This weekend, I spent Saturday at the Immigration Law Practitioners Association Annual General Meeting. What a lark. The main attraction, other than catching up with (increasingly) old friends, was a talk by David Bolt, the newish Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. It was clear from his presentation that he...
The quarterly immigration statistics were published this morning. Net migration has reached its highest ever level, now standing at 336,000 for the year ended June 2015. Immigration increased by 62,000 to 636,000 and emigration decreased by 20,000 to 300,000. This is largely due to the UK’s relatively strong economy: less...
UPDATE 26/2/16: permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal has been granted so the Court of Appeal judgment will not be the last word. Supreme Court grants our client @publiclawprojct permission tochallenge racially discriminatory Residence Test: https://t.co/hw46QnTnWZ — Bindmans LLP (@BindmansLLP) February 26, 2016 In Public Law Project v...
Welcome to the October 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I talk about some big cases from the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, several other important cases on unlawful detention and on EU law amongst other things, some upcoming policy level changes on...
In an astonishing bit of hypocrisy, The Daily Express is campaigning for a 92 year old pensioner to be allowed to remain in the UK outside the Immigration Rules. Myrtle Cothill is, like hundreds of other “adult dependent relatives” (in the parlance of immigration control) at risk of being forced...
The Court of Appeal says “yes”, it is generally lawful to detain immigration detainees in prisons rather than detention centres. The case is R (On the Application Of Idira) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1187 and the Court rules that there is no...
I’d heard of the existence of this protocol, full title Protocol on communications between judges of the Family Court and Immigration and Asylum Chambers of the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, but never particularly had cause to take a look. Here it is for reference. The protocol governs disclosure between...
In Greenwood (No. 2) (para 398 considered) [2015] UKUT 629 (IAC), the “Empire Strikes Back” style sequel to Greenwood (Automatic Deportation: Order of Events) [2014] UKUT 342 (IAC), President McCloskey gives guidance on the correct approach to consideration of deportation appeals. This is a hotly contested and highly politicised area...
David Bolt, the former spy turned new(ish) Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has issued a new report on Home Office decision making in settlement applications. The full report and Home Office response can be accessed here. The report is generally positive but the inspectors are critical of some aspects...
JCWI is calling for evidence on the impact of the ‘deport first, appeal later’ provisions of the Immigration Act 2014, which the Government intends to roll out to all immigration appeals. Deadline is 25 November 2015 so hurry! Details: JCWI call for evidence on ‘deport first, appeal later’ scheme |...
Welcome to the September 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I’m going to talk about two more cases in which judges are highly critical of immigration lawyers and references are made to the SRA, the protection status of Syrian refugees, some rather odd and...
The Supreme Court has dismissed the challenge brought against the introduction of pre-entry English language testing for spouses seeking to enter the UK as the family members of British citizens and those present and settled in the UK. The formal title of the case is R (on the applications of...
The excellent organisation Right to Remain are fundraising to produce a new updated version of their indispensable Toolkit for migrants and refugees. With massive cuts to legal aid in immigration and asylum cases this is a brilliant source of advice and guidance for those at the hard edge of immigration...
A dispute has arisen between different panels of the Upper Tribunal’s Immigration and Asylum Chamber. The subject is the meaning and interpretation of the words “unduly harsh” at paragraph 399 of the Immigration Rules, which reads: 399. This paragraph applies where paragraph 398 (b) or (c) applies if – (a)...
Section 117C is found to be limited to deportation cases (i.e. where a deportation order is in issue) and not to be applicable in removal cases which happen to involve a foreign national offender. The case is Clarke (Section 117C – limited to deportation) [2015] UKUT 628 (IAC) and the...
The case of Lokombe (DRC: FNOs – Airport monitoring) [2015] UKUT 627 (IAC) is a classic! The Upper Tribunal finds an error of law in a judge following a “dismissive and reductionist” approach to a country report, the methodology and evidential basis of which was unclear. Many is the time...
Welcome to the (rather belated!) August 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I cover some important EU law issues on spouses, retained rights and sham marriages, a few asylum issues including irregular entry by refugees, a successful social services age assessment, some updated Home...
Major changes to the Immigration Rules affecting refugees, Tiers 1, 2 and 5, EEA nationals sponsoring family members under the Immigration Rules, visitors, applications for Administrative Review and knowledge of language and life tests are being introduced with effect from tomorrow, 12 November 2015. The changes are wrought by Statement...
Some of Owen’s lines make it hard not to think of the 3,350 that the International Organisation for Migration believe have drowned so far attempting to cross the Mediterranean this year. The number of drownings so far in 2015 already exceed the total for the whole of 2014. With crossings...
President McCloskey gives guidance on appealing Upper Tribunal costs decisions to the Court of Appeal in the case of R (on the application of Soreefan and Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (judicial review – costs – Court of Appeal) [2015] UKUT 594 (IAC). The headnote: (i)...
At long last the long awaited new Country Guidance case on Sikhs from Afghanistan is out. The case is TG and others (Afghan Sikhs persecuted) (CG) [2015] UKUT 595 (IAC) and the headnote reads: (i) Some members of the Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan continue to suffer harassment at...
Law Society Practice Note on criminal prosecutions of victims of trafficking. Who should read this note? All practitioners involved in criminal cases where suspects or defendants could be victims of human trafficking. See also the shorter note by Philippa Southwell of Birds Solicitors, Defending victims of human trafficking.
...The case of Home Office v VS [2015] EWCA Civ 1142 discloses continued concerns about Home Office treatment of refugee children and sets clear guidelines on limits of power to detain children. The child was represented in the Court of Appeal by Stephanie Harrison QC and Shu Shin Luh of...
In R (on the application of Patel) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (duration of leave – policy) IJR [2015] UKUT 561 (IAC) the tribunal concluded, according to the official headnote: (1) The decision of the High Court in R (SM & Others) v Secretary of State for...
Improvements have been made to the quality of decisions and to record-keeping in the Home Office’s Visa Section in Jordan. However, the decision makers regularly failed to take supporting evidence adequately into account, and, in a fifth of cases, based their decision on incorrect facts. The Amman Visa Section is...
The latest instalment of President McCloskey’s Massive Open Online Course (“MOOC“) on immigration judicial review is aimed as much at judges as lawyers. In R (on the application of SA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (human rights challenges: correct approach) IJR [2015] UKUT 536 (IAC) we are...
The case of Basnet is revisited by Deputy President Ockelton in the new case of Mitchell (Basnet revisited) [2015] UKUT 562 (IAC). The headnote: 1. The decision of the Tribunal in Basnet v SSHD [2012] UKUT 113 (IAC) does not put the burden of proof on the Secretary of State...
The annual round of introspection, self-congratulation, envy and feigned indifference that is the publication of the Chambers and Partners lawyer rankings has arrived again. The immigration team at Garden Court has done very well once more, both collectively and with many individuals receiving individual rankings as well. You can read...
Official headnote from Ayinde and Thinjom (Carers – Reg.15A – Zambrano) [2015] UKUT 560 (IAC): (i) The deprivation of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of the rights attaching to the status of European Union citizens identified in the decision in Zambrano [2011] EUECJ C-34/09 is limited to safeguarding a...
The Court of Appeal has given judgment in the test case on the meaning and effect of the “deport first, appeal later” provisions of the Immigration Act 2014. The case is R (On the Application Of Kiarie) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1020...
A few weeks ago I attended Freedom From Torture’s Priving Torture conference. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Juan Méndez, was there, as was Senior Appeals Counsel from the International Criminal Court Ms Helen Brady. It was a pretty gruelling day and involved quite a lot of discussion about...
Dover Immigration Removal Centre has served as home to many of its inhabitants for months or even years. It has received damning reports due to its prison-like conditions and long periods of detention. On 15th October the Home Office finally announced that it would shut. This announcement came without reasons...
