Campaigners are marking Saturday 17 February as a celebration of migrants and migration in the UK. One Day Without Us is organising various events and rallies around the country, but latte-loving metropolitans like me are urged to gather in Parliament Square that afternoon (here’s the Facebook event). The organisers say:...
The web of Rules and Guidance has become so tangled that even the spider has difficulty controlling it. So says Lord Justice Underhill in Mudiyanselage v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 65, the latest decision in a long lineage examining the much maligned Points Based...
Countries are being declared safe for refugees to return to, but only if they have criminal records, a new report by the government’s immigration inspector suggests. The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Bolt, found that the Home Office unit that investigates migrants with criminal records is routinely...
In the High Court last month, Mrs Justice Moulder found that the Home Office had gathered partly unreliable intelligence in the course of an investigation into a college, breaching its right to peaceful enjoyment of its Tier 4 sponsor licence under Article 1 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on...
The Home Office is struggling to control the cost of legal fees and compensation for immigration cases, an independent report says. One of the three inspection reports released today by David Bolt, Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, raises concerns about the department’s “ability to control its expenditure in...
The head of the organisation that regulates immigration advisers has hit out at the Home Office, accusing the department of failing to make basic decisions about what the regulator is allowed to do. Dr Ian Leigh said that “unacceptable delay in decision-making on the part of the Home Office on...
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has urged the Home Office to fundamentally overhaul the country of origin information it gives to officials making asylum decisions. David Bolt’s latest report, published today, says that the department “needs to examine whether the current format and contents of [Country Policy...
When an asylum seeker returns to an EU member state they’ve previously been transferred from under the Dublin III regulation, how should their application for international protection be processed? The Court of Justice of the European Union in C-160/16 Hasan has clarified a number of significant procedural points in the...
In R (RSM (A Child)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 18 the Court of Appeal considered the ambit of Article 17 of the Dublin III regulation, the so-called “discretionary clause”, and found it to be narrow indeed. The challenge RSM, an unaccompanied child in...
Here’s your round-up of the immigration and asylum stories that made national headlines this week. Slavery law enforcement The Guardian has used Freedom of Information requests to establish that seven police forces have laid no charges under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 since it came into force. Section 2 of that Act makes...
In today’s case of C‑473/16 F v Bevándorlási és Állampolgársági Hivatal, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that national authorities may not prepare and use psychologists’ expert reports to assess the sexual identity of an asylum seeker. I personally find the fact that this issue went to...
In the midst of an “NHS crisis”, with two in three hospitals said to have a shortage of doctors, immigration laws appear to be making the situation worse. Last week iNews reported that dozens of medics with offers to work in the NHS had their visa applications refused. Even more...
One of the fundamental principles of the rule of law is that the law “must be accessible and so far as possible intelligible, clear and predictable” (Tom Bingham, The Rule of Law, 2010). The reasons for this should be self evident. Just as it is impossible to play a sport...
A challenge to the lawfulness of immigration detention in R (Shote) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 87 (Admin), decided today, was unsuccessful. But Michael Fordham QC, sitting as a Deputy High Court judge, declined to make a costs order against the claimant: My reason for...
In A v Switzerland (application no. 60342/16), the European Court of Human Rights considered the risk of ill treatment on return to Iran for Christian converts. In this case the applicant had converted to Christianity whilst seeking asylum in Switzerland; a sur place asylum claim. The applicant was unsuccessful, primarily on...
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What procedure should be followed when someone is deprived of British citizenship, at a time when he or she is abroad, to enable return to the UK to participate in a statutory appeal to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC)? Should judicial review proceedings be initiated to seek an interim...
Here’s your round-up of the immigration and asylum stories that made national headlines this week. Orphan slave deported “Home Office accused of cruelty for ordering cannabis slave back to Vietnam”, the Guardian reported last Friday, just as I was writing last week’s review. Amelia Gentleman reports on the case of...
Asylum support must provide a safe place to live and enough money for people to look after themselves and their families. An extra 80p a week doesn’t cut it, writes Hannah Cooper, senior research and policy officer at Refugee Action. People seeking asylum will soon be entitled to an extra...
A crack committee of experts charged with advising the government on immigration policy has had an unfilled position for the past 15 months. The five members of the Migration Advisory Committee – a chair and four other independent economists – provide the Home Office with evidence and advice on migration...
When the Supreme Court delivered judgment in R (Kiarie and Byndloss) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 42, immigration practitioners across the UK took an audible sigh of relief. In that case, the Supreme Court held that the “deport first, appeal later” regime which operated under...
Contrary to recent guidance from the Upper Tribunal, issued by former President McCloskey no less, an application to that tribunal for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against a costs order made in a judicial review should be subject to a “first appeals test”, not a “second appeals...
The latest print edition of Right to Remain’s immigration Toolkit is out. It comes highly recommended by Colin. The civil society group’s Luke Butterly has more: The Toolkit is a unique, plain language guide to the UK asylum and immigration system. It gives an overview of the legal system and...
Should the Home Office read all of the supporting evidence sent in with an application? The High Court provided a predictable answer in the case of R (Gayle) v SSHD [2017] EWHC 3385 (Admin), which considered the tragic personal circumstances of the claimant, Marie Gayle, and whether the decision to...
The government needs to do more to challenge myths and misconceptions about the impact of immigration to the UK, a new report by a committee of MPs says. In a wide-ranging survey of the political landscape, the influential Home Affair Committee recommends a “more proactive” approach to fake news on...
Eleven salaried immigration judges have been appointed to the First-tier Tribunal. They are as follows: London Neeti Haria, 55, solicitor. Previously held various fee-paid roles, including in the immigration and asylum chamber. John Keith, 43, solicitor. Head of employment law at BT, also with experience as a fee-paid immigration and...
Job Title: Solicitor – Immigration (NQ – 2 years PQE) Organisation: Drummond Miller LLP Website: www.drummondmiller.co.uk Location: City Centre, Glasgow Deadline for Applications: 26th January 2018 Salary: Competitive Contact: Sam Leek Due to growth we have an exciting opportunity for a solicitor to join our leading Immigration practice. Within this...
In order to improve the service Free Movement provides to both members and casual readers I have made a number of changes to the website in the last year. I have recruited an assistant and then also CJ McKinney as deputy editor. I touched on these in the recent annual...
Before I get into this week’s press coverage of immigration issues, an older piece I think I missed at the time. Before Christmas, Labour MP Kate Osamor visited an immigration removal centre – coyly unnamed, but “within earshot of an airport” – and wrote a powerful account of the visit...
New research shows that the immigration insecurity of one family member now affects whole families, including children and citizens who are not themselves subject to immigration control, writes Dr Melanie Griffiths of the University of Bristol. This week, the University of Bristol published three policy briefings arising from new research...
Some excitement at this opinion of Advocate General Wathelet at the Court of Justice of the European Union: According to Advocate General Wathelet, the term ‘spouse’ includes, in the light of the freedom of residence of citizens of the EU and their family members, spouses of the same sex. Although...
How can you win £266,536.14 in damages and walk away without a penny? If those who should pay succeed in divesting themselves of their assets and if the costs of litigation swallow up all that you do manage to recover. R (Tirkey) v The Director of Legal Aid Casework &...
Last month the Court of Appeal considered the rules governing deportation of foreign criminals. The case is Secretary of State for the Home Department v SC (Jamaica) [2017] EWCA Civ 2112, which concerned a Jamaican national originally granted asylum as a dependant of his mother in 2003. The court considers...
Caroline Nokes MP is the new Minister of State for Immigration at the Home Office. Caroline Nokes MP attends Cabinet as Minister of State for Immigration @UKHomeOffice #CabinetReshuffle pic.twitter.com/znTKowS45M — UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) January 8, 2018 Despite speculation that the job would go to outspoken Brexiteer and human rights...
Hidden within December’s statement of changes (HC309) to the Immigration Rules are new provisions that will affect how the Home Office assesses continuous residence for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) applications. Certain visa categories require an applicant to show they have been “continually resident” in the UK over a five...
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This is your weekly digest of immigration and asylum stories that have appeared in major news outlets (as distinct from specialist information, which you’ll always find on Free Movement already). I’ve been posting this on Monday mornings, but am going to try writing it on Fridays instead as I think...
