A couple can enter into a “marriage of convenience” even if they are in a genuine relationship. This was, in summary, the finding of the High Court in R (Molina) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 1730 (Admin). Background The appellant, Mr Molina, was a Bolivian...
Really interesting study, which should be carefully considered in the Immigration and Asylum Chambers. …There are clearly dangers to an overly rule-bound judicial approach, as conveyed by Conley and O’Barr’s (1988) description of ‘the proceduralist judge’ whose ‘high priority on maintaining procedural regularity’ (498) ‘may become condescending or sarcastic’ (500)...
Crowley & Company is a well-established Cardiff firm specialising in asylum, human rights, immigration and nationality law. We seek an experienced caseworker to join our small specialist team. We are looking for someone who is competent in conducting all tasks permitted under the Law Society IAAS Level 2 (accreditation to...
What happens where the Upper Tribunal makes a mistake in a country guidance case? And in what circumstances will the Court of Appeal have jurisdiction to hear an appeal against an Upper Tribunal decision that has already been remitted to the First Tier Tribunal? Both of these interesting issues crop...
To make sure we reduce inconvenience and cost to our users and provide greater flexibility and access to our services, we must deal with cases in the most efficient and proportionate way. One of the ways in which we are doing this is the expansion of video and telephony links...
The Supreme Court in the case of the Lord Advocate (representing the Taiwanese Judicial Authorities) (Appellant) v Dean (Respondent) (Scotland) [2017] UKSC 44 considered the first occasion on which Taiwan has sought to extradite a British national. On appeal from the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary (‘the...
On 20 July 2017 the Home Office published changes to the Immigration Rules intended to give effect to findings made by the Supreme Court in MM (Lebanon) & Others v Secretary for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 10 on the Minimum Income Requirement. The new rules come into effect on...
Particularly relevant to Syrians who were not granted formal refugee status and instead got the lesser status of Humanitarian Protection: This form is for people resettled under the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme or the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme who wish to request their status in the UK is changed from...
Britain’s Home Office has issued a £91m ($118m) tender for immigration services using biometrics and the digitisation of supporting evidence. The tender covers how up to 780,000 people either extend their stay in the UK, settle or pursue British nationality. I’m sure this will be a resounding success, brought in...
In The Centre for Advice On Individual Rights In Europe v The Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2017] EWHC 1878 (Admin) (21 July 2017) the excellent AIRE centre brought a challenge to the way Operation Nexus operates in respect of European and EEA nationals. Operation Nexus...
Following a great deal of interest on the Free Movement Forum about a members meet up, Bilaal Shabbir of MBS Solicitors in Scotland has taken the initiative to arrange this in the form of an event in Scotland. An EU themed immigration law conference has now been arranged and will...
Detailed legal guidance on bringing a judicial review case in the Administrative Court.The July 2017 edition reflects legislative and practice changes relevant to the Administrative Court over the last year. Includes guidance on: starting a claim applying for permission for judicial review substantive hearings remedies case management specific practice points...
The Court of Appeal in GD (Ghana) [2017] EWCA Civ 1126 explained once again what effect residence orders granted by a Family Court have on immigration matters, and criticised both representatives in the First-Tier Tribunal for failing to put the relevant law to the Tribunal. The ‘residence order’ regime has...
In SSHD v SU [2017] EWCA Civ 1069 (20 July 2017) the Court of Appeal considered for the first time the unusual case of an individual who had been deported from the UK, returned in breach of the order, and then applied for its revocation having established a private and...
Welcome to the May 2017 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I’m starting with the current waiting times for immigration appeals, moving on to give some quick mentions to some big blog posts we put out in May and then covering a load of cases from...
Yesterday, 27 July 2017, the Home Secretary commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to examine the role EU nationals play in the UK economy and society. Amber Rudd has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to examine the British labour market, the overall role of migration in the wider economy and...
The Home Office today published a new collection of guidance documents used by the UK Visas and Immigration service when deciding applications for British nationality. These seem to have replaced the Nationality Instructions with, it seems, no guidance on what has been carried over, changed or dropped from the Nationality Instructions:...
The Supreme Court has handed down its judgement in the case of Sadovska and another (Appellants) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) (Scotland) [2017] UKSC 54. In unanimously allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the burden of proof of establishing a ‘marriage of convenience’ falls...
The Home Office appears to be cracking down on the entry of foreign amateur cricketers and sportspeople. Emails released by the Home Office under a Freedom of Information request suggest that unpaid amateur cricketers who might in future wish to earn a living from their sport or even any under...
Welcome to the April 2017 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we cover the increase in immigration fees, several nationality law issues, run though the most important cases we saw in April and end with some mentions for some new or amended Home Office policy documents,...
In the case of ZEI & Ors (Decision withdrawn – FtT Rule 17 – considerations : Palestine) [2017] UKUT 292 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal, chaired by Mr Ockelton, has considered the application of rule 17 of the procedure rules. This rule provides that where the Home Office withdraws a decision...
In the case of Awuah and Others (Wasted Costs Orders – HOPOs – Tribunal Powers) [2017] UKFTT 555 (IAC) the tribunal has decided that a wasted costs order — an order that a representative personally pay the costs incurred by the other side because of poor personal conduct — cannot...
The Legal Aid Agency has been told to directly apologise and pay £10,000 to an expert witness in immigration cases for causing him distress, inconvenience and financial loss by excessively auditing his bills. In a report seen by the Gazette, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman says it has decided...
The nature of applications which attract a right of appeal have been greatly restricted by the Immigration Act 2014. In summary, only refused human rights applications, or applications for protection, are appealable. All other applications can be challenged by way of Judicial Review or administrative review only. What is the...
Following a seven-day hearing in the High Court, Mr Felix Wamala, a Ugandan national, was awarded £48,000 in damages for the actions of private security guards contracted by the Home Office in seeking to remove him from the UK. This is the case of Wamala v Tascor Services Ltd [2017]...
For some reason the Home Office has just released a swathe of inspection reports into a wide range of Home Office operations. In practical terms, this makes it impossible for the press to pick out more than one or two stories from the reports and it therefore very effectively reduces...
After more than a decade since Limbuela, and three years after Refugee Action, Home Office policy continues to drive asylum seekers into destitution. The Refugee Action report, Slipping Through the Cracks, candidly outlines these failings of the asylum support system. This is hardly the first time these sorts of flaws...
The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) has published its annual review of the treatment of returnees during charter flights. It reported four headline concerns: firstly, that force and restraint had been used without due checks and for too long; secondly, that escorts employed by contractors were in charge of selecting which...
Under the British Nationality Act 1981, a child who is born in the UK and is (and always has been) stateless is entitled to register as a British citizen. See Schedule 2, Paragraph 3: 3 (1) A person born in the United Kingdom or a British overseas territory after commencement...
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published two new guidance documents on immigration and asylum issues. The guidance was developed in collaboration with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), and was developed following extensive consultation with consumer organisations and consumers themselves....
The case of KM (Bangladesh) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 437 (21 June 2017) raises an interesting, if niche, procedural point. The case is relevant to parties who have had an appeal dismissed by the Upper Tribunal (UT); who wish to challenge the findings...
Closing date: 31 July 2017 5pm The Free Movement website has gone from strength to strength over the last 12 months. Readership has increased massively, to an average of over 300,000 page views per month. Ebook sales are going well and membership has gone up by 20% to 1,200 active...
The violence in Libya has reached such a high level that substantial grounds are shown for believing that a returning civilian would, solely on account of his presence on the territory of that country or region, face a real risk of being subject to a threat to his life or...
