I was away on holiday when the Daily Mail published its article with allegations of serious misconduct by immigration solicitors. It is a shocking article and accompanying video. The Solicitors Regulation Authority agrees and has intervened at three of the four named firms, closing them down for further investigation. You...
This is an exciting opportunity to change the legal landscape for unaccompanied children in the North West who are in need of immigration legal advice and representation in relation to their claim for asylum in the UK. We have received 2 years funding from the North West Local Authorities through...
The so-called summer is upon us. The final rush of judicial jottings to precede their holidays has abated. The silly season rush of confected immigration stories has begun. The weather is terrible. Time has slowed, particularly for those of us with children off school. I’m recently back from my annual...
We have been flagging up concerns about the Home Office use of withdrawals for a couple of months now. We have covered the changes to the immigration rules relating to the withdrawal of asylum claims that come into effect on 7 August 2023, and published a briefing on withdrawals. The...
The government is going to triple the maximum level of fine that can be imposed on employers who fall foul of the regime penalising those who employ illegal workers. Currently the maximum is set at £15,000 per worker for a first offence. It is £20,000 per worker for repeat offences....
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has published a new report following an unannounced inspection of the Tinsley House immigration detention centre. There are some broad positives: We found a safe and respectful centre, where violence was rare, and when it did occur, was not often serious. Facilities and access to services...
Winner of the 2023 Overall Award for Excellence for our StopTheFlights campaign. This multichannel, survivor-led campaign directly compelled 4 out of the 6 airlines tasked with flying refugees to Rwanda, including survivors of torture, to rule themselves out of the scheme. We have an exciting opportunity for a Locum Legal...
Winner of the 2023 Overall Award for Excellence for our StopTheFlights campaign. This multichannel, survivor-led campaign directly compelled 4 out of the 6 airlines tasked with flying refugees to Rwanda, including survivors of torture, to rule themselves out of the scheme. We have an exciting opportunity for a Legal Advisor...
Central England Law Centre works in partnership with universities across the West Midlands to deliver advice to clients seeking immigration guidance via university Immigration Law student clinics. These clinics are an important route to free accredited immigration legal advice for people in Coventry and Birmingham who would not otherwise be...
The immigration skills charge is an additional fee payable by a sponsoring employer when a certificate of sponsorship is issued prior to a worker beginning their employment. The sponsor is required to pay the immigration skills charge and cannot pass liability onto the sponsored worker. Doing so could risk revocation...
The Home Secretary’s systematic and routine accommodation of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in hotels is unlawful, the High Court has held. The case, R (on the application of ECPAT UK) v Kent County Council and another [2023] EWHC 1953 (Admin), looks at what happens when local authorities don’t comply with their...
Job title: Legal and Parliamentary Officer Organisation: Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) Duration: Permanent Location: Hybrid / London Annual leave: 25 days per annum Salary: £32,000 to £35,000 depending on skills and experience Working Hours: 35 hours per week, plus a lunch break (NB evening working is required to attend...
If you married an EU national in the UK after 31 December 2020, you can’t get leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme unless you previously had or applied for an EEA residence card or family permit as their durable partner. That remains the case even if you would...
In the recent judgment R (HA and Ors) v SSHD [2023] EWHC 1876 (Admin) the High Court (Swift J) found that the Home Secretary failed to meet even her minimalist legal obligations to provide support to destitute asylum seekers. The details of the case make shocking reading, even for those...
In WAS (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 894, the Court of Appeal has given guidance on the lower standard of proof in asylum appeals. WAS claimed to be at risk because of his involvement with MQM-London, a UK-based faction of a Pakistani political...
Digital technology plays a central role in the ongoing reform of British borders after Brexit, and the 2019 launch of the EU Settlement Scheme was a pivotal moment in this transformation. The EUSS introduced an online-by-default process to apply for immigration status and, crucially, an online-only process to evidence it....
The Illegal Migration Act 2023 has now been published, after receiving Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. Previously, we have covered the provisions of what was then the Illegal Migration Bill in detail, so for the purposes of this article we look at what substantive changes have been made during...
A student whose leave was cancelled on arrival was wrongly denied the opportunity to comment on an allegation of falsified English language qualifications. So held the High Court in R (on the application of Tazeem) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1828 (Admin), a case addressing...
Absences from the United Kingdom — time spent outside the UK, basically — can have an impact on whether a person qualifies for full settled status under the EU settlement scheme. If you spend too long outside the country, you may lose your eligibility for settled status. This rule has...
The Home Office is increasingly treating asylum claims as being withdrawn. This seems to be a new policy intended to reduce the asylum backlog. The number of asylum decisions made by the Home Office at first glance appears to be increasing. When we look at the detail of the figures,...
In a highly technical decision, Osunneye (Zambrano, transitional appeal rights) Nigeria [2023] UKUT 162 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal has concluded that Zambrano appeals may proceed notwithstanding the various Brexit regulations. The official headnote: A decision to the contrary would have come as something of a surprise as it was surely...
The Upper Tribunal has provided further guidance on the meaning of historical injustice in the case of Ahmed v SSHD [2023] UKUT 00165 (IAC). “Historical injustice” is the term used to describe the circumstances where an individual has suffered as a result of the wrongful operation (or non-operation) by the...
Heads up for those interested in policy questions that I’ve started a series on family immigration, trying to think about some of the fundamentals rather than just the details. Limits can be ‘hard’ and obvious, as with the imposition of a cap or quota. Or limits can be ‘soft’ and...
Two new Upper Tribunal cases emphasise the importance of the parties to an immigration appeal identifying and addressing all the issues in dispute. Both the cases were decided by a panel that included Mr Justice Dove, the President of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). In Lata (principal controversial...
Field Marshal Solicitors is a leading law firm specialising in Immigration, asylum, and Human Rights law, with an outstanding reputation for our work in this field. The role: We are looking for two ambitious lawyers to join our team of Immigration Lawyers with a fee-share arrangement. You will be responsible...
An asylum-seeking mother and her four children were placed in inadequate hotel accommodation for over a year, the High Court has found. The case is R (on the application of SA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1787 (Admin). It is a striking example of a...
The second Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules this week landed today: HC 1715. It adds Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu to the list of countries whose nationals require a visa to travel to the UK as a visitor. The change has been introduced with immediate effect, from...
The Home Office has, following a judicial review challenge for two claimants of Duncan Lewis, published new modern slavery statutory guidance which no longer requires a potential victim of trafficking and modern slavery to produce ‘objective’ evidence corroborating a credible account of their experiences in order to receive a positive...
This month Sonia and I discuss the Rwanda judgment (we’re saving that to the end as our good news story), a couple of fairly lengthy immigration and asylum history blog posts I’ve been working on for a while, several asylum developments and also our Refugee Week content, some procedural updates,...
On 17 July 2023, a new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was published. As usual, it is accompanied by an Explanatory Memorandum. Also as usual, it is largely concerned with cracking down on those perceived as abusing immigration law. There are, though, one or two positive changes. Asylum...
A ‘dependent parent’ already admitted under the EU Settlement Scheme can get leave to remain without having to show dependency, the Upper Tribunal has held in Rexhaj (extended family members: assumed dependency) [2023] UKUT 00161 (IAC). If applying before 30 June 2021, the parent of an EU national or of...
The Global Business Mobility: Secondment Worker visa route is for overseas workers who are undertaking temporary assignments in the UK. The worker must be seconded to the UK as part of a high value contract or investment by their employer overseas. The Global Business Mobility umbrella was launched on 11...
JOB TITLE: Billing Coordinator and Casework Assistant LOCATION: Asylum Aid Office (London) RESPONSIBLE TO: Immigration Supervisor CONTRACT: Full time (37.5 hours per week) SALARY: £27,000 p.a. BENEFITS: 27 days holiday (pro rata) plus 4% matched pension contribution START DATE: September 2023, subject to references BACKGROUND This is an exciting opportunity...
A would-be student stopped on arrival in the UK was wrongly denied a solicitor in interview, the High Court has found in R (on the application of Kumar) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1741 (Admin). The facts Mr Kumar arrived at Manchester Airport with a...
The government has announced massive increases in immigration fees and the immigration health surcharge. Abolition of some fees has also been announced. The normal rate for the immigration health surcharge will increase from £624 to £1,035 per year. This will be paid by workers entering for a period of six...
JOB TITLE: Statelessness Project Caseworker LOCATION: Asylum Aid Office (London) RESPONSIBLE TO: Statelessness Project Supervisor CONTRACT: Permanent, part-time (22.5 hours per week) (possibility of up to full time – 37.5 hours per week) SALARY: £34,000 p.a. (pro rata) BENEFITS: 27 days holiday (pro rata) plus 4% matched pension contribution START...
Immigration detainees don’t have a right to face-to-face legal advice, the Court of Appeal has held in R (on the application of SPM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 764. SPM was held at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre in early 2022. At the time, there...
About us: The Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) is one of the largest immigration and asylum advice charities in the UK, supporting refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants to access justice. An OISC level 3 accredited organisation, we represent clients at all stages of the immigration...
Can a judge ignore part of a Home Office decision if their representative doesn’t mention it in court? No, said the Court of Appeal in Shyti v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 770. The case The appellant, Mr Shyti, was challenging a decision to deprive...
