In yet another example of a refugee who was not properly advised on his defence to a prosecution for illegal entry, Shabani, Re [2015] EWCA Crim 1924 (22 July 2015), the Lord Chief Justice has overturned the conviction but this time has also referred the solicitors responsible for investigation by...
New Detention Services Order 05/2015 Reporting and communicating incidents out of hours in the immigration detention estate has just been published covering how out of hours incidents in immigration detention camps and during enforced removals (including charter flights) should be reported and communicated. It replaces two previous DSOs but I will not be...
In R (on the application of Kigen & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1286 the Court of Appeal considers the question of whether waiting for the outcome of an application for legal aid funding made to the Legal Aid Agency is sufficient justification for missing a...
Page contentsBackgroundImmigration Rules on revocationParagraph 390Paragraph 390AParagraph 391Paragraph 391AParagraph 392Conclusion Background The facts of Secretary of State for the Home Department v ZP (India) [2015] EWCA Civ 1197 involved some of the worst breaches of immigration law ever seen in a reported decision: overstaying a visit visa in 2002 then...
Good Piece in The Economist on the UK’s treatment of Eritrean refugees: Turned Away: On thin evidence, Britain declares its biggest source of refugees safe after all: Judges who consider asylum appeals also seem to disagree with the Home Office’s strict new approach. Eritreans’ success rate on appealing against rejections soared...
In a very interesting judgment the Canadian Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional the criminal offence of organising, inducing, aiding or abetting undocumented entry. The case is R. v. Appulonappa – SCC Cases (Lexus). This post reviews that case and then goes on to consider whether similar reasoning might here in the...
The Home Office has updated its guidance on asylum claims by EU nationals (Asylum Policy Instruction EU/EEA Asylum Claims) to reflect changes to the Immigration Rules taking effect on 21 November 2015. These changes introduced a presumption that asylum claims by EU nationals are inadmissible and will not be considered...
In the case of TY (Sri Lanka) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1233 (01 December 2015) the Court of Appeal held that the immigration tribunal cannot consider an appeal on asylum grounds against an application and decision made under EU law. If a section...
Yet more Presidential guidance on how to conduct judicial review in the Upper Tribunal, this time in the context of granting permission to proceed with judicial review claims to the lead applicants and grants of interim relief preventing removal in challenges by Afghan nationals to their removal to Afghanistan based...
Following his attention seeking call for all Muslims to be banned from entering the United States, there have been calls for Donald Trump to be given a “visa ban” preventing him from coming to the UK. Is this feasible in UK immigration law? The answer is probably “yes” although one recent...
Just seen these great factsheets from BID on deportation and detention issues, with really useful advice and suggestions for those trying to represent themselves or their friends and family: BID Factsheet 1: Immigration appeals including deportation The Home Office has refused me permission to stay in the UK. Can I...
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that the burden of proof for proving whether a marriage is a sham for immigration law purposes rests with the Home Office. The case is Agho v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1198 and it confirms the obiter remarks of...
The Secretary of State for the Home Department refused the citizenship applications of the wife and two minor children of an Islamist extremist relying on the residual discretion to refuse to naturalise a person imparted by the use of the word “may” in the British Nationality Act 1981. The refusal...
We’re seeking views on plans to extend support to students who don’t have settled status, but who have lived in the UK for a long time. This follows the Tigere judgment in the Supreme Court. Source: Student support for non-UK nationals who have lived in the UK for a long...
Free Movement Tier 1 Members can now take the update quizzes to claim CPD points for the August, September and October update podcasts: August 2015 immigration update September 2015 immigration update October 2015 immigration update Each quiz is worth 1 CPD. Non members can still listen to the podcasts but...
Some three years after the radical rewriting of the Immigration Rules for families in 2012, the Supreme Court has granted permission to appeal in two important cases, SS (Congo) [2015] EWCA Civ 387 and Agyarko [2015] EWCA Civ 440. SS (Congo) is reported to be linked with the MM case on the minimum...
The Home Office has published a guide called Coming Home to Jamaica for Jamaican nationals being deported or removed from the UK to Jamaica. It is a mix of useful and crass. Information on emergency acommodation on arrival is provided but the guide goes on to urge deportees to adopt a...
In the recent case of R (on the application of Turay) v Secretary of State for the Home Department IJR [2015] UKUT 485 (IAC) Mr Ockelton, the Deputy President of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal, concludes (1) that applicants for judicial review cannot supplement or amend their...
The Autumn 2015 Spending Review reveals that the immigration system will need to raise considerable additional funds in order to become “fully self funded”. Paragraph 2.7 says that the Home Office settlement includes: resource savings of 5% by 2019-20 through a fully self-funded borders and immigration system and total reductions...
This weekend, I spent Saturday at the Immigration Law Practitioners Association Annual General Meeting. What a lark. The main attraction, other than catching up with (increasingly) old friends, was a talk by David Bolt, the newish Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. It was clear from his presentation that he...
The quarterly immigration statistics were published this morning. Net migration has reached its highest ever level, now standing at 336,000 for the year ended June 2015. Immigration increased by 62,000 to 636,000 and emigration decreased by 20,000 to 300,000. This is largely due to the UK’s relatively strong economy: less...
UPDATE 26/2/16: permission to appeal from the Court of Appeal has been granted so the Court of Appeal judgment will not be the last word. Supreme Court grants our client @publiclawprojct permission tochallenge racially discriminatory Residence Test: https://t.co/hw46QnTnWZ — Bindmans LLP (@BindmansLLP) February 26, 2016 In Public Law Project v The...
Welcome to the October 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I talk about some big cases from the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, several other important cases on unlawful detention and on EU law amongst other things, some upcoming policy level changes on...
In an astonishing bit of hypocrisy, The Daily Express is campaigning for a 92 year old pensioner to be allowed to remain in the UK outside the Immigration Rules. Myrtle Cothill is, like hundreds of other “adult dependent relatives” (in the parlance of immigration control) at risk of being forced...
The Court of Appeal says “yes”, it is generally lawful to detain immigration detainees in prisons rather than detention centres. The case is R (On the Application Of Idira) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 1187 and the Court rules that there is no principle...
I’d heard of the existence of this protocol, full title Protocol on communications between judges of the Family Court and Immigration and Asylum Chambers of the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, but never particularly had cause to take a look. Here it is for reference. The protocol governs disclosure between family...
In Greenwood (No. 2) (para 398 considered) [2015] UKUT 629 (IAC), the “Empire Strikes Back” style sequel to Greenwood (Automatic Deportation: Order of Events) [2014] UKUT 342 (IAC), President McCloskey gives guidance on the correct approach to consideration of deportation appeals. This is a hotly contested and highly politicised area of work...
David Bolt, the former spy turned new(ish) Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has issued a new report on Home Office decision making in settlement applications. The full report and Home Office response can be accessed here. The report is generally positive but the inspectors are critical of some aspects of...
JCWI is calling for evidence on the impact of the ‘deport first, appeal later’ provisions of the Immigration Act 2014, which the Government intends to roll out to all immigration appeals. Deadline is 25 November 2015 so hurry! Details: JCWI call for evidence on ‘deport first, appeal later’ scheme | Joint...
Welcome to the September 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I’m going to talk about two more cases in which judges are highly critical of immigration lawyers and references are made to the SRA, the protection status of Syrian refugees, some rather odd and...
The Supreme Court has dismissed the challenge brought against the introduction of pre-entry English language testing for spouses seeking to enter the UK as the family members of British citizens and those present and settled in the UK. The formal title of the case is R (on the applications of Ali and Bibi)...
The excellent organisation Right to Remain are fundraising to produce a new updated version of their indispensable Toolkit for migrants and refugees. With massive cuts to legal aid in immigration and asylum cases this is a brilliant source of advice and guidance for those at the hard edge of immigration...
A dispute has arisen between different panels of the Upper Tribunal’s Immigration and Asylum Chamber. The subject is the meaning and interpretation of the words “unduly harsh” at paragraph 399 of the Immigration Rules, which reads: 399. This paragraph applies where paragraph 398 (b) or (c) applies if – (a) the...
Section 117C is found to be limited to deportation cases (i.e. where a deportation order is in issue) and not to be applicable in removal cases which happen to involve a foreign national offender. The case is Clarke (Section 117C – limited to deportation) [2015] UKUT 628 (IAC) and the headnote reads:...
The case of Lokombe (DRC: FNOs – Airport monitoring) [2015] UKUT 627 (IAC) is a classic! The Upper Tribunal finds an error of law in a judge following a “dismissive and reductionist” approach to a country report, the methodology and evidential basis of which was unclear. Many is the time I’ve pleaded...
Welcome to the (rather belated!) August 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I cover some important EU law issues on spouses, retained rights and sham marriages, a few asylum issues including irregular entry by refugees, a successful social services age assessment, some updated Home...
Major changes to the Immigration Rules affecting refugees, Tiers 1, 2 and 5, EEA nationals sponsoring family members under the Immigration Rules, visitors, applications for Administrative Review and knowledge of language and life tests are being introduced with effect from tomorrow, 12 November 2015. The changes are wrought by Statement...
