We get it: immigration law is tricky. Even so, C1 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 242 (Admin) is on another level and is probably best summarised by this GIF: Math Calculate GIF from Math GIFs The gist of the decision is that the Home Office...
With travel bans from so-called “red list” countries, the suspension of travel corridors and today’s long-awaited introduction of compulsory hotel quarantine, those already holding or who have applied for UK visas will be concerned about how these measures may affect their visas and ability to travel to the UK. There...
In R (Mozumder) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 138, the Court of Appeal has dealt with an unusual costs issue arising from the furore over alleged cheating in English language tests. The issue was how costs should be apportioned from a judicial review which...
Welcome to episode 85 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast (not in fact episode 84 as we incorrectly say in the intro). We again start with developments in asylum law before going to business immigration and the Hong Kong BNO visa which is now open for applications. There is...
In response to growing pressure, the government announced on Monday that no immigration status checks will be carried out for migrants getting the coronavirus vaccination. While Downing Street’s press release focused on the lack of status checks, further action is required to gain the trust of those whose lives have...
Since 1 January 2021 people seeking asylum in Europe, be they adults or children, have been far less likely to reunite with their family in the UK. A vital legal route has been closed, as the Brexit transition period has come to end and the Dublin III Regulation can no...
A High Court judge has raised the prospect of contempt of court proceedings against the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, after her department breached a mandatory injunction. Mr Justice Chamberlain made the ominous comments in the case of Mohammad v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 240 (Admin). ...
Two different roles here with the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association; do note the different closing dates (24 Feb and 22 Feb respectively). 1. Legal & Parliamentary Officer Job Title: Legal and Parliamentary Officer Start date: April 2021 Location: Central London (nearest stations Barbican/Farringdon) – although currently working from home Reports...
The hostile environment should be reformed by selective repeal of key provisions, addressing Home Office culture and improved routes to regularisation, an influential think tank has found. Beyond the hostile environment, a report released yesterday by the Institute for Public Policy Research, follows up on a previous look at the...
In an interim relief decision the High Court has ordered the release of an immigration detainee within 48 hours, indicating that judges will not allow the Home Office to use the pandemic as cover to justify long “grace period” delays in releasing detainees. The case is R (Habeb) v Secretary...
Goodbye and good riddance to the “nationality requirement”, which since November 2017 has seen criminal defendants told to state their citizenship during their first appearance in court. A report last year by non-profit law firm Commons Legal found that the rule was deeply unpopular among criminal lawyers and created an...
In the latest round of the legal saga involving Egyptian dissident Yasser Al-Siri, the Court of Appeal has ruled that the Home Office acted unlawfully in only granting him restricted leave to remain after an earlier First-tier Tribunal decision that he is a refugee. There was, the court found, no...
“Illegal migrants’ vaccine amnesty” is the front page of today’s Daily Mail. The paper reports that, in an “unprecedented” move, migrants will be vaccinated against coronavirus irrespective of their immigration status in the UK. In fact this is nothing new: coronavirus diagnosis and treatment, including “routine vaccinations”, have been exempt...
There has been an interesting and mainly polite (if tense) discussion on and off Twitter in recent weeks about advocacy on migrants’ rights. This is in part linked to a short piece I wrote about deportations and a follow-up by Emma Harrison, director of IMIX. I’ve linked to some of...
As we approach 30 June 2021, the deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme, people are increasingly and understandably worried about their applications. In this post, we* try to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about the scheme, for those who haven’t applied yet. You can find...
Praxis, a dynamic, award-winning human rights charity supporting migrants in crisis or at-risk, is recruiting for several different roles as outlined below. Hackney Project Co-ordinator and Senior Immigration Caseworker Location: Mix of remote working and different locations in Hackney and Bethnal Green. Job Type: Full time – 35 hours Duration:...
The High Court has upheld the continued detention of an Indian national in a Category B prison on the basis of a high risk of absconding and serious criminal convictions, despite detention already lasting well over a year. The case is Singh v Secretary of State for the Home Department...
A Bradford solicitor has been struck off for multiple breaches of her professional duties, including reassuring a client that her immigration case was in progress when the application had never been lodged. Legal Futures reports that the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal “upheld a litany of allegations” against Rizwana Jamil, who practised...
In the case of C-255/19 Secretary of State for the Home Department v OA, the Court of Justice of the European Union held (at paragraph 64) that: 1. Article 11(1)(e) of Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals...
In FA (Sudan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 59, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that someone applying to stay in the UK under the domestic abuse rules must have had permission to remain as a partner. This appeal was a bold challenge to...
Government press offices have a habit of re-announcing popular policies, and so it is with the BNO visa. The Home Office has confirmed that the special visa scheme for people from Hong Kong with British National (Overseas) citizenship opens for applications from 31 January 2021. The application process is digital...
Ndwanyi (Permission to appeal; challenging decision on timeliness) Rwanda [2020] UKUT 378 (IAC) is about how a respondent can challenge a decision that an application for permission to appeal is in time, when in fact it is not in time. In this case the Home Office had lost the appeal...
No doubt you will have read about the mudslinging between the UK and EU over the lack of a visa-free deal for touring musicians and entertainers. This has been retweeted and attacked by seemingly every artist you’ve heard of, and even been debated in Parliament. The claims are that the...
Lowe v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 62 is about the role of the Upper Tribunal in deportation appeals. The role of an appellate court when reviewing the findings of fact made by the court below sounds straightforward: it will only intervene if the findings...
Stealing someone’s identity is not a “false representation” for the purposes of a 20-year long residence application, the Upper Tribunal has found. The case is Mahmood (paras. S-LTR.1.6. & S-LTR.4.2.; Scope) Bangladesh [2020] UKUT 376 (IAC). Bangladeshi national Sultan Mahmood, 41, has been living in the UK since at least...
Interesting piece over on the EU Law Analysis site by Aleksandra Jolkina about the flawed approach by the First-tier and Upper Tribunals to questions of marriages of convenience in EU law. The tribunals frequently blend the highly ambiguous domestic “genuine and subsisting relationship” requirement with the much more objective EU...
Care workers eligible for the EU Settlement Scheme seem unaware of the need to apply, a new report has found. The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) surveyed 290 social care workers and found that as many as one in three had never heard of the Settlement Scheme,...
Building on CJ’s briefing on the Tier 1 (Investor) route last year, this article contains five top tips for the preparation of an Investor application. Before we begin, it is worth recalling the relevant Immigration Rules on entry clearance for Investors. Table 7 of Appendix A to the Immigration Rules...
The distinction between a “claim” and an “application” was at the heart of the Upper Tribunal’s recent decision in Yerokun (Refusal of claim; Mujahid) Nigeria [2020] UKUT 377 (IAC). Mr Yerokun made an application for permission to remain in the UK based on his human right to private and family...
The European Court of Human Rights has confirmed that the final offence committed by someone before deportation action is taken against them does not need to be particularly significant if they have a history of serious offending. In Munir Johanna v Denmark (application no. 56803/18) and Khan v Denmark (application...
… when a young Vietnamese person is found living in a room with a padlock on the outside of the door, describes working for no payment in a nail bar, gives a vague account of apparently chance encounters with a series of Vietnamese persons as part of her journey and...
The High Court has ordered the release on bail of a detainee who is subject to deportation action but suffers from serious mental health problems. Full judgments at the interim relief stage are relatively unusual so R (RS) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 54 (Admin)...
Furious musicians have gathered over 260,000 signatures on a petition to the British government asking for a “Europe-wide visa-free work permit for touring professionals and artists”. In response, the government claims that “during our negotiations, we proposed measures to allow creative professionals to travel and perform in both the UK...
Vacancy: Senior immigration advisor/solicitor Organisation: Seraphus Salary: Minimum £36,000 per annum – maximum dependent on experience Location: The vacancy is full-time, five days per week, in London. We support flexible working hours with home-working. While this role will be delivered remotely while public health necessitates it, there is an opportunity...
