That’s officially a wrap on 2025, as Sonia and Barry run through December’s various happenings, including the final statement of changes for the year and our latest resources on the earned settlement proposals. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act is now in force and the latest tribunal statistics show...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Last week UNHCR published their legal observations on the government’s proposed changes to asylum. The agency said that the proposal to grant refugees only two and a half years’ leave at a time is likely to be detrimental to their “sense of security,...
In the first substantive judgment concerning the use of “public order disqualification” powers in trafficking cases under s.63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the High Court has found that the Home Secretary’s general approach has been unlawful to date and requires significant revision. The case is R (ABW)...
Regulations were made just before the Christmas break which brought more of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 into force from 5 January 2026. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 2 December last year. At commencement, the following were brought into force...
In Majera v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1597, the Court of Appeal considered the right approach to the ‘very compelling circumstances’ test in deportation cases where the foreign criminal claims to have been rehabilitated. This is a useful reminder of the limited weight that...
Despite a series of successful legal challenges against it, the Home Office’s current policy on handling requests to defer or be excused from biometric enrolment where an applicant cannot travel safely to a visa application centre remains unfit for purpose. The policy is frustrating access to family migration and reunification...
Following a interim agreement reached with the Home Office to prevent street homelessness, refugees living in asylum accommodation and receiving subsistence support can apply to extend their move-on period from 28 days to up to 56 days where they would otherwise be at imminent risk of street homelessness. This can...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! I hope that you managed to have a bit of break over the holidays and are feeling well rested and ready for the many challenges that we already know 2026 will have in store, both for migrants and for those of us working...
Free Movement is seeking an Editorial Assistant to join our small team. You’ll be working with the Editor (Jasmine Quiller-Doust) and Training Manager (Rachel Whickman). The role will involve assisting with the publishing process and supporting the smooth running and delivery of our training courses. This position will suit someone...
The Court of Appeal recently granted permission to appeal the County Court decision in Jen and Jamie Ltd v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCC 41, [2025] 7 WLUK 288, in which an appeal against a civil penalty notice for illegally employing two individuals was dismissed. The...
The Home Office has published an updated country policy and information note known as a ‘CPIN’ on Pakistan and sexual orientation and gender identity claims. A new version of the note was published in May 2025, replacing the earlier version from April 2022 and making significant changes to the 2022...
Right to Remain are looking for an exceptional candidate who can hit the ground running as our Legal Education Officer, working closely with the Director and the rest of our small and dynamic Right to Remain team. Job title: Legal Education Officer Location: Remote work, with some travel to other...
The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is regularly repeated by the government when justifying increasingly draconian legislation in an attempt to prevent refugees from travelling to the UK under their own steam. The argument is that refugees should use these safe and legal routes instead of arriving in small...
Vacancies for full-time paralegals Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP is a top-ranked specialist firm in UK immigration and nationality law, consistently recognised by The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, and The Times Best Law Firms. We are known for our commitment to excellence, empathy, and life-changing legal work. We are seeking...
In a stinging judgment, the High Court has found that the Home Secretary failed to comply with an article 3 systems duty in the operation of the rule 35 system in Brook House immigration removal centre, at least between 28 July 2023 and 11 March 2024. The case is AH...
The High Court found that a University’s failure to rescind its withdrawal of sponsorship, or at least inquire about the possibility of doing so with the Home Office, was either a fettering of its discretion or irrational conduct given the circumstances of the case. The judgment is a welcome reminder...
The Upper Tribunal has said that when the Court of Session is transferring judicial reviews to the tribunal, a decision should be made by the court on permission before the matter is transferred. The case is R (EB) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Scotland; Transfer of claims)...
Panicking about a Christmas present for the human rights lawyer in your life? Landmark Chambers have you covered with the excellent “The Law and Practice of Human Rights”. This is the first (presumably of many) edition and is a huge achievement that was turned around in an impressively quick period...
The Home Secretary has lost her appeal to the Court of Appeal in a case where she sought to restrict the ability of people to, effectively, appeal the deemed withdrawal of their asylum claim and cessation of asylum support by the Home Office to the Asylum Support Tribunal. The case...
This is one of those real train wrecks from the Home Office, where you may want to make yourself a large cup of coffee and read through the whole judgment. It features a person being wrongly told by the Home Office to make a No Time Limit application, followed by...
Today the Home Secretary has announced that Gaon Hart has been appointed the new Immigration Services Commissioner and will head up the Immigration Advice Authority, taking over from a no doubt very relieved John Tuckett who has been doing both that role and the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and...
The Migration Advisory Committee is clearing its desk ahead of the holiday break, publishing not one but two reports today. The first is the review of the salary requirements for work visas, where the committee has recommended keeping the general threshold at £41,700 and that a single new entrant rate...
The immigration skills charge is an additional fee payable by a sponsoring employer when a certificate of sponsorship is issued prior to a worker beginning their employment. The sponsor is required to pay the immigration skills charge and cannot pass liability onto the sponsored worker. Doing so could risk revocation...
Training Manager Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) Location: Hybrid. Primarily remote with one weekly hub day in London. Working arrangements may change. Salary: £33,000-£35,00 Hours: 35 hours/week Contract: permanent Closing date: 3 January 2026 ILPA is a charity and professional membership body working to improve immigration, asylum and nationality law....
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The best question that someone put to us at last week’s webinar on earned settlement was along the lines of how will the Home Office communicate to people that all of a sudden the rules have been changed on them and they are...
Sonia Lenegan has decided to move on as Editor of Free Movement with effect from 28 January 2026. Sonia has done an incredible job in her time here. She has published or republished an article every single day other than holidays, many of which she has written herself, often at...
In the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v Khera [2025] EWCA Civ 1571, the Court of Appeal has given guidance on the interpretation of GEN 3.1(1)(b) of Appendix FM of the immigration rules. GEN 3.1(1)(b) is significant for applicants who cannot meet the financial requirements under...
The High Court has declined to order the release of a man in a case where there have been delays in his emergency travel document being issued so that he could be deported. The court did, however, order that bail be granted if the latest attempted deportation also failed for...
The High Court has ordered the Home Secretary to grant indefinite leave to remain to a man who has held discretionary leave to remain for 15 years, first granted under the pre-July 2012 policy. The Home Secretary had tried to rely on a conviction that pre-dated the first grant of...
In July to September this year, the number of appeals received by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) increased by 123%, to 30,000, compared to the same period last year. Disposals (the number of concluded appeals) increased by 50% to 15,000 and the tribunal’s total open caseload increased by...
The Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme was first announced in the March 2023 Statement of Changes to the immigration rules HC 1160. The first stage of the scheme launched in October 2023 and it was then gradually rolled out in phases. So far the scheme has not been fully enforced to allow for...
The National Audit Office has published their report “An analysis of the asylum system“. The report identifies “four key enablers needed for an effective, value for money asylum system”. These are: a whole system approach, addressing fundamental barriers, timely, robust, shared data and a resilient, strategic approach to capacity and...
It seems it’s currently the Labour government’s turn to fervently and endlessly push the “fixing immigration once and for all” boulder up the very tall hill of British politics, as it inevitably rolls back down when it encounters reality. We’ve now had a few weeks to digest the “earned settlement”...
