Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Okay, it’s a Monday, so let’s do the good news first. Bibby Stockholm is empty. Friday was the deadline for the Lord Chancellor to make an announcement on legal aid fees for immigration and asylum work, following the settlement of Duncan Lewis’ judicial review in September....
In Branco-Bonfim v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1421, the Home Office sought to remove a Portuguese man without giving him an in-country right of appeal, by relying on a certification decision relating to his deportation in 2019 rather than issuing a new certification decision....
There is now only a month left before all biometric residence permits and biometric residence cards will expire on 31 December 2024 and understanding of the changes among those responsible for enforcing the hostile environment remains dangerously low. From 1 January 2025 onwards, individuals will be expected to show their...
The statistics for the period July to September 2024 have been published today, showing a very large drop in health and care worker visas, a lesser but still significant drop in students, a fall in the asylum grant rate that doesn’t seem likely to achieve much beyond creating further chaos...
In M.I. v. Switzerland – 56390/21 (Article 3 – Prohibition of torture : Third Section) [2024] ECHR 862 the European Court of Human Rights has said that failure to properly assess the risk of ill treatment of an LGBTQI+ person in their country of origin and whether state protection was...
The High Court has found that the Home Secretary does not have an adequate system in place for processing change of conditions application to reduce, to a reasonable and proportionate minimum, the risk of inhuman and degrading treatment caused by the “no recourse to public funds” (“NRPF”) condition. The case...
Who we are looking for and why join us At Refugee Legal Support (RLS), we seek a visionary and compassionate leader to become our first Executive Director. This pivotal role offers the opportunity to shape the future of a values-driven legal organisation that stands in solidarity with people on the...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Manston is back in the news after the Home Secretary withdrew her decision of September 2024 not to hold a statutory inquiry into what happened in 2022 when the Home Office “completely lost grip” on the centre. A judicial review that was due to be heard last...
Statement of changes HC 334 has been published today stating that the concession allowing Ukrainians to travel to the UK without the need to enrol their biometrics in advance will end on 18 December 2024. As of 3pm today, subject to transitional provisions, Colombians must obtain entry clearance before coming...
Currently, anyone applying for British citizenship has to find two referees to vouch for their identity and confirm they are unaware of any reason why the applicant does not qualify for citizenship. Those referees can’t be just anyone – there are specific rules for who can be a referee for...
The Upper Tribunal has dismissed the appeal of an EEA national who was in prison over the Brexit deadline of 31 December 2020 on the basis that he was not exercising treaty rights immediately prior to the end of the transition period. The case is Manyo (EEA deportation, Imprisonment at...
Don’t say I didn’t warn you with that headline. The Upper Tribunal has found that the First-tier Tribunal erred in failing make a finding on whether revocation of leave for a refugee on the grounds that he was deemed a danger to the UK amounted to a breach of the...
In Gadinala v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1410 the Court of Appeal has given further guidance on how decision-makers should assess the seriousness of a crime in the context of deportation proceedings. This assessment is important because the more serious the crime, the greater...
Following a similar practice direction being published for claims issued in England and Wales, the Court of Session and Sheriff Court have issued Practice Note No. 2 of 2024 “Claims relating to EU and EEA EFTA Citizens’ Rights under Part 2 of the Withdrawal Agreement and Part 2 of the...
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has published a report of an unannounced inspection of Brook House immigration removal centre. The inspection took place between 5 and 22 August 2024 and does not make pretty reading. The last inspection took place in June 2022. Since then, of the four tests for...
NACCOM (The No Accommodation Network) has published their annual data briefing “Understanding destitution and homelessness in the asylum and immigration system” looking at the extent and causes of destitution and homelessness among migrants. We already know from the official statistics that there has been a huge jump in homelessness of...
The quarterly trafficking statistics for July to September 2024 have been published, with a few records set including for the number of referrals and number of conclusive grounds decisions. The impact of the latter on delays is still difficult to tell because of the reorganisation of cases within the decision...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The National Audit Office reported last week that the Home Office managed to buy the asbestos contaminated Northeye for a mere £9 million pounds more than it had been sold for the year before. The site was intended to be used as asylum accommodation but...
In the last few weeks there have been various reports of people with pending applications to the EU Settlement Scheme being issued with removal notices when re-entering the UK (for example, one covered in the weekly newsletter a couple of weeks ago and this story mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter). The...
The high potential individual visa is aimed at individuals who have graduated from a top global university. There is considerable international competition to attract these sorts of individuals, who ministers like to call the “brightest and best”. A visa aimed at them can therefore be seen as a pitch: a...
The Senior President of Tribunals has published his 2024 annual report on the tribunals. The section on the First-tier Tribunal (IAC) reports: In 2023/24, FtTIAC receipts increased by 53% to 58,000, compared with 2022/23. This mirrors an increase in Home Office decision-making of asylum claims. It is expected that asylum...
The High Court has held that an unlawfully withdrawn asylum claim can amount to exceptional circumstances meaning that an extension of time should be granted for a reconsideration request of a trafficking decision. The case is R (KM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 2870 (Admin)....
As promised, I have taken the Law Society’s Immigration and Asylum senior caseworker reaccreditation exam. I passed but definitely have some notes on where a couple of questions could be improved (Law Society – call me!). Below I explained a bit more about how it works and have set out...
The Court of Appeal has held that where a notice of decision fails to advise an applicant of their right of appeal a refusal in breach of the Immigration (Notices) Regulations 2003, the time limit for appealing does not start to run. The consequence of that in this case, R...
Job description We are looking for an experienced Immigration and Public Law Solicitor to join our team in London. RLS has experienced tremendous growth in the past 3 years, including the award of an Immigration and a Public Law Legal Aid Contracts. As we go from strength to strength, we...
The Court of Appeal has held that “a simple statement to an employer that one of the people working for it has no right to work” is sufficient for the purposes of section 15(1) Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 when issuing an employer penalty notice. The case is Akbars...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! As predicted, “small boats week” didn’t exactly dominate news coverage last week, despite reports of further deaths. A couple of articles worth reading are Lizzie Dearden’s one on Home Office officials’ doubts over the government’s small boats plan and Enver Solomon in the Guardian on why “smash the gangs”...
Work Rights Centre has published a report “The forgotten third: migrant workers’ views on improving conditions in England’s adult social care sector” which looks at what the migrants who fill as many as 32% of care worker roles in England think about the sector and what needs to change. The...
Colin’s back! But for how long? All is revealed in our October roundup podcast. Plus Sonia and Colin discuss hot topics such as the new practice direction for appeals in the First-tier Tribunal, appeals backlogs, issues in asylum interviews and reaccreditation for the Law Society’s immigration and asylum scheme. We...
Full Time Position Location: Cardiff Salary: £29,000 – £32,000 (depending on qualifications and experience) Start Date: ASAP Job Overview: We are seeking two dedicated and compassionate Immigration, Asylum Case Workers to join our team. You will be responsible for advising and assisting clients with their immigration and asylum applications and...
The High Court has dismissed a challenge to changes made to late applications to the EU Settlement Scheme which removed the right to appeal where it is not accepted that the applicant had a good reason for applying late (i.e. where the application is rejected as invalid, rather than being...
Asylum seekers who would otherwise face destitution must rely upon support from the government. This support is limited to either £8.86 a week if their accommodation provides meals or £49.18 in other cases which means most will struggle to meet their basic needs. Given this meagre level of support, it...
The First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) has dismissed the appeal against cancellation of the OISC accreditation of an organisation, Anzan Immigration Lawyers, and its sole adviser Mr Ali Rahmanyfar after a large number of breaches of the code of standards. The case is Anzan Immigration Lawyers v Office of the...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The bad news is that we apparently have to tolerate yet another media contrived “small boats week”. The good news is that this is the exact opposite of a quiet news week and the US election will presumably drown out most other news, whatever...
The skilled worker visa is the main work route under the points based immigration system. It was introduced on 1 December 2020, replacing a visa called Tier 2 (General). Joanna has previously explained the legal requirements for this visa. For example, the role must have a skill level of at...
