An “Immigration Bill ending free movement” got top billing in the the Queen’s Speech this morning. The speech, outlining the government’s plans for new laws, said as follows: An immigration bill, ending free movement, will lay the foundation for a fair, modern and global immigration system. My Government remains committed...
The Home Office has issued new policy guidance on when it will refuse applications on the grounds of deception or dishonesty, i.e. where an applicant has made a false representation. The guidance follows a serious defeat in the Court of Appeal earlier this year. In Balajigari v Secretary of State...
Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants Ltd, based in London (EC), have two positions available: one for an immigration consultant and one for an immigration assistant. OISC Level 2 Immigration Consultant * London EC We are inviting OISC registered consultants, Level 1 to apply for this permanent position. Remuneration Package The salary is...
If and when Brexit happens, the UK will no longer take part in the “Dublin” system for transferring asylum seekers from one EU member country to another better placed to handle the asylum claim. A parliamentary committee says today that this will mean “the loss of a safe, legal route...
Welcome to episode 68 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. We’re continuing our review of the summer, with developments to mention in areas as diverse as asylum, litigation costs, citizenship deprivation and human trafficking. We’ll also discuss new visas for scientists and entrepreneurs. If you would like to claim...
The recent – and by now infamous – case of Re Nasrullah Mursalin [2019] EWCA Civ 1559, in which a paralegal was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for disclosing papers from family proceedings to an immigration tribunal judge, has generated much concern amongst immigration practitioners about when it is permissible...
In GM (Sri Lanka) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 1630, handed down on Friday, the Court of Appeal provides a helpful summary of where we currently stand with private and family life cases under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. General...
As the outcome of the latest Brexit negotiations are still uncertain — and with 31 October less than one month away – the latest research update from the Public Law Project (PLP) shows that EU citizens would still lack statutory protection for their rights in the event of a ‘no-deal’...
The new Shortage Occupation List is finally live and this morning the revised Appendix K of the Immigration Rules was uploaded to gov.uk. Unfortunately, in its rush to publish the new list, the Home Office has omitted archaeologists. This profession was recommended for inclusion as a shortage occupation by the...
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) is collecting responses to this short survey aimed at immigration practitioners who represent or advise undocumented migrants seeking to regularise their status in the UK. The charity wants data to inform a project on how best to advocate for new and...
Campaigners have lost a High Court case challenging the “immigration exemption” to personal data rights. The judgment is R (Open Rights Group & the3million) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 2562 (Admin). Paragraph 4, Schedule 2 of the Data Protection Act 2018 says that certain rights...
Earlier this week, the Guardian published the story of Amber Murrey, a US academic who got a job at Oxford as an associate geography professor, but whose two daughters, aged 4 and 9, were refused visas to join her in the UK. The story explains that Ms Murrey’s husband lives...
Amelia Gentleman will be familiar to Free Movement readers as the Guardian journalist who exposed what has become known as the Windrush scandal. Her account of what happened, how the scandal developed and why the Windrush generation experienced the problems they did should be compulsory reading for all Home Office...
We recently received the following enquiry about the EU Settlement Scheme: Hello, did you know that, when it comes to determining settled status eligibility of non-EU spouses of EU citizens, the Home Office considers the beginning of the marriage as the beginning of the residency, completely disregarding time previously spent...
The Court of Justice of the European Union has found that a child is self-sufficient in EU law even if supported only by the earnings of a parent who is working without permission to do so. The case is C‑93/18 Bajratari. The case involved an Albanian family living in Northern...
The President of the Family Division has decided that the family courts have no jurisdiction to interfere with immigration control, even if they think it is necessary to protect a girl from female genital mutilation (FGM). The most they can do is to ask the Home Office to refrain from...
The Immigration Rules are due to change on 6 October 2019, as heralded by statement of changes HC 2631. One particularly notable change will be the amendment of the Shortage Occupation List, with many roles being added to the list and some removed. One advantage of a role being on...
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Welcome to episode 67 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. As you may have noticed, we’ve been on a rather extended holiday, so we’re going to use this and the next episode to catch you up on what’s gone on in immigration law over the summer. There are a...
That is, if the appellant can get back in. The case is Isufaj (PTA decisions/reasons; EEA reg. 37 appeals) [2019] UKUT 283 (IAC). There is no right of admission but if admitted the appeal can be pursued from within the UK. Why the case gets reported for that when it...
Owing to continued and steady growth we are seeking to recruit an experienced immigration law solicitor. Whilst we will give due consideration to applicants from all levels of experience, we would particularly be interested to hear from practitioners with extensive experience and varied background. The successful candidate must possess or...
Yes, the Court of Justice of the European Union has had to find that self-employed EU citizens retain rights of residence during their maternity period. Why on earth the government of the United Kingdom tried to argue they did not is one of those mysteries to which we’ll probably never...
This morning the Supreme Court handed down its judgment on whether the Prime Minister suspending Parliament for five weeks at a crucial time in the Brexit saga was legal. As Colin put it, the government “could not have lost more comprehensively”. I’ve covered some of the highlights elsewhere and the...
A solicitor with 43 years’ experience has been struck off after allowing a group of supposed immigration lawyers to take over his firm and run off with all the client files. Michael Smith was prosecuted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for allowing himself to be “used as a front” for...
The Immigration Act 2016 authorises immigration officers to temporarily close down businesses persistently employing illegal workers. The provision is one of several that make up the hostile environment policy, which has been rebranded the “compliant environment”. The objective of the policy is to encourage those without permission to live and...
The Upper Tribunal in AAR & AA (Non-Arab Darfuris – return) Sudan [2019] UKUT 282 (IAC) has rejected a Home Office attempt to resume returns of non-Arab Darfuris to Sudan. The tribunal upheld its previous guidance, reaffirming the position that all non-Arab Darfuris are at risk of persecution in Sudan,...
The Upper Tribunal has finally, some six years after the test was introduced into domestic regulations, taken a good, hard look at the “centre of life” test applied by the Home Office to Surinder Singh cases. For background on the Surinder Singh route see our explainer post here: The Surinder...
Whether you read Twitter, the Times or the Law Society Gazette, you might have heard of the happy-ending case of Nasrullah Mursalin. Mr Mursalin was a paralegal at Gull Law Chambers Limited. In July, he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for breaching family court rules after he sent papers...
In the case of C‑94/18 Chenchooliah the Court of Justice of the European Union returns to the contentious issue of the rights of family members of EU citizens. Family members like to have rights, governments like to be able to remove family members and the judges are called on time...
As I was reviewing John Vassiliou’s excellent piece on Hong Kongers with British National Overseas status last week, I realised that we’ve never put together an explainer on the right of abode. A quick Google search showed up no great explanations either, so I thought it was time to try...
The High Court has referred an immigration law firm to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, citing “serious concerns” over its conduct of several cases. The case is R (Al Mahfuz & Anor) v Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) & Anor [2019] EWHC 2318 (Admin) and the firm concerned is Heans...
An EU citizen, or their spouse or civil partner, is entitled to have his or her dependent parent continue to live with them or join them in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme. This has always been the case since the scheme began. But one particularly confusing aspect, even...
A few weeks ago I analysed EU Settlement Scheme stats released in August. I argued that the Scheme is not working as well as the Government claims it is. While it might be performing well from the point of view of its administrators at the Home Office, it surely seems to...
In DM (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 2351 (Admin), the High Court ruled that the lack of accommodation for foreign national offenders cannot be a defence in a claim for unlawful detention. The case involved DM’s deportation for a sexual offence for which he...
The government published a new statement of changes on 9 September. We covered changes related to work and study routes in this post, and changes related to the EU Settlement Scheme in this post. There are two more changes which are worth noting. Section 67 leave Section 67 of the...
The two-year post study work visa has returned from the dead, apparently. Multiple statements, from the Prime Minister, the Business Secretary, the Department for Education and, last and least, the Home Office have been released announcing the resurrection of a visa originally introduced in 2004 and killed off by Theresa...
We are seeking a bright and motivated person to manage immigration casework at Fernandes Vaz, a specialist immigration and nationality law firm based in Wembley. You must have at least proven experience in casework and be able to manage your own workload. Accuracy and attention to detail are important factors....
A new statement of changes to the Immigration Rules was published yesterday, 9 September 2019. This post will cover changes to work and student visa routes, while a separate post deals with changes to the EU Settlement Scheme and other changes brought about by Brexit. Except where indicated otherwise, these changes...
Yesterday afternoon the government dropped statement of changes to the Immigration Rules HC 2631. This is a formal change to the Immigration Rules and there is a lot to it: the full version weighs in at 102 pages. We’ll deal with other changes in another post (or posts) but here...
The Johnson ‘government’ has reaffirmed that free movement rules will continue if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October. A new voluntary (Ed. – !?!) immigration scheme will be introduced called the European Temporary Leave to Remain Scheme, or “Euro TLR” to its (few) friends. From...
