In the absence of legal means by which to enter countries of sanctuary, refugees resort to the use of irregular means of entry. Some will falsely apply for and obtain a visit or student visa and then apply for asylum once within the UK. Others will use clandestine means to enter...
Just a quick alert for now (I’ll come back and update this when I get a chance) but an interesting looking new case was reported last week on the generally unexplored issue of the concept of sufficiency of protection, invented in the House of Lords case of Horvath, and its...
R (on the application of GB by litigation friend, Francesco Jeff) v Oxfordshire County Council (age dispute- relevance of documents) IJR [2015] UKUT 429 (IAC) is an interesting and successful judicial review challenge to an age assessment. My colleague Shu Shin Luh was Counsel, instructed by Scott-Moncrieff & Associates. The official headnote reads: The duty of...
In R (on the application of Bilal Ahmed) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (EEA/s 10 appeal rights: effect) IJR [2015] UKUT 436 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal concludes that there is no in country right of appeal where a non EEA foreign national marries an EEA national and...
Fortunately, the Upper Tribunal has clarified a pressing issue of European Union law for us in the case of Yusuf (EEA – ceasing to be a jobseeker; effect) [2015] UKUT 433 (IAC): An individual who has acquired the status of worker for the purposes of article 45 (ex Article 3)...
Updated policy guidance on appeals against conviction and sentence by foreign national offenders has been published. The broad thrust is that removal or deportation cannot occur during an appeal against conviction and/or sentence although preparations for removal can, but removal or deportation can occur if a reference to the CCRC is pending....
A consultation and impact assessment on the new panic proposals to remove asylum support for failed asylum seekers have been published. These reveal the details of the proposals. The summary of the Government’s preference in the impact assessment is: Remove support for failed asylum seekers whose asylum claim is finally...
The new case of Kuldip Singh Case C‑218/14 is important on two separate issues: when non EU citizens might retain rights of residence in the event of divorce and on the source of self sufficiency in EU law. EU free movement law does not only apply to EU citizens but also to...
Finding Home: Real Stories of Migrant Britain is a new book by Emily Dugan. Emily is Social Affairs Editor at The Independent and has reported with empathy on immigration issues on a number of occasions. I generally try to avoid films, television and books on immigration and asylum issues simply...
“Cockroaches” according to Katie Hopkins. A “swarm” according to our likeminded Prime Minister, David Cameron, and The Daily Mail (again). An “army” according to the popular press, who seem to think we should literally send troops into France (without asking the French, we can assume) to hold the thin red...
The Upper Tribunal has found in the case of MSM (journalists; political opinion; risk) Somalia [2015] UKUT 00413 (IAC) [BAILII](with UNHCR intervening) that a Somali journalist would be at risk of persecution if returned to Somalia and that, crucially, he cannot be expected to change profession in order to avoid persecution....
In an interesting example of the self defeating nature of the UK’s immigration rules, failure to follow Home Office policy and failure of basic common sense, the renowned Chinese artist Mr Ai Wei Wei has been refused a visit visa by a senior British immigration official. He has been granted entry...
The Home Office is systematically reducing the time available to lodge immigration appeals by exploiting a change in the procedure rules and sending decisions by second class post. In October 2014 the procedure rules changed so that appeals had to be lodged 14 days from the date a decision is sent....
In a judgment handed down this morning, the Court of Appeal has agreed with Nichol J’s earlier judgment in the High Court holding the Detained Fast Track appeal system to be inherently unfair. The new judgment is The Lord Chancellor v Detention Action [2015] EWCA Civ 840. The Home Office were...
The Upper Tribunal has handed down another two cases on the statutory human rights considerations introduced by the Immigration Act 2014. The relationship between Article 8, the Immigration Rules and the statutory considerations is the itch that judges cannot help but scratch, but it is primarily an academic and political...
Interesting Freedom of Information request and results from 2013 on Presenting Officer training materials I just came across by chance. The request was made by Steven Green of BritCits and the materials are interesting. I haven’t been through them with a tooth comb but, for example, saw some interesting material...
A little taster of the depths to which some civil servants sink in cooking up reasons to refuse asylum claimants: I agree with Mr Yeo’s submission that the respondent’s repeated assertion that the appellant has no documents to prove various parts of his case is absurd. I agree that it...
Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules HC 297 was published today, 13 July 2015, having been trailed in The Daily Mail over the weekend. It includes some significant changes, particularly for international students. I’m technically on holiday, so I’ve elected to do some heavy cutting and pasting from the ministerial announcement...
The float list is dreaded by lawyers and hated by appellants. Basically, the immigration tribunal is already so under resourced (and that is before the coming cuts) and so utterly lacking in respect for immigrants and their friends, families and lawyers that a higher number of cases are listed to...
In Granovski v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 1478 (Admin) HHJ Coe QC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court rejects the Home Office contention that the best interests of children and private and family life of the applicant and his family could only...
Really interesting video discussion hosted at Asylum Aid on credibility assessments in women’s asylum claims examining possible reasons why women’s claims are disproportionately disbelieved. The participants are Debora Singer, Policy and Research Manager at Asylum Aid, Catherine Briddick, Barrister (non-practicing) and researcher in the Law Department at the University of Oxford, and...
There is to be a new Senior President of Tribunals: The Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Sullivan, Senior President of Tribunals, is to retire on 17 September 2015. Her Majesty The Queen is pleased to approve the appointment of The Rt Hon Lord Justice Ryder (Sir Ernest Nigel Ryder) as the Senior President...
The Court of Appeal considered section 85A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in the case of Olatunde v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 670 and on the facts of the case holds that new evidence cannot be considered by the tribunal in...
The question of when family and private life exists in a legal sense is an increasingly important one in immigration law as it effectively determines whether a person has a right of appeal against refusal on an immigration application. The Court of Appeal addresses this issue in the case of...
The Upper Tribunal returns to the issue of extending time for late appeals in the case of RK (Allowed appeals – service on respondent) Albania [2015] UKUT 331 (IAC). The special pleading by the Home Office on this occasion is around the “agreement” between the entirely independent tribunal and a party...
In May 2000 I began work at the Oakington “Reception” Centre near Cambridge for the Immigration Advisory Service, a charity offering legal advice and assistance to detained asylum seekers. And what a reception we offered. It was my first proper job and, other than a demonstration outside Campsfield, my first...
The Court of Appeal has found that rehabilitation could be an important factor in some deportation cases. The case is Danso v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 596: Mr. Dixon submitted that the tribunal should have placed much greater weight on the appellant’s rehabilitation and...
There have been rumours over the last week that the number of hearing rooms for immigration, asylum and deportation cases is to be drastically reduced from August 2015. Well placed sources report that in London the total number of hearing rooms will be reduced to 7 including 2 bail courts...
The otherwise unremarkable case of Oladeji (s.3(1) BNA 1981) [2015] UKUT 326 (IAC) emphasises the importance of applying to register children as British if they are so entitled. I had to go through this with an otherwise very well informed client the other day. If at the time of a child’s...
Sir Nicholas Winton, who as a young stockbroker in 1939 organised the rescue of 669 children from Nazi concentration camps, died yesterday age 106. The children he saved were carried by train from Nazi-occupied Prague. The final train did not get out in time and all 250 children on board are thought...
The official country information watchdog, the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information, has criticised the Home Office’s use of country information on the situation in Eritrea. The Guardian has picked up on the story and the full IAGCI report can be found here. [UPDATE: Human Rights Watch has written to the the...
Welcome to the May 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I am joined by colleague Mark Symes also of Garden Court Chambers. We cover the new visitor rules in Appendix FM, a series of cases on process and fairness, mention some cases from the Upper...
The Court of Appeal turns its attention to the admission of family members outside the requirements of the Immigration Rules in the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v SS (Congo) [2015] EWCA Civ 387. The judgment came out in April and I omitted to write it...
Good piece by Professor Steve Peers on exclusion from refugee status in EU law: What if a refugee allegedly supports terrorism? The CJEU judgment in T. Click the link to read the full post. This gives you an idea of what issues arose: This case concerned a Turkish national who...
What feels like months ago now I was kindly provided with a review copy of Detention Under the Immigration Acts: Law and Practice by Graham Denholm and Rory Dunlop with Lisa Giovannetti QC as Consultant Editor. It has taken me this long to do the actual review because I have...
