The question of when family and private life exists in a legal sense is an increasingly important one in immigration law as it effectively determines whether a person has a right of appeal against refusal on an immigration application. The Court of Appeal addresses this issue in the case of...
The Upper Tribunal returns to the issue of extending time for late appeals in the case of RK (Allowed appeals – service on respondent) Albania [2015] UKUT 331 (IAC). The special pleading by the Home Office on this occasion is around the “agreement” between the entirely independent tribunal and a...
In May 2000 I began work at the Oakington “Reception” Centre near Cambridge for the Immigration Advisory Service, a charity offering legal advice and assistance to detained asylum seekers. And what a reception we offered. It was my first proper job and, other than a demonstration outside Campsfield, my first...
The Court of Appeal has found that rehabilitation could be an important factor in some deportation cases. The case is Danso v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 596: Mr. Dixon submitted that the tribunal should have placed much greater weight on the appellant’s rehabilitation and...
There have been rumours over the last week that the number of hearing rooms for immigration, asylum and deportation cases is to be drastically reduced from August 2015. Well placed sources report that in London the total number of hearing rooms will be reduced to 7 including 2 bail courts...
The otherwise unremarkable case of Oladeji (s.3(1) BNA 1981) [2015] UKUT 326 (IAC) emphasises the importance of applying to register children as British if they are so entitled. I had to go through this with an otherwise very well informed client the other day. If at the time of a...
Sir Nicholas Winton, who as a young stockbroker in 1939 organised the rescue of 669 children from Nazi concentration camps, died yesterday age 106. The children he saved were carried by train from Nazi-occupied Prague. The final train did not get out in time and all 250 children on board...
The official country information watchdog, the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information, has criticised the Home Office’s use of country information on the situation in Eritrea. The Guardian has picked up on the story and the full IAGCI report can be found here. [UPDATE: Human Rights Watch has written to...
Welcome to the May 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I am joined by colleague Mark Symes also of Garden Court Chambers. We cover the new visitor rules in Appendix FM, a series of cases on process and fairness, mention some cases from the...
The Court of Appeal turns its attention to the admission of family members outside the requirements of the Immigration Rules in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v SS (Congo) [2015] EWCA Civ 387. The judgment came out in April and I omitted to write it...
Good piece by Professor Steve Peers on exclusion from refugee status in EU law: What if a refugee allegedly supports terrorism? The CJEU judgment in T. Click the link to read the full post. This gives you an idea of what issues arose: This case concerned a Turkish national who...
What feels like months ago now I was kindly provided with a review copy of Detention Under the Immigration Acts: Law and Practice by Graham Denholm and Rory Dunlop with Lisa Giovannetti QC as Consultant Editor. It has taken me this long to do the actual review because I have...
Really interesting, thought provoking piece by Melanie Griffiths on gender and immigration: Gendering the Irregular. To give you a flavour: The immigration system―from the policy level to its everyday operationalisation―is a gendered one. Through the example given, we can see how it goes into the heart of people’s private lives...
The Court of Appeal has effectively suspended the Detained Fast Track asylum processing factory. The High Court recently found the appeal process unlawful but granted the Home Office a stay on the effect of the judgment. The Court of Appeal has overturned that stay, meaning that the High Court judgment...
Job Title: Immigration Solicitor / Caseworker Salary: circa £30,000 depending on experience Closing date: 9am on 16 July 2015 Interviews: week commencing 20 July 2015 Website: www.atleu.org.uk Location: N7 7LL Contact: jamila@atleu.org.uk ATLEU seeks a solicitor or barrister to join its expanding Immigration and Public Law Team. The ideal candidate...
The new Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Bolt, has announced his programme of inspections for 2015-16: An inspection of the effectiveness of the administrative review systemintroduced in 2014 to replace in-country rights of appeal. An inspection of Border Force operations at Manchester Airport. An inspection focussing on how...
The Supreme Court yesterday handed down judgment in TN, MA and AA (Afghanistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] UKSC 40, in which the Court held that a breach of the family tracing duty in Regulation 6 of the Asylum Seekers (Reception Conditions) Regulations 2005 does not...
The Court of Appeal has overturned the fruity findings of Anthony Thornton QC in the case of R (on the application of Patel) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 645. The case was widely reported at the time, including on this blog (Family visitor receives...
There have been some significant recent developments in the Dublin system, which is the means by which people who enter the United Kingdom and claim asylum are returned to the first EU country they have passed through. A child of five with a map could tell you that the system...
From HJT Training: Essential principles of advocacy and tribunal procedure This is a practical and fun course designed to build confidence and competence in those new to public speaking and advocacy in the Immigration Tribunal. Participants will learn essential principles of advocacy and Tribunal procedure and have the opportunity to...
The House of Commons Library has issued an interesting briefing on the UK approach to Syrian refugees. Hat tip to ILPA for spotting it. The UK has taken in 4,000 Syrian refugees who managed to reach our shores to make a personal direct claim for asylum despite our best efforts...
This post is a largely academic one for the lawyers and judges amongst Free Movement readers. The latest case in the interminable parade of cases addressing the interaction of Article 8 and the Immigration Rules is the case of R (on the application of Sunassee) v Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber)...
The Upper Tribunal has given judgment in a test case on ETS appeals and judicial reviews: R (on the application of Gazi) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (ETS – judicial review) IJR [2015] UKUT 327 (IAC). It is essential reading for anyone directly affected by the ongoing...
Interesting article by Jan Brulc over on the MRN website: UK sees a sharp drop in its international standing on migrant integration. The UK is now the lowest ranked of the 38 surveyed countries for family friendly immigration policy according to MIPEX, the Migrant Integration Policy Index. Countries include European...
Following on from Court of Appeal level criticism of the arcane complexity of the Points Based System, the Home Office now has an online archive of the different versions of the Immigration Rules. Archived versions of policies would be useful too… Hat tip @squeakinglyjen.
...The key reason why women are refused asylum in Europe is because they are not believed. So let’s imagine a woman comes to the UK to seek protection from human rights abuses. Let’s call her Malaika. Chances are that Malaika will have experienced some form of sexual violence before she...
Update: see report of Supreme Court judgment here. Official confirmation (bottom of page 2) from the Supreme Court that permission to appeal has been granted. There is no date listed yet but you will be able to track progress on the Supreme Court website in the current cases section.
...The detained fast track appeals system was last Friday held to be unlawful in the High Court. The is available here: Detention Action v First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) & Ors [2015] EWHC 1689 (Admin). The Home Office will appeal the judgment, which is in the meantime stayed. This...
The High Court has overturned the refusal on character grounds by the Home Office of a British citizenship application by a migrant child. Karon Monaghan QC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court held that the Secretary of State had acted unlawfully in fettering her discretion by applying...
The Bar Council, Law Society and CILEX have published joint guidance for lawyers and clients and litigants in person on legal proceedings where one of the parties is a litigant in person. Solicitors should ensure they do not attempt to claim that which cannot properly be claimed. Which includes costs.
...Professor Hathaway’s original Law of Refugee Status has near mythical status in the lexicon of asylum lawyers. Published as it was in 1991, it was one of the first texts in the field, emanating from a time when English refugee law comprised largely basic propositions about the standard of proof,...
From the main Garden Court Chambers website regarding the case of Granovski & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 1478 (Admin): The High Court today handed down judgment on a judicial review challenging the Secretary of State’s rigid approach to calculating ‘continuous residence’ for settlement purposes....
