Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

Friday morning saw yet another avoidable tragedy as four people died while trying to cross the Channel to reach the UK. While the Prime Minister has sensibly declined to commit to “stopping the boats” (they will not stopped but can be reduced), the government’s focus on criminal gangs rather than providing people with an alternative to attempting this dangerous journey means that further deaths seem inevitable.

The Guardian has reported that the new government is evaluating existing routes before creating any new ones. The reality is that there is very little to evaluate, as my recent update to our safe and legal routes post shows. A small step that could usefully and quickly be taken now is to publish updated and lawful guidance on biometric enrolment that addresses all of the concerns that have been raised. 

In other news, the Home Office has apparently had a “technical fault” that has led to it mistakenly telling people that their asylum claims had been successful, with grant letters and biometric residence permits apparently being issued. These were then later retracted with people being instructed to destroy and return their long awaited permits. It is unclear how many people have been affected, and the other incidents mentioned in the article seem separate to this as no grant letters were issued. 

There were some interesting developments last week in the Diego Garcia litigation, which we have covered previously as the United States has withdrawn consent for lawyers and journalists to go to the island for the hearing. The hearing was cancelled as a result and the lawyers have written to the Foreign Secretary asking him to intervene. 

On Free Movement, Jed Pennington wrote a very helpful update for those interested in what happened in the Rwanda hearing last week. We wait to see exactly when and how the government will formally end the policy but it is important that those affected know that they are no longer at risk. We also had the latest instalment of the care home sponsor licence litigation, a couple of EU Settlement Scheme case write ups (this on delaying consideration of application where there was a pending prosecution and this on the return of the “mystery” stamp).

Friday’s post on the policy around granting leave to survivors of trafficking turned out to be very well timed, as the Home Office announced yet another pause on decision making, saying that they will not consider grants of temporary permission to stay for victims of human trafficking or slavery until further notice. Today we published this useful update on the looming disaster that is eVisas.

We have also updated our online course on the EU Settlement Scheme. For everything else from the last week on the blog and elsewhere, read on.

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

News: Nelson beats the 10-year route! – Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit, 11 July

The asylum king – Prospect Magazine, 9 July

3C leave update: time to request digital proof of status – Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London, 10 July

The Guardian view on visas for artists: a flawed system with serious consequences for art – The Guardian, 12 July

U-turn sees Ukrainian toddler reunited with refugee parents in UK as calls grow for government policy change – Independent, 11 July

UK universities face growing struggle to recruit international students – The Guardian, 12 July

GLAA Intelligence Picture Q4 2023-2024 (Jan – March 2024) – Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

Syrian asylum seeker in UK says he ‘lost everything’ after Rwanda roundup – The Guardian, 10 July