In this article we take a look at unmarried partner applications since the changes made to the definition in January 2024, removing the cohabitation requirement. An unmarried partner visa is a popular choice for couples looking to live together in the UK. This type of application is made under Appendix...
We are looking for an experienced Immigration Solicitor to join our highly successful, creative, and dynamic immigration team. The Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit at Islington Law Centre has a much-respected Immigration Team. We are a category 1 Legal Aid Immigration provider, and we have considerable experience across the...
Following a plethora of media briefings and coverage over the past few days, the Home Secretary has officially published her policy paper on “Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy“. She also gave an oral statement in the House of Commons this evening and...
Our October round up is here! Barry does the honours this time around with the statement of changes and Sonia foreshadows some bad news potentially coming next week. Barry shares an AI horror story that is really one for the ages (so far) after Sonia’s segment on the latest lawyers...
A man who was granted indefinite leave to remain following Home Office failings on his case, and who subsequently naturalised as a British citizen, has lost his appeal against a deprivation decision made by the Home Office when they found out he had been using a false identity the whole...
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission has dismissed a review of the refusal of a naturalisation application on good character grounds, based on the applicant’s previous involvement with a proscribed organisation. The case is AZ (Naturalisation: Substantive) [2025] UKSIAC SN/04/2024. Background AZ is a Turkish national of Kurdish origin. When he...
I spent a week in Calais conducting interviews with people on the move as part of Refugee Action’s new research on asylum and racial justice. What I heard and saw from refugees camped in informal living sites is a testament to the centrality of racialisation to immigration practices. The dehumanising...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Over the weekend the BBC reported that the Home Secretary will announce “a major shake-up of the immigration and asylum system later this month”. We expect a policy paper from the Home Office shortly, but it was reported by the BBC that they are...
Epping Forest District Council has lost its legal challenge in which it sought an injunction to prevent the Bell Hotel being used as asylum accommodation. The case is Epping Forest District Council v Somani Hotels Limited [2025] EWHC 2937 (KB). The Home Secretary and Clearsprings Ready Homes Limited were both...
Owing a debt to the National Health Service is a ground for refusing applications for permission to enter or remain in the UK. Such debts arise because “overseas visitors” are charged for certain types of NHS treatment. The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No....
The Home Secretary has won an appeal in a case involving an application under Appendix Representative of an Overseas Business. The Court of Appeal concluded that the Entry Clearance Officer had been entitled to find that there were reasonable grounds to believe either that the branch was being established, or...
The Upper Tribunal found no error of law in a First-tier Tribunal decision that allowed an EU Settlement Scheme derivative rights appeal, following a Home Office concession that the Appendix EU rules were met. Appealing to the Upper Tribunal, the Home Office argued that the First-tier judge should not have...
The High Court has said that in cases where accommodation is provided under schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016, location can in some circumstances be relevant to the Home Office’s assessment of the suitability of the accommodation. This is in contrast to the “no choice” basis under the Allocation...
Two Afghan nationals sought to appeal the High Court’s dismissal of their challenges to the Home Office’s decision to refuse their applications for relocation to the UK under the Afghanistan Response Route, the secret relocation scheme set up in response to the data breach in February 2022. In an OPEN...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed a judicial review brought by a student against the cancellation of leave for working in excess of the 20 hours per week permitted under his leave. The case is R (Singaram) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Rev2) [2025] EWCA Civ...
The Upper Tribunal has handed down a significant decision on overseas adoptions and their interplay with immigration rules in the case of ST (Adoptions: ‘overseas’ adoptions: para 310) India [2025] UKUT 352 (IAC). The case is a reminder that even where an adoption is recognised as an “overseas adoption” under...
In a recent freedom of information request, the S.A.F.E project asked the Home Office for information on how long EU Settlement Scheme administrative reviews are taking to decide, in light of the ever increasing published processing time. The Home Office’s response shows that four in five applications for administrative review...
Today, Asylos has published new commentary on the UK Home Office’s Country Policy and Information Note: Fear of the Taliban. The commentary focuses on the assessment of risk to former government officials and civil servants. It argues that a conclusive assessment that this profile is generally not at risk of...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Last week the Guardian reported that 23,500 families had their child benefit stopped because they relied on data provided by the Home Office indicating that those people had emigrated. This includes families who had travelled via Dublin, people who had booked but not...
Until 10 November 2025, family members of sponsors who hold leave as a stateless person can continue to apply for family reunion under archived part 14 of the immigration rules. In particular, this route is available to family members whose family relationship with their sponsor was formed after the sponsor’s...
The High Court has granted permission to our clients, BSC and JS, in a judicial review challenge to the Home Office’s eVisa policy. The claim argues that the Home Secretary is operating an unlawful policy by issuing proof of immigration status only through eVisas and by refusing to provide alternative...
Children may arrive in the care of local authorities without British citizenship or UK immigration status. They and their social workers may not realise there is an issue until, for example, the child has a school trip abroad and needs a passport; until they apply to university; or until they...
Immigration Solicitor Full Time: Salary on enquiry We are a long-established London-based law firm focusing on protecting and advancing human rights. We are recruiting for an immigration solicitor. We are an experienced department practising in a wide range of immigration matters. We deal with cases from the initial application through...
The Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on Monday this week. I wrote up the Bill when first introduced and it has passed unamended since then. The Act was brought in as a response to N3 v Secretary of State for the Home Department...
As trailed by the Home Secretary in a press release yesterday, the government has launched a six week consultation on the implementation of the extension of right to work checks beyond standard employment relationships. The extension itself is already in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill at clause 45....
Two more immigration lawyers, a barrister and a solicitor, are facing the possibility of a Hamid hearing and a referral to their professional regulator after the Upper Tribunal issued show cause orders to each of them in cases involving alleged misuse of AI. These are two unreported decisions, one was...
We’re recruiting a Trainee Solicitor (Immigration and Employment) Salary: £30,000 – £32,000 Contract length: Fixed-term for 2 years Hours: Full-time (37.5 hours per week) Location: London hybrid (1 day per week working in the office) The Work Rights Centre, in partnership with the Legal Education Foundation Fellowship Programme, is looking...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The Home Secretary was at it again last week, writing in The Sun and making fact free assertions about “ridiculous legal challenges” and “abuse of modern slavery laws”. Notably, on the latter she said that she has “already taken action”. This may mean...
In a newly reported decision, the Upper Tribunal has given guidance on how the tribunal must consider the best interests of any children, where relevant to the appeal. The case is Mujaj (Deprivation: children’s best interests) Albania [2025] UKUT 349 (IAC). The headnote states as follows: In a deprivation appeal...
Migrant Help, one of the main subcontractors responsible for providing trafficking support to victims under the modern slavery victim care contract, has admitted that they acted in breach of the Home Office’s recovery needs assessment policy by refusing to provide a victim with a copy of a decision made by...
Senior Immigration Practitioner Edinburgh At Thorntons Law, every moment matters. Join our Immigration Team and you’ll feel inspired. You’ll feel connected. You’ll feel like you belong. And it all begins from the moment you join us. That’s because we’ve created a different kind of law firm. Here, you’ll build relationships...
Immigration Lawyer Edinburgh At Thorntons Law, every moment matters. Join our Immigration Team and you’ll feel inspired. You’ll feel connected. You’ll feel like you belong. And it all begins from the moment you join us. That’s because we’ve created a different kind of law firm. Here, you’ll build relationships with...
In a newly reported decision, the Upper Tribunal has reminded judges that a hearing should be held whenever credibility is disputed on any material issue or fact and that it will only be a rare case where it is “appropriate and fair” to decide such a case on the papers....
The Home Affairs Committee has published its report into the Home Office’s management of asylum accommodation. Unsurprisingly, given the known extent of the issues, the report is 123 pages with several pages of recommendations. Conclusions include that there is an over-reliance on the use of contingency accommodation, such as hotels,...
This article explains how to make a successful application for a predetermination or biometric excuse where a person has applied for entry clearance to the UK but the journey to a visa application centre to enrol their biometrics is considered dangerous. Biometric predetermination means that an applicant wants a decision...
