Some significant updates to the guidance on exclusion from the Refugee Convention (both Articles 1F and 33(2)) according to the change log: updated to incorporate guidance on applying Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention additional guidance on extremism and extremist behaviours to align with wider cross government extremism strategy incorporated...
Another Dublin / 3rd country removal case. Now that Italy has made general assurances to their EU partners that families will be accommodated together in appropriate conditions that do not breach Article 3, following the judgment in Tarakhel v Switzerland, specific assurance will not need to be made in any...
Upper Tribunal Judge Francis Trevor Woodman Pinkerton retires with effect from 5 July 2016. Notes to editors Upper Tribunal Judge Pinkerton (70) was admitted as a Solicitor in 1970. He was appointed a part-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1995, a full-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1999 and a Deputy District Judge (Civil)...
Interesting case where the appellant did not run a Refugee Convention or Article 3 ECHR case against his removal, instead relying on Article 9 ECHR, the right to freedom of religion. He argued that his religious work for and with the Afghanistan Islamic Cultural Centre in the UK, of which...
Some worrying news from The Guardian: UK citizenship has been given to the children of eastern Europeans living in Britain without the proper paperwork, the Guardian has learned. The affected families come from countries including Poland and the Czech Republic that joined the EU in 2004 and so far around...
Upper Tribunal Judge Kate Esi Eshun retires with effect from 1 July 2016. Notes to editors Upper Tribunal Judge Eshun (65) was called to the Bar (I) in 1983. She was appointed a part-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1992 and full-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1994 (now known as Judge of the...
First of all, as I have written previously, it seems highly likely that those EU nationals and their families currently resident in the UK will be allowed to remain. We do not know on what basis but it nevertheless seems highly likely. There are very many concerned readers of this...
More from the tribunal on how a “protection claim” implicitly means the paragraph 353 fresh claim must be met where it applies. The tribunal must decide its jurisdiction, apparently, but not in these circumstances, where someone else must decide it. I still don’t buy it, but so far the higher...
The case of Ruhumuliza (Article 1F and “undesirable”) [2016] UKUT 284 (IAC) concerns an Anglican bishop judged by the Secretary of State on the balance of probabilities to have been involved in crimes against humanity, specifically genocide, in Rwanda in 1994. He was therefore excluded from the protection of the...
1. The No 3 Commencement Order of the 2014 Act, SI 2014/2771, extends the new appeals provisions to identified persons, but the amendment of it in SI 2014/2928 further extends those provisions to identified decisions. 2. In consequence, a person against whom a deportation decision was made in the period...
When a foreign offender has been convicted of an offence for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment of at least 4 years and has successfully appealed on human rights grounds, this does not prevent the Secretary of State from relying on the conviction for the purposes of paragraph 398(a)...
The people of what is currently the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union. What happens now? Here I am going to take a quick look at the immediate consequences for EU nationals living in the UK. In short, there are no immediate legal consequences that flow directly...
The Supreme Court has referred an interesting although fairly unusual question to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the entitlement to subsidiary protection of a person who has suffered awful past persecution. The full question (referring to the Qualification Directive) is: “Does article 2(e), read with article...
Official headnote: 1. For the purposes of Art 8ZA(2) of the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 (SI 2000/1161)(as inserted by SI 2013/174 with effect from 12 July 2013), a notice is not sent to a postal address “provided for correspondence by the person” if the address is...
This judgment is of historic interest only as the right of appeal under consideration by the court was re-written by the Immigration Act 2014 anyway. For what it is worth, the old section 83 did not give a right of appeal against refusal of asylum to a person who already...
In short the court concludes that immigration status as a domestic worker is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. The court suggests that the law should be amended to remedy this protection gap and refers to the particular vulnerability of migrants on tied visas and the review...
Yes, there is a right of appeal against a refusal of entry clearance, even under the appeals regime introduced by the Immigration Act 2014. I mention this because a client’s appeal was just rejected by the First-tier Tribunal under rule 22 of the procedure rules on the basis that there...
Interesting from the BBC: Converts to Christianity are being unfairly treated by the asylum system, according to a report by a parliamentary group. But how do you prove someone is Christian? The full report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief is available here:...
The relationship between the ECHR and the EU By Nuala Mole, Senior Lawyer, The AIRE Centre, 9 June 2016 Introduction The European Union (EU) is a Union of 28 states. The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation with 47 Member States, 28 of whom are also Member States of...
Very useful update from my colleague Shu Shin Luh: R (Hossain and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWHC 1331 (Admin) Mr Justice Cranston this week handed down judgment in Hossain & others v SSHD, the test case (with four representative claimants) on the lawfulness of...
The implications for Scotland of a vote in the EU referendum for the UK to leave the EU By Sarah Craig, Maria Fletcher and Nina Miller-Westoby, School of Law, University of Glasgow, 1 June 2016 Introduction One view of the relevant EU and UK law suggests that the implications for...
The EU’s Borders: Schengen, Frontex and the UK By Bernard Ryan, Professor of Law, University of Leicester, 19 May 2016 Introduction This paper is concerned with the relationship of the UK to the framework of immigration control at EU borders. That framework has two main elements: the absence of immigration...
The UK Referendum on the EU and the Common European Asylum System By Elspeth Guild, Partner, Kingsley Napley, 29 April 2016 Introduction The issues of refugees’ arrival, reception and protection have been particularly evident in the political debate in the UK and elsewhere in the EU over the past six...
Get a quicker decision on your visa application if you’ve already applied by post: what forms you need, the cost and how long it takes There are significant caveats. It costs an additional £400 on top of the normal application fee. The service is only available for applications on these...
Interesting from The Register. The Home Office seems to have commissioned a massive restructuring of its databases to enable simple tracking and search for officials, police and immigration officers. At least it consulted… The public? Parliament? No one? WHAT! Source: UK Home Office is creating mega database by stitching together...
Gedi, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2016] EWCA Civ 409 (17 May 2016) is a case where the Home Office took it into their own hands to impose curfew restrictions over and above bail conditions those imposed by the First Tier Tribunal, as...
The implications of UK withdrawal for immigration policy and nationality law: Irish aspects By Bernard Ryan, Professor of Law, University of Leicester, 18 May 2016 Introduction This paper addresses the Irish dimensions to a UK decision to withdraw from the EU, in the immigration and nationality policy spheres. It addresses...
Free Movement and Criminal Law By Valsamis Mitsilegas, Queen Mary University of London 18 May 2016 Introduction One of the claims frequently made by critics of freedom of movement is that free movement of EU citizens is unlimited, even when these citizens have committed criminal offences. The purpose of this...
EU Citizens’ Access to Welfare Benefits: Past, Present and Future By Desmond Rutledge, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers 13 May 2016 Introduction Since the UK joined what is now called the European Union (EU), migrant workers, who are nationals of other EU member states, and their family members, have enjoyed extensive...
EU free movement in practice at home and abroad By Matthew Evans, Director, The AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe), 10 May 2016 Introduction At its core the EU project remains a common or single market, involving reciprocal commitments so that not only products (goods and services) but...
