A person who lacks the requisite mental capacity to litigate in the tribunal or courts requires what is called a ‘litigation friend’ to conduct proceedings on their behalf. The role of a litigation friend is crucial in ensuring that individuals with mental health disabilities are able to participate effectively in...
In yet another Afghan evacuation case, the court in KBL v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 87 (Admin) looked at whether the guidance issued for the benefit of potential beneficiaries of the evacuation, known as “Operation Pitting”, created a legitimate expectation that Afghans in similar circumstances...
In a judgment handed down last Friday, the High Court has cast doubt on the British citizenship status of children born in the United Kingdom before 2 October 2000 to EU citizens who did not at that time possess indefinite leave to remain. The case is R (on the application of...
It is not often you’ll see an Upper Tribunal judge simply concede defeat trying to understand what on earth the immigration rules mean, but this is exactly what happened in this unreported Appendix EU durable partner appeal. For those who have battled the complexities of Appendix EU, there is some...
On 14 October 2022 the Home Office released a second iteration of their caseworker guidance for handling applications to register as a British citizen in special circumstances (section 4L, inserted by the Nationality Act Borders Act 2022). The caseworking scenarios from the first version are now supplemented by fresh examples,...
Yes, although only in very limited circumstances. This was the conclusion of the Court of Appeal in Alam & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 30. For those who don’t know, the House of Lords held in Chikwamba v Secretary of State for the...
Asylum procedure in Europe has been examined in three recent decisions. In two, the European Court of Human Rights found actual or imminent violations of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the other, the Court of Justice of the European Union considered the proper interpretation of...
The Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens (PRCBC) is seeking to recruit a self-motivating and committed junior solicitor to assist Solange Valdez-Symonds, PRCBC’s supervising solicitor and CEO. The post will be based at our offices in Hammersmith, London. Salary: £35-38k per annum, depending on PQEClosing date for...
A judgment in the Court of Appeal confirms that a country’s permission needs to be properly sought before video link evidence can be heard from someone in that country. The case is Raza v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 29. The First-tier Tribunal considered, separately from...
There have been many stories over the last few years about the reasons asylum seekers risk their lives crossing the Channel to come to the UK. If they are willing to do this, many people ask, then what is the point of making life more difficult for them when they...
The House of Commons Library has put out a helpful note about the upcoming implementation of two schemes: EU Entry/Exit System Due to be introduced by the end of 2023, this will be an automated system for registering travellers each time they enter and exit the EU. Travellers will scan...
This article reviews some common cross-cultural pitfalls between legal representatives and young people claiming asylum. It also provides some ideas on how to mitigate cultural misunderstandings. Going into your initial meeting, a basic understanding of your client’s culture is helpful to build trust and a good rapport. It is not...
Salary: Minimum starting salary £36,000 per annum, maximum dependent on experience. Location: The vacancy is full-time, five days per week. This is a remote-working role; therefore we encourage applications from anywhere in the UK Deadline for receipt of applications: Sunday, 05 February 2023 at 11:59 PM Contact for discussions about...
The Upper Tribunal has addressed the Secretary of State’s failure to comply with court directions and due process obligations in the First-tier Tribunal. The court considered the consequences of disposing of a case because of this failure, without considering its merits. The case is SSGA (Disposal without considering merits; R25)...
Changes to modern slavery laws passed last year under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 have been published, ahead of their commencement on 30 January. Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (Commencement No 4) Regulations 2023 covers identification of potential victims of modern slavery under sections 60-69, which will commence on...
The fall of Kabul in August 2021 prompted an emergency evacuation of around 15,000 people eligible for repatriation or relocation in the UK. Within weeks, amid intense criticism of the UK government’s mishandling of the situation and leadership failures surrounding the Afghanistan evacuation, Operation Warm Welcome was launched, to ensure...
Yesterday, the third annual inspection from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) of ‘Adults at risk in immigration detention’ was published. On the same day, the Home Secretary discontinued the standing commission for this annual review. The report focuses specifically on the efficiency and effectiveness of Rule...
Almost five years after Amber Rudd committed to a review of individuals who had entered the UK under the Tier 1 (Investor) route, today, Suella Braverman provided the government’s final response. The review looked at individuals who had entered the UK between 30 June 2008 and the introduction of reforms...
Economic migration is a two-way street. The UK might be ready and willing to receive the world’s elite economic migrants, but they may not be so ready and willing for much longer. A recent report from the Institute for Management Development ranked countries according to their attractiveness to people who...
Yesterday, the interim Age Estimation Science Advisory Committee report on the evaluation methods used to assist in assessing the age of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children was published. In October 2021, Priti Patel threatened to use x-rays to verify age. The report says that using X-rays to check age could put them...
Those following the law around the prosecution of arrival in small boats may be interested in the ruling from the preparatory hearing in R v Mohamed and others. The purpose of the hearing was to provide a clear ruling on points of law that are likely to arise time again...
Colin and Sonia take a look back at 2022 and ahead to 2023 as well as covering the immigration updates from December 2022. Looking back, they talk about small boat crossings, the Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes, the impact (or lack of) the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the Rwanda...
In a powerful judgment given on 21 December 2022, the High Court ordered the Secretary of State for the Home Department to immediately increase the weekly support payments made to asylum seekers to £45. This is the largest ever single increase in the rate of asylum support and is made...
The case of Muslija (deprivation: reasonably foreseeable consequences) [2022] UKUT 337 (IAC) makes it clear that the reasonably foreseeable consequences of deprivation of British citizenship do not include predicting the outcome of a subsequent human rights appeal. The case concerns an Albanian national who obtained refugee status, and subsequently citizenship,...
The government has announced a review of the civil legal aid market with the aim of supporting long-term sustainability and efficiency. The review will also consider taxpayers’ value for money in any future policy options, as well as how people access the support they need. The review will come in...
£45-52,000 gross per annum at 1.0 FTE Full-time at 37.5hrs per week, or 0.8 FTE at 30 hrs per week. Permanent contract. Member of the Leadership Team London office (minimum two days a week in the office preferred, but remote working will be considered) Reporting to CEO Management responsibilities...
Let’s say you made a normal application for settlement on the UK Ancestry route five months ago and you are still waiting for a decision. You receive word that a family member abroad is sick and you need to travel home urgently. There’s no option for retroactively upgrading the outstanding...
Remote / Hybrid/ Freelance/ Employed/ Full-time/ Part-time Immigration Solicitors and Caseworker Vacancies Background We are one of the UK’s most successful private immigration law practices, and our legal team handles thousands of UK Immigration matters each year across the full range of matter types, including Points Based Tier System applications,...
Every year I try to take stock and look ahead to the coming year. Last year I picked out delays in the asylum system, historically low figures for the removal of failed asylum seekers, low levels of asylum support and small boat crossings as major issues. Two of these have been...
The Brexit fall out continues with the High Court finding in the case of Independent Monitoring Authority v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3274 (Admin) that the EU settlement scheme is unlawful. The scheme was set up by the British government to transition the lawful basis...
The Upper Tribunal has issued guidance on the use of material from an applicant’s social media accounts in age assessment proceedings in R (BG) v LB Hackney [2022] UKUT 00338 (IAC). The brief facts The standard directions made by the Upper Tribunal in age assessment proceedings required the asylum seeker...
Now that the High Court has decided that the Rwanda policy is lawful, at least at a general level, many people will be wondering when the government will attempt another removal flight. This question will be no doubt be causing a lot of worry to people in Home Office accommodation...
In the clause “had that citizenship by his birth, adoption, naturalisation or registration in the United Kingdom”, does the requirement for it to be in the United Kingdom apply to just registration or all of the other means of acquiring citizenship on the list? This was the question before the...
The Upper Tribunal has issued country guidance about the risk from gangs in El Salvador. In EMAP (Gang violence – Convention Reason) El Salvador CG [2022] UKUT 00335 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal makes helpful findings about the general context in which persecution by gangs takes place in El Salvador and...
The High Court has concluded in the case of AAA and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3230 (Admin) that the UK government’s Rwanda plan is lawful. The individual decisions in the case were inadequate and will need to be re-made, but that is no...
One of the measures announced by Rishi Sunak in his asylum statement on 13 December 2022 was the re-starting of hostile environment immigration checks on bank accounts. These checks were introduced by the Immigration Act 2016 but were paused by Sajid Javid in 2018 when he was Home Secretary. There...
The problems faced by pre-settled status holders who cannot show a qualifying right to reside when trying to access benefits have been dragging on for several years. Notwithstanding their lawful immigration status, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Regulations treat them as a person not in the UK and...
Part-time/flexible – 20 hours per week £28,000 per annum pro rata Remote working Start Date: Mid-January 2023 Contract: 6 months with extension dependent on funding The Role: Reunite Families UK [RFUK] is a lived experience-led, not-for-profit organisation supporting families who are affected by the UK spouse visa rules. Our team’s...
In recognition of the rising cost of living, and as a ‘thank you’ for ongoing support from hosts, a £650 million support package has been announced as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. All sponsors will receive £500 a month, where they have been hosting Ukrainians in their homes...
