The government wants to make it much harder to appeal from the tribunal system to the Court of Appeal. The Ministry of Justice is consulting on changes — sorry, “reforms” — where appeals that have already been heard in both the First-tier and Upper Tribunals in England and Wales would...
2020 has presented huge challenges for people trying to navigate the immigration system, for immigration advisers trying to support them, and for the Home Office and the courts. At Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) we’ve analysed six immigration changes made because of COVID-19 that have proved beneficial for all...
The new Points Based Immigration System — replacing the old Points Based System that was introduced in 2008 — went live yesterday. The government is hailing it as a “simple, effective and flexible system”, although there are early reports of teething troubles and the feeling of most immigration practitioners is...
On 5 July 1948, Aneurin Bevan launched the National Health Service, telling reporters “today we can say we have the best organised system of social security in the world”. Other European countries demurred: instead of funding their health systems out of general taxation, they required their citizens to buy compulsory...
The English language requirement can be generously viewed as the Home Office’s response to the biblical Tower of Babel story: society is undermined by its people’s inability to speak the same language. But as anyone who has ever had the misfortune to read Home Office guidance can attest, it is...
REVIEW AND DEVELOPMENT OF LATIN AMERICAN HOUSE LEGAL AND SOCIAL WELFARE ADVICE SERVICES CONSULTANCY SERVICES INVITATION TO TENDER Purpose Latin American House (LAH) wishes to procure consultancy services to help us to improve and increase the provision of our legal and social welfare advice services. Background LAH was established in...
The Guardian reports that the Home Office has agreed with Jamaica not to deport Jamaican citizens who arrived in the UK under the age of 12. The scope of the reported agreement is unclear: it arises in the context of an upcoming deportation flight to Jamaica, scheduled for 2 December...
You don’t have to be British to work here, but it helps. Citizens of the 54 Commonwealth countries can serve in the British Army and other branches of the armed forces, and are eligible to settle in the UK after discharge if they have served for at least four years....
As you read, you visualise the dead – hit by cars as they try to dash over the motorway or jump down from trucks; crushed by lorries as they try to climb in or under them; suffocating slowly inside trucks; electrocuted or hit by trains in the Eurotunnel; drowned in...
The backlog of asylum cases has reached alarming new heights, with over 46,000 people now waiting more than six months for an initial decision on their asylum application. The figures as of 30 September 2020, which were released today, show a 19% increase from three months earlier and a 76%...
It’s rare to get a slobber-knocker of a case from the European Court of Human Rights like Unuane v The United Kingdom (application no. 80343/17). The court unanimously found that the UK’s supposedly Article 8 compliant deportation rules don’t preclude judges from following the correct approach to assessing the proportionality...
When is a “false document” not a “false” document? In LLD v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] NICA 38, the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland held that a document cannot itself be dishonest. Dishonesty requires an assessment of the state of mind of the person submitting...
The legal powers of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have been much discussed in recent weeks. This month it is not the Labour Party in the figurative dock, but the more familiar presence of the Home Office. An EHRC report into the Windrush scandal, published today, has found...
A non-binary gender identity can form the basis of an asylum claim, the Upper Tribunal has expressly confirmed for the first time. The case is Mx M (gender identity – HJ (Iran) – terminology) El Salvador [2020] UKUT 313 (IAC). Background to asylum claim Mx M is a citizen of...
Reports by the US Department of State on the human rights situation in different countries are heavily relied upon throughout the world in the assessment of asylum claims. Asylum Research Centre’s (ARC) new research identifies serious omissions and inadequately substantiated reports of improvements in country reports produced under the Trump...
The Court of Appeal has decided in Alam v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1527 that sending a decision letter to a person’s last known address will generally be sufficient proof that the letter has been received. To prove otherwise, it must be shown the...
Central London, like many cities across the world, is an exciting and stimulating place. However, for some, it is a place to go when things have gone profoundly wrong and there is nowhere else. When people are on the edge, homeless, isolated and in despair there must be a place...
A key tenet of UK deportation law is that British nationals cannot be deported: section 3(5) of the Immigration Act 1971. And yet, Sajid Zulfiqar, a man born British in the UK, will, barring any further appeals, be deported to the land of his fathers: Zulfiqar (‘Foreign criminal’ : British...
I look forward to reading this out on the next podcast: the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020 No. 1309). These new regulations follow hard on the heels of the Immigration Act 2020. Where that...
The High Court has declared that the arrangements for dealing with Upper Tribunal immigration appeals during the coronavirus pandemic are unlawful. Mr Justice Fordham held that the President of the Upper Tribunal’s guidance leans too heavily in favour of deciding cases on the papers rather than having a hearing, a...
The UK government’s policy is that Brexit will not affect Irish nationals at all. Other EU citizens have to apply for a new “settled status” or risk losing their right to live and work in the UK after June 2021. But the government’s position is that Irish people, whether existing...
In B & C v Switzerland (application no. 43987/16 and 889/19) the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously held that the deportation of asylum seekers to countries where they risk persecution for their sexual orientation would violate the Article 3 prohibition on torture and inhuman or degrading treatment under...
The government has conceded that the EU Settlement Settlement probably discriminates against various groups protected by equality legislation but denies that it is unlawful, arguing that any discriminatory effects are justifiable. Campaigners have long been pushing for publication of the official assessment of how the scheme caters for groups protected...
In the recent case of Topadar v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1525 the Court of Appeal considered two questions: At what point is an immigration application decided by the Home Office? Is it procedurally unfair for the Home Office to refuse an application due...
When a client argues “but the Home Office told me…”, things usually go downhill pretty quickly. If it wasn’t in writing, it didn’t happen! Emiantor v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1461 is a classic example of how difficult it can be to hold the...
The High Court has ordered the Home Office to interview asylum seekers properly and remind its caseworkers about the correct legal test for kicking off an investigation into human trafficking. Mr Justice Fordham granted the interim relief, or temporary holding measures, pending a full hearing in the case next month....
The Home Office has decided not to take forward the recommendations for a new Shortage Occupation List made by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in September. This has caused concern in many sectors, not least the fishing industry, which would have benefitted from deckhands being reclassified as skilled workers had...
In R v A [2020] EWCA Crim 1408, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has confirmed that the creative use of the abuse of process jurisdiction to protect trafficking victims from prosecution is no longer necessary in light of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. This is bad news for victims...
Welcome to episode 82 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we mostly focus on a host of changes to the Immigration Rules introduced in October and mainly coming into force in December. There are also some big cases on long residence, removal windows, deportation law and fairness...
Yesterday the Home Office published a report by the immigration inspector on clandestine Channel crossings. The report’s relevance is somewhat diminished by the fact that it was completed in March and hidden away in a drawer at Marsham Street, as is now traditional, for the past eight months. Colin has...
The Immigration Act 2020 has arrived. The new legislation — the full title of which is the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 — passed into law today, 11 November 2020. The Act is much shorter than any of the other Immigration Acts but makes wide-ranging changes...
There is a high risk of a coronavirus outbreak at a military camp being used to house asylum seekers, local health authorities say. Hywel Dda University Health Board blames “inadequate facilities provided by the Home Office” at the Penally military training camp in south-west Wales, which was hastily converted for...
The Immigration Rules covering student visas were substantially revised in early September 2020, with the changes coming into force on 5 October. As Nath has noted, this means that the student routes were not as affected as other categories by the major statement of changes (HC 813) on 22 October,...
Right to Rent checks can be carried out online and in real time from 25 November 2020 onwards. Under the new scheme, landlords will be able to conduct checks on whether prospective tenants are permitted to rent using a Home Office webpage (not yet live). For now, the online checking...
The UK government has long taken the position that EU citizen students and self-sufficient people who do not have Comprehensive Sickness Insurance are living in the UK unlawfully. The Home Office has now confirmed that people in this position will remain unlawfully resident in the post-Brexit “grace period” unless they...
A blanket lockdown began today — in England; other jurisdictions are available — and runs for 28 days. During that time, people are not to leave home “without reasonable excuse”. The lockdown regulations include a list of things that automatically qualify as a reasonable excuse, although it is non-exhaustive so...
Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit), which contain the rules for the EU Settlement Scheme, have received their latest revamp in the recent statement of changes (HC 813) to the Immigration Rules. The explanatory memo says that the changes “mainly reflect the end of the transition period” between the...
Caseworker Salary £25,500 – 27,500 pro rata per annum (depending on experience) 0.8 FTE (30 hrs per week, flexible working requests will be considered) One-year fixed term contract UK Legal and Arrivals Team London office (currently working remotely) Reporting to Head of UK Legal and Arrivals Line management responsibilities: N/A...
The Home Office has released new interim guidance on the immigration bail accommodation system. The 15-page document introduces a couple of minor changes to address the High Court’s damning criticism of the department’s bail accommodation policies in Humnyntskyi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 1912 Admin,...
