We’re looking for an experienced lawyer to bring their knowledge and flair to our Business Immigration Team. You will be part of a small specialist division with the autonomy to contribute to company decisions and shape future growth. Three years’ direct experience in Skilled Worker, Sponsor Licence and Innovator /...
The short answer is “yes, criminals can be denied refugee status.” There is a moral dimension to the Refugee Convention. But the criminal offence or offending must be particularly serious in nature. The offending or behaviour must be serious in nature because denying refugee status to a person and sending...
The question of who has the duty to provide accommodation where a person has certain needs under the Care Act 2014 has been the subject of recent litigation and appears to have been resolved in the Home Secretary’s favour. In R (TMX) v London Borough of Croydon & Anor [2024]...
The Court of Appeal has rejected the Home Office’s appeal in a case involving denial of entry to the UK to the family member of an EEA national on “public policy grounds”, where the person had a low risk of re-offending. The case is Secretary of State for the Home...
This is the second of my series of articles where I have enlisted the help of my specialist private wealth and tax colleague Emma Read to explain what some of the legal consequences of moving to the UK may be for people, beyond the need to sort their immigration status....
In Geddes v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 66 (Admin) the High Court has said that a pending application to the Supreme Court does not act as an barrier to deportation on the basis that the appeal has not yet been finally determined. Background In 2007,...
I’ve just read an excellent analysis by Chris Rowe of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the minimum income requirement for spouses in the MM case and the prospects for bringing a challenge to the higher threshold the government is set on introducing: £29,000 in the spring and £38,700 at some...
On 7 December 2023, the Government announced changes to the immigration rules relating to visitors with a new statement of changes. In short, the changes have created some flexibility to the permitted work-related activities that visitors can undertake and are primarily aimed at those conducting business in the UK. While...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! A lot less happened last week, which makes a nice change. The first thing I wanted to flag up is this Guardian article in which the Home Office said that it has been wrongly sending letters threatening people with being sent to Rwanda. As detailed in...
A ministerial statement made today has confirmed that there are two statements of changes coming in the next couple of months. The first will remove the ability of care workers to bring dependants, and the second will include the increase to the minimum income requirement for families, among other changes....
The case of R (Karimi) v Sheffield City Council [2024] EWHC 93 (Admin) is a reminder of the importance of filing skeleton arguments in a timely manner with the court. Mr Justice Fordham KC was considering the issue of permission in an age assessment judicial review against a local authority...
Earlier this month we considered a High Court judgment which upheld the Home Office’s decision to revoke a large care home operator’s sponsor licence due to several non-compliance issues. The High Court has now handed down its judgment in Supporting Care Ltd, R (On the Application Of v Secretary of...
The High Court has provided helpful guidance in relation to immigration detention powers post Illegal Migration Act 2023 in an interim relief decision on bail. There are two written decisions, these are IS (Bangladesh) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3353 (Admin) and [2023] EWHC 3130...
The Court of Justice of the European Union has concluded that women who experience gender-based violence in their country of origin can be regarded as belonging to a ‘particular social group’ and qualify for refugee status. This is as a result of a preliminary reference made to the Court by...
The Home Office has introduced some flexibility for some people who are applying late to the EU Settlement Scheme, after the rules were severely tightened in August last year. The new version 22 of the guidance for caseworkers on the EU Settlement Scheme applies to decisions made from 16 January...
Most Free Movement content is, unsurprisingly, about movement (even if it’s not free these days). But what happens after movement to the UK? Well, two things are certain: death and taxes. Many immigration practitioners, myself included, are blissfully unaware of the numerous other legal consequences that might crop up outside...
The Home Secretary has been unlawfully operating a secret policy preventing victims of trafficking from being granted the leave that they were entitled to while their asylum claim was pending. The case is XY v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 81 (Admin). This article is a...
Refugee Council, Humans for Rights Network and Helen Bamber Foundation have published a new report ‘Forced Adulthood: The Home Office’s incorrect determination of age and how this leaves child refugees at risk’ looking at the harm caused to children by Home Office failures. The report contains a large number of...
Gender-based violence is an umbrella term used to describe crimes including rape, domestic violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation. Women who are fleeing gender-based violence from their country of origin and enter the UK can seek protection and claim asylum in the UK on this basis. As practitioners who...
Mark Ockelton, the very long-serving vice-president of the Upper Tribunal’s Immigration and Asylum Chamber, retires today. He had served as an immigration adjudicator then judge for over three decades. Always clear in his views and happy to share those views with others, inside the hearing room and outside it, Ockelton...
The Home Secretary has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to carry out a rapid review of the new immigration salary list, which will be the new name for the shortage occupation list. This follows the committee’s previous recommendation that the list be abolished and the government’s subsequent commitment to reform...
“This is a very dark day for many families who will be unable to meet the … new income requirement” commented Sonia on the day the Home Secretary announced that the minimum income requirement for partners under Appendix FM was going to be raised. Her view is shared by many immigration...
In the case of R (On the Application Of Medical Justice) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 38 (Admin), handed down on 12 January 2024, the High Court allowed a judicial review brought by the charity Medical Justice to a Home Office policy of seeking a...
The Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2024 passed into law on 16 January 2024 and is now available on legislation.gov.uk. The new rates will apply to applications made on or after 6 February 2024, which is 21 days after the order became law. The ‘normal’ surcharge will increase from £624...
Appendix Children was published in October 2023 and consolidates most of the rules for child dependents of parents on points-based immigration routes which were previously spread out across the individual categories. It also covers children applying in their own right in points-based categories that allow for that, such as the...
Salary: up to £35244Hours: Full Time or Part Time Considered Central England Law Centre (CELC) is looking for an Immigration Solicitor/Caseworker to join our friendly Immigration Team. The successful candidate will be compassionate, committed individual who enjoys working within a team and with clients to resolve all their interconnecting legal...
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 imposes a general duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of “children in need” in their area. To fulfil this duty section 17 gives local authorities the power to provide support, including accommodation and financial subsistence to families with “children...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! We think we’re finally back to the normal format this week and in the final stages of sorting snags from the website rebuild just before Christmas… There was tragic news from the Channel this weekend. Five people are reported to have drowned as...
On 13 December 2023 the Home Office announced that the rates of additional payments made to pregnant asylum seekers and children under 4 years old under Regulation 10A of the Asylum Support Regulations 2000 would be increased in line with the Department of Health and Social Care’s ‘Healthy Start’ scheme....
The Unity Project is recruiting two immigration casework coordinators The Unity Project (TUP) supports people who are facing poverty and homelessness because their immigration status allows them ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF). We believe NRPF should not exist and we are working to end it. In the meantime, we...
In our December 2023 round up, Colin and Sonia discuss the latest developments with Home Office evictions and withdrawals, as well as the new Rwanda legislation. We also cover the government’s five point plan to reduce net migration as well as the latest case law and Tribunal statistics. If you...
We’ve decided to turn the text of Sonia’s weekly email newsletter introduction into a blog post. It’s too good for us not to share with blog readers as well as newsletter subscribers. If you want the newsletter promptly and straight to your inbox on Mondays at 12pm then you’ll still...
On 21 December 2023 the Immigration Minister published a letter setting out a concession for people who wish to make an application to the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route but who are currently in the UK without permission. A formal Ministerial Authorisation under the Equality Act 2010 has also...
The Immigration (Age Assessments) Regulations 2024 providing for the use of scientific age testing of children have come into force on 10 January 2024. A reminder of the response from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to these proposals: Evidence shows that using x-rays to determine age can...
The latest statistics from the Home Office break down the “flow” backlog (i.e. asylum claims made on or after 28 June 2022) into three separate groups. It is important to understand the different ways that they are treated, all of which involve the inadmissibility process in some way. Taking them...
A “returning resident” is a resident of the United Kingdom with settled status who returns to the country after a lengthy absence abroad. Ordinarily, when a person refers to “returning residents” they might be talking about a temporary resident who leaves for a short time, for example on holiday or...
The High Court ruling in Prestwick Care Ltd & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 3193 (Admin) has upheld the Home Office’s decision to revoke the sponsor licence of a large care home operator in the North East. The judgment is a harsh reminder that,...
With the news that the immigration health surcharge will be going up dramatically, potentially in the next few weeks, it makes sense for people already in the UK or looking to move here soon to look at whether an early application is possible. As a reminder, the increase is from...
The Senior President of Tribunals has published his 2023 annual report which includes updates from the Immigration and Asylum Chambers of both the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal. Apart from reporting on the extensive preparation work that has been required for both the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the...
Need or want to learn immigration law with an OISC Level 1 training course? Planning to sit the OISC level 1 exams? Prefer to learn in a small group? We have the perfect course for you. Our approach to OISC Level 1 training is to offer ‘guided learning’. Trainees study...
