Central England Law Centre are seeking an Immigration caseworker or solicitor with OISC level 2 accreditation minimum. Full time, Salary £29,437. Hybrid working option available. CELC are looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic person to lead their new Migrants Rights in the Community project. The project will increase access to...
The Tribunal Procedure Committee (“TPC”) has launched a consultation on the potential changes to the Immigration and Asylum Chamber Rules and the Upper Tribunal Rules that will arise from the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 and the New Plan for Immigration programme. The planned changes include: Accelerated detained appeals Priority...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Home Office provided insignificant cash payments to asylum seekers with trafficking claims during the first lockdown. The appeal was brought by the Secretary of State for the Home Department following a defeat in the High Court. The case is JB (Ghana), R...
the3million are recruiting a Head of Policy and Advocacy the3million is looking for a Head of Policy and Advocacy to join their ambitious and fast-growing team. Since Brexit, the3million has been the most effective organisation in championing EU citizens’ rights, developing a strong grassroots network, enabling the voice of EU...
The Court of Appeal has granted an application made by a woman who was trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, to quash her conviction from November 2009. She was convicted for using a false identity document when attempting to travel to the Netherlands after she had fled her traffickers....
The new Statement of Changes, published on 18 October 2022, has introduced yet another appendix to the Immigration Rules: Appendix Temporary Permission to Stay for Victims of Human Trafficking or Slavery. The new appendix will be added on 30 January 2023. The provisions largely mirror those set out in primary...
The High Court handed down its judgment in the case of R (HM, MA, KH) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 695 (Admin) on 25 March 2022. The court held that the Home Office’s search for and seizure of mobile phones from migrants who arrived in the...
In R (MH) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 1296, the Court of Appeal has given guidance on how it will consider appeals brought solely to protect a party’s position regarding costs. The issue arose in the context of a Dublin III removal challenge. This...
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 Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has published a new report reviewing the Home Office’s processing of family visas, with a focus on indefinite leave to remain applications. It highlights that despite the findings of the Law Commission in its report, and the Home Office’s commitment to simplifying...
Maternity Leave Cover 1 year from February 2023, with possibility of a permanent post if funding is secured. Salary Band £34,986 – £38,404A salary of £44,373 may be considered for those at Supervisor level with high levels of experience and expertise The MLP is seeking a solicitor/caseworker/barrister to join our...
The Home Office has set up a new independent complaint investigation service. Now, if you are unhappy with the Home Office’s final response to a complaint, you can make a further complaint to the Independent Examiner of Complaints (IEC). This is an independent post looking into whether the Home Office...
An inspection report examining the use of hotels for housing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has been published this week, but the findings make for unsettling reading. The report criticises the operation of what are effectively unregistered children’s homes and confirms that this is not an area in which the Home Office...
Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit) have both received some updates in the latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules. The accompanying explanatory statement gives an overview of the changes that have been made. The changes come into force on 9 November 2022. A few of the definitions...
There is no good reason to treat victims of transnational marriage abandonment differently from victims of domestic abuse in the UK. So found Lieven J in the case of R on the application of AM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 2591 (Admin). Background Avid readers of...
The Ukraine Extension Scheme is one of the three visa schemes set up for people displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine (alongside the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family Schemes). All three Ukraine Visa Schemes result in a grant of three years of limited leave to remain with the...
The Home Office has published a new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 719). The explanatory memorandum confirms that the changes are largely focused on the government’s continued efforts to simplify the rules, and on implementing policy changes that have recently been put in place. The majority of...
It is not surprising that a tribunal that is concerned with immigration matters should receive applications that witnesses should be permitted to give evidence from abroad by video. Appellants already faced procedural obstacles to the admission of that evidence, which requires the consent of the foreign government. Refusals to grant...
One month into the job, it’s clear that Suella Braverman is good at making the headlines. However, some of her rhetoric may seem familiar. The government’s hostile environment policy is well-rehearsed and the media has played a significant and long-term role in developing the rhetoric that we see today. It...
In an unreported case, Upper Tribunal Judge Stephen Smith held that a proportionality assessment should happen in marriage of convenience cases. Secretary of State of the Home Department v Ms Dora Nketia (unreported) 11 Aug 2022 EA/04841/2019 concerns the approach to be taken under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations...
During March and April, HM Inspectorate of Prisons visited eight prisons and interviewed 45 immigration detainees and 33 staff, including Home Office staff. The subsequent report finds that immigration detainees held in prisons are substantially disadvantaged in several ways compared to individuals held in immigration removal centres. Disparities are particularly...
The outcome of an asylum case can sometimes depend not on what the individual person says happened to them but on the general situation in a particular country. The general situation for asylum seekers from several countries is determined by the Upper Tribunal in what are called Country Guidance (CG)...
The Home Office has agreed to review its policy Fee waiver: Human Rights-based and other specified applications, which provides guidance on the time limits for making human rights based immigration applications where an application is made after a fee waiver has been granted. This comes after confusion over deadlines threatened...
Imagine a scene. Prime Minister Liz Truss finds herself reading Free Movement blog tomorrow, sees the terrible harm her and her predecessors have been causing to documented and undocumented non-British citizens and decides to get rid of Britain’s borders. All of them. Those at port as well as those operating...
Welcome to the September 2022 episode of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I am joined again by “immigration lawyer about town”, as she put it, Sonia Lenegan. She is in danger of becoming a co-presenter if she carries on like this… Amongst other things, we talk about...
There are a number of general and individual judicial review challenges to the government’s policy of removing asylum seekers to Rwanda. To recap, in April 2022 the government announced a Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda for the provision of “an asylum partnership arrangement”. Under this arrangement, asylum seekers...
It has been six months since the UK announced its initial response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, allowing those affected by the outbreak of conflict to arrive or remain in the UK under visa-based immigration routes. Three routes were made available: These visas grant three years limited leave to...
The High Court has confirmed that the Home Office is obligated to consider exercising discretion to waive or delay the requirement to enrol biometrics before considering an application in R (KA and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 2473 (Admin). Ordinarily, individuals applying for entry...
As we reported last week, a recent letter from government lawyers clarified the Home Office’s position that “[s]ince July 2022… migrants who cross the Channel in small boats who are either rescued or directed to land at designated locations by the authorities are no longer deemed to be illegal entrants,...
In an unusual development, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has conceded that the Court of Appeal erred in Hussein v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 156. The mistake was in the consideration of the impact of imprisonment on whether someone has achieved...
Suella Braverman’s speech to the Conservative Party conference yesterday evening confirmed two things. She really doesn’t like the Human Rights Act, the Modern Slavery Act or the European Court of Human Rights. And that the problems with the UK immigration system are complex and intense. One of these problems is...
The Home Office recently withdrew all of its Country Policy and Information Notes (CPINs) on Albania for review. On 20 September 2022 the CPINs reappeared on the Home Office website, with two CPINs – on blood feuds and trafficking – having been updated. Having previously reviewed and critiqued the October...
In a bizarrely unhinged interview with the Sun on Sunday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has laid into modern slavery victims and the family members of postgraduate students. These two unlikely groups are apparently the latest bogeymen to be stopping Britain from being great again. Promising “dramatic action” to stop small...
It is now twenty two years since I first started work as an asylum lawyer at the Oakington detention centre, a converted former barracks near Cambridge. I have seen a lot of change to the asylum system in that time. But many of the changes have ultimately been superficial. The...
Location: Bloomsbury, LondonSalary: £27,000 – £48,000 per annumExpires: 19/10/2022 23:59 Job Title: Solicitor / Senior Caseworker (Immigration and Asylum Law) Contract: Permanent Hours: Full-Time (However, part-time will be considered and flexible working arrangements will be considered in line with operational need and pay prorated accordingly) Salary: £27,000-£48,000 per annum dependent...
With the government’s controversial mini-budget causing economic turmoil, Liz Truss has been steadfast that her aim is to boost economic growth in the United Kingdom. Central to achieving this will be a series of key reforms to the work-based immigration system. The government logic may be that the international talent...
The European Court of Human Rights has handed down a significant judgment concerning the age-assessment process and rights of child asylum seekers. In Darboe and Camara v Italy (Application no. 5797/17), the court found that the Italian government had breached Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human...
On 25 August 2022, the Home Office announced plans to fast-track the removal of Albanian nationals “with no right to be in the UK” under plans agreed with the Albanian government (it was said) “to tackle the scourge of small boat crossings”. The fast-track removal scheme appeared to be explicitly...
OH v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] UKAITUR JR2021LON001003 concerns the rights of a dependant of an asylum seeker to work in the United Kingdom. OH challenged a decision to refuse his request to work whilst he was a dependant of his wife’s asylum claim. OH and...