced marriage can be defined as a marriage into which one party is coerced to enter without full and free consent, including through threats or other psychological means. In 2008, as part of the Government\u27s efforts to prevent forced marriages, the Home Secretary amended para. 277 of the Immigration Rules so as to raise the age for a UK national to sponsor a foreign spouse or civil partner seeking admission to the country and for the incoming applicant from 18 to 21. The Home Secretary was clear that that the amendment to the Immigration Rules was to deter forced marriages, not to control immigration, as most such marriages occur between the ages of 18 and 20