There are only two things that legal aid lawyers can do to mitigate the losses they inevitably face by undertaking publicly funded advice work: reduce the time they put into each fixed fee case, or reduce the number of legally aided cases they take on. This is the stark finding...
On 21 October 2021 the Home Office published the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s (ICIBI) second annual inspection of the Adults at Risk policy, alongside its response. The report itself is an impressive piece of work and provides comprehensive information about the current state of immigration detention and...
In Re Ní Chuinneagain [2021] NIQB 79 the High Court in Northern Ireland has thrown out a challenge to automatic British citizenship for people who reject it. The claimant is from Belfast and regards herself as 100% Irish, from passport to first language. Section 1(1) of the British Nationality Act...
Some young people born or brought up in the UK without immigration status can now apply for settlement after five years rather than ten. The change in policy comes in a new and very welcome Home Office concession, published yesterday. What follows is a short summary; for more detail, see...
Strategic litigation has always been a priority for the European Network on Statelessness (ENS) and its members. Having previously practised in the UK as an asylum lawyer, I recognise that part of the fight to end statelessness must take place in the courts. An important new weapon in our armoury...
Seriously ill migrants claiming humanitarian protection status must show that a persecutor would intentionally deprive them of medical treatment, the Upper Tribunal has confirmed. The case is NM (Art 15(b): intention requirement) Iraq [2021] UKUT 259 (IAC). NM suffers from end-stage chronic kidney disease and needs dialysis to stay alive....
People claiming asylum based on their sexual orientation, including homosexuality and bisexuality, may form part of a “particular social group” which qualifies for protection under the Refugee Convention. In deciding whether to accept an asylum claim, part of the Home Office caseworker’s job is to assess the person’s overall credibility....
Asylos, ARC Foundation and Clifford Chance have put together a country information package to help support Afghan asylum claims. It is a collection of media, United Nations and NGO reports on all sorts of human rights issues, from the application of Sharia law to attacks on disability activists. It is...
The legendary tome that is Macdonald’s needs no introduction for most immigration lawyers. It is the reference book on immigration law. If you want to know something and Google — or dare I say even Free Movement — fails you, this is the place to look it up. It’s certainly...
The Court of Appeal has given its long-awaited decision in the case of MY (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1500. Unfortunately, it confirms that the Home Office can refuse to engage with a human rights claim for permission to stay in the UK...
The Intra-company Transfer (ICT) route has seemed increasingly redundant since the launch of the Points Based Immigration System last year. The Skilled Worker route became simpler and easier to use, while the abolition of the resident labour market test removed ICT’s unique selling point. With the number of ICT applications...
The Supreme Court has this morning handed down judgment in R (Majera) (formerly SM Rwanda) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 46. The appeal, as Lord Reed states in his opening sentence, raised a “question of constitutional importance”. That question was whether the government (or anyone...
Immigration law is the same across the United Kingdom, but the legal systems are not. Normally that doesn’t matter. Sometimes, as in the case of Khurshid v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1515, it does. Mr Khursid is involved in legal proceedings to secure his...
This was the question before the Court of Appeal in R (X and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1480. The court decided that the answer is “yes”, with some caveats. Challenge to five-year delay pending fraud investigation The case concerned a family who...
Welcome to episode 93 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast, a week later than advertised. This month we start with changes to the Immigration Rules and other news around work and student visas, and then the latest on deprivation of citizenship. We review some new case law on asylum,...
The decision in R (KTT) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 2722 (Admin), widely reported in the mainstream press this week, is a massive result for trafficking victims. The High Court has concluded that a trafficking victim who is also an asylum seeker must be granted...
800 temporary Seasonal Worker visas will be made available to pork butchers, the government has announced. They will last for six months, with applications open until 31 December 2021. Butchers were already eligible for the mainstream Skilled Worker visa. But bringing them in under Skilled Worker would require paying a...
Open Access Coordinator and OISC Supervisor Location: Office based (Bethnal Green) and remote working Job Type: Full time – 35 hours Duration: Permanent Salary: £35,946 (NJC 28, inclusive of London Weighting for London based post) Deadline: Midday 27th October 2021 Interviews: 1st November 2021 We are looking for an experienced...
There is little that can sensibly be said about RT v SSHD SN/72/2019, heard by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC). In making its decision, SIAC rejected all of RT’s grounds for judicial review, but found in his favour anyway on the basis of secret evidence. The claimant, a refugee...
The first edition of The Refugee in International Law, written by Guy Goodwin-Gill, was published in 1983 and is considered the birth of modern refugee law. For the third edition in 2007 Goodwin-Gill was joined by Jane McAdam as co-author. The fourth edition has just been published and Goodwin-Gill and...
In R (BAA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1428 the Court of Appeal has clarified the reach of Article 8 in Dublin III family reunion judicial reviews. Unlawful refusal to accept Syrian asylum seeker The case was about an unaccompanied minor from Syria who...
Yesterday brought about a new immigration route for international sportspeople aged 16 or over wishing to enter the UK. It is intended to create a simplified visa arrangement for elite and internationally established sportspeople and sports coaches. Does it achieve this? Yes, insofar as we no longer need to consult...
The Home Office has published a short statement of changes to the Immigration Rules. It is to implement the emergency temporary visa schemes for HGV drivers and poultry workers and therefore comes into force at 4pm today. Employers in those sectors will be able to request workers from four named...
In a previous briefing we saw that customary international law, four international conventions and international human rights law all impose a duty on states to rescue those in distress at sea and to set up and maintain search and rescue services. We also saw that the enforceability of international law...
We are looking to expand our dynamic Immigration Team. We are seeking an Experienced Immigration Solicitor with a focus on the rights of children and young people. Islington Law Centre has a highly regarded Immigration Team. We are a category 1 Legal Aid Immigration provider and we have considerable...
Two months ago, the Home Office withdrew all but one of its country policy and information notes (CPINs) relating to Afghanistan. New decisions on Afghan asylum claims were halted, and in the immigration tribunals, Presenting Officers sought adjournments in all existing cases. Where adjournments were refused, Presenting Officers indicated that...
Changes to Home Office guidance on issuing visit visas confirm that: Visitors are not allowed to act as au pairs (page 29) Jobseeking and job interviews are allowed on a visit visa, so long as they are the kinds of jobs you can ultimately be sponsored for; low-skilled jobseeking will...
In the case of JM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 2514, the High Court has held that the government failed to cater for asylum seekers’ essential living needs during the pandemic. The court found that JM, who was housed in a hotel during the COVID...
British businesses have long relied on workers from the European Union to come in for short or medium-term projects. Before Brexit, this was frictionless from an immigration perspective. People arrived, people worked, people left and businesses were happy. EU free movement ended (for the UK) on 31 December 2020, but...
Lurking in the weeds of the latest statement of changes are some tweaks to the procedural requirements in Part 1 of the Immigration Rules. Most take effect today. These provisions may not be the sexiest part of immigration law but they are worth paying attention to. Falling foul of a...
Carter Thomas Solicitors is a leading UK immigration law firm listed in both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. The firm also appeared in the Times Best Law Firms. We act for businesses, education providers and individuals requiring advice on an exciting range of immigration law issues. We offer...
There has been another successful challenge to the policy on asylum seekers undertaking paid work. In R (Cardona) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 2656 (Admin), the High Court has declared that Home Office policy on this issue failed to comply with the statutory duty to...
About half of the Home Secretary’s speech to the Conservative Party conference today was given over to immigration and asylum, but there were no new policy announcements. In fact it was, in structure, tone and content, much like last year’s effort: free movement is dead; work visas for the “best...
In the absence of safe and legal routes to sanctuary countries in which they can rebuild their lives, refugees often resort to travel by unsafe means. The issue of rescuing refugees at sea has risen in global prominence, with an estimated 40,000 refugees and other migrants dying between 2014 and...
Certain foreign citizens who can drive fuel tankers can enter the UK without a visa until 15 October under a new immigration concession. The Home Office published the Concession for temporary leave to allow employment as HGV fuel drivers on Saturday 2 October. It allows entry outside the normal Immigration...
Advocate General Hogan’s opinion in case C‑247/20 VI v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs concludes that someone no longer requires Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) once they have permanent residence under EU law. The opinion is only advisory; it is not legally binding. But the opinion of the Advocate...
Immigration officials may stop people travelling from Ireland to Great Britain and ask to see their papers despite the Common Travel Area, the Home Office has confirmed. A newly updated version (10.0) of the Common Travel Area guidance says: Whilst there are no routine immigration controls when travelling to Great...
Many UK immigration categories impose a requirement that the visa holder must not be outside the UK for more than 180 days in any 12-month period — that is, if the person wants to apply for indefinite leave to remain. Joanna and Nath have explored the 180-day absence rule, and...
