The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Neal, has expressed his frustration at the Home Office’s inability properly and promptly to address report recommendations in his comments published yesterday alongside the annual report for 2021-22. The annual report was sent to the Home Secretary on 8 July 2022,...
Resources have been published by Refugee Action to assist those who have received one of the new asylum questionnaires under the Home Office’s streamlined process. You can read more in detail about what to do with the questionnaire, how to fill it in, what to be cautious of when asking...
Salary: Commensurate with experience Location: Harrow on the Hill, London. full-time office-based role. About the role and how to apply: We are a level 3 OISC-regulated immigration law firm and we have been established for more than 10 years. We are looking to hire an experienced level 1 OISC-registered Immigration...
The Home Office has recently updated its guidance on the streamlined process for children’s asylum applications. This policy was initially introduced to help with the asylum backlog in 2023, the streamlined process has now been in place for almost two years and is no longer restricted to applications lodged prior...
The adult dependent relative rules have been buried in Appendix FM since their inception on 9 July 2012. From 1 June 2023, they have been transposed into their own standalone Appendix Adult Dependent Relative. The new appendix was announced in the 9 March 2023 Statement of Changes to the Immigration...
Yesterday’s Spring Budget 2023 announced upcoming changes to the business visitor visa requirements and the addition of construction workers to the Shortage Occupation List. Additional language support for Ukraine Visa Scheme holders was also announced. Business visitor visa The changes expected in autumn 2023 will include expanding the range of...
Yesterday, the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment dealing with applications for permission to appeal on grounds refused by the High Court. An annex to yesterday’s judgment lists the grounds granted permission by the High Court. Permission to appeal The additional grounds granted permission in yesterday’s judgment include: First,...
This month Sonia and I talk a bit about denaturalisation generally and the case of Shamima Begum specifically, we cover the new streamlined asylum process and a few other asylum-related blog posts and then we run through a few cases. We manage to keep things a bit shorter than normal,...
On 15 February 2023, the High Court yet again found that the Secretary of State’s policy prohibiting migrants from accessing mainstream welfare benefits was unlawful. The policy, known as the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition, was the target of two judicial review claims brought on behalf of destitute...
As the House of Common’s second reading of the Illegal Migration Bill takes place today, this post looks at the detention provisions in clauses 11-14 and what they mean for individuals arriving in the UK. You can read Colin’s analysis of the Bill in full, here. The current legal position...
The treatment of a person’s job in human rights claims has been ambiguous and inconsistent in previous High Court decisions, but the judgment in Kulumbegov v Home Office [2023] EWHC 337 (KB) usefully corrals the decisions of Denisov v Ukraine (app. no. 76639/11), R (oao Atapattu) v SSHD [2011] EWHC...
This post provides an update on legal challenges to the Home Office’s policy and practice of requiring people on immigration bail to wear Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. You can read more about the policy and the legal framework here and here. To summarise, in August 2021 the Home Office...
A new statement of changes to the immigration rules has now been published. The explanatory memorandum to the statement can be found here. The most significant changes are the addition of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme, and the introduction of the Innovator Founder route on 13 April 2023. The minimum...
Are you looking for a fresh start in 2023? Do you want to be part of a fast-growing company with ambitious plans to become the brand for how immigration advice should be delivered? This is a rare opportunity to join OTB Legal as we continue our growth journey. OTB Legal...
The Illegal Migration Bill was published yesterday. You can access the Bill here and the Explanatory Notes here. While it remains a Bill, the individual provisions are referred to as clauses and once it becomes an Act — as it surely will — they are referred to as sections. The...
The scandal of asylum-seeking children going missing from Home Office hotels (Ministers resist terms such as ‘kidnapped’) is an extreme situation. But they are not the only children suffering at the hands of the UK’s migration policies. The Lords Justice and Home Affairs Select Committee has recently published All families...
On 1 February 2023 Mr Justice Cavanagh made a ruling, following a preparatory hearing on 14 and 15 December 2022, that asylum seekers can be prosecuted for arriving in the UK without valid entry clearance and for assisting unlawful immigration, contrary to sections 24(D1) and 25(1) of the Immigration Act...
Last week the immigration inspector published a 74-page stinging criticism of the Home Office’s approach to family reunion applications. After three previous inspections the Home Office’s performance had “deteriorated” and the inspection revealed “a system beset with delays and a team ill-equipped to manage the complexity and volume of applications”....
To try to reduce the asylum decision backlog, the Home Office has introduced a “streamlined” process, including a questionnaire to be completed, in English, by individuals from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Syria, Yemen and Libya who claimed asylum before 28 June 2022. Around 12,000 questionnaires are expected to be sent out, with...
The Court of Appeal has granted refugee status in a case turning on the credibility of the appellant’s evidence. MAH (Egypt) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 216 provides helpful guidance on the standard of proof in asylum claims, credibility and the role of the...
When employers apply for and are granted a licence to sponsor workers, they make a pledge to accept all the duties of sponsorship, and the Home Office can take compliance action when they consider that a sponsor has failed to uphold their duties or otherwise poses a risk to immigration...
It’s never a good sign when a local authority is so desperate to shirk responsibility for asylum-seekers that it raises judicial review proceedings. In R (Medway Council) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 77 (Admin), a local authority challenged the Home Office’s decision to force them...
This month marks twenty years since the signing of one of the most significant Franco-British treaties in the last 50 years, the Le Touquet treaty. Whilst Le Touquet, a seaside town on the northern French coast one hour from Calais, may conjure images of calm beaches where Macron escapes Paris...
Quarterly immigration statistics released last week show the asylum backlog has hit a record high as 160,919 asylum seekers await an initial asylum decision, quadruple the number awaiting an initial decision at the end of 2019. In December 2022, following intense criticism over continuous unprecedented delays, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak...
The latest quarterly immigration statistics are out. I’m focussing here on what the figures reveal about the system, including the backlog, arrivals, resettlement, grant rate, modern slavery referrals, detention and removals. Backlog The asylum backlog has reached over 160,000 people: 160,919 awaiting an initial decision, or 166,261 in total once fresh...
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The UK continues to play host to industrial action with the latest strike action announced this week being opted for by Junior Doctors and currently set for March 2023. For many, negotiated settlements continue to be some way off and further strikes are anticipated in the coming months. UK visa...
Shamima Begum has lost the latest round in her legal battle against the decision to strip her of her British citizenship and exile her abroad. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission that heard her case concluded that she was a victim of trafficking, which was not something the Home Secretary who...
What happens when you accidentally apply for an EU Settlement Scheme Family Permit when you meant to apply for an EEA Family Permit under the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016? The answer: you are deprived of the benefit of the EU Settlement Scheme and the EU Withdrawal Agreement. This is the...
The much anticipated India Young Professionals Scheme visas ballot will open at 2:30 pm India Standard Time on 28 February. The ballot will close at 2:30 pm on 2 March 2023. You will be able to enter the ballot here. The page also confirms some general details about the application...
It is common for immigration lawyers to advise clients in the UK that travelling outside the Common Travel Area (CTA) when an immigration application is pending will result in the application being treated as withdrawn (cue fiddly explanations to clients as to what constitutes the CTA). It is also common...
New guidance has been published by the Home Office confirming how consideration will be given to whether an applicant to the EU Settlement Scheme is a person with a derivative right to reside. A derivative right to reside in the UK was confirmed by the Court of Justice of the...
The Upper Tribunal has watered down the effect of a recent decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of AEB v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 1512. The Upper Tribunal’s judgment reaffirms that where an appellant has not had a fair hearing they...
In December, Asylos and the Dutch Council for Refugees jointly published two country of origin information reports on Russia, focusing on the treatment of military deserter and of political dissidents. These were published in response to two reports by the European Union Agency for Asylum (‘EUAA’) on these issues dated...
Asylum Aid have three exciting job vacancies available. We look forward to hearing from prospective candidates for any of these roles: 1. Asylum and Immigration Supervisor Closing date: 9am on Thursday 23 February 2023. Salary: full time – £36-45,000 per annum (dependent on experience). This is a really exciting opportunity...
The Upper Tribunal has confirmed that a recognised victim of trafficking who is also an asylum seeker, partly fearing re-trafficking on return as well as political persecution, should have been granted permission to stay (leave to remain) whilst their asylum claim was pending, in line with findings in R (KTT)...
Salary £25000 to £40000+ performance-based bonus (uncapped) Benefits: Work from home, Flexible schedule, Company pension, good growth opportunities Additional pay: Uncapped performance bonus You must have ‘strong’ experience in at least some of the following areas: (* essential) Responsibilities About – A Y & J Solicitors We are 14+ years...
In early July 2022 a consent order was made between the Anti-Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ALTEU) and the Secretary of State for Justice confirming that the Secretary of State would develop guidance on victims and potential victims of modern slavery for prison staff. That guidance has now been published....
