Some people are posting up comparisons of different immigration policies of different parties. I cannot see the point. The result of the next General Election is a foregone conclusion and has been since Jeremy Corbyn was re-elected leader of the Labour Party. Surprisingly, some on the left even now do...
Ian Macdonald QC has sent in an interesting note on the controversial Capparrelli determination. For background, see original Free Movement write up here: Tribunal finds Home Office has wrongly issued British passports to EU citizens and their children. Section 1 of the British Nationality Act 1981 (the “1981 Act”), the...
“Not often” is the answer. Only if the tribunal acts in an improper way. Incompetence or unlawfulness is not sufficient. In this case, R (on the application of Gudanaviciene) v Immigration and Asylum First Tier Tribunal [2017] EWCA Civ 352, an EU national was facing deportation. She appealed the decision...
Interesting case on deprivation of citizenship, not least as the Home Office spectacularly messed up by refusing on an unjustifiable grounds when there was a justifiable one staring them in the face. Official headnote: (i) The Secretary of State has two separate powers of deprivation, exercisable on different grounds, as...
Businesses large and small are the backbone of our economies, and enterprise is the engine of our prosperity. That is why Britain is – and will always be – open for business: open to investment in our companies, infrastructure, universities and entrepreneurs. – Theresa May, Davos, January 2017 Entrepreneurs are...
Excellent from JCWI, and timely too given the election season is upon us: This year, whether at a political hustings, social event or garden fete, it will be seemly to debate immigration with good manners and grace. Brexit, future immigration policy, and integration could all be stumbling blocks for uncoached...
In a new case, Chavez-Vilchez and Others v Netherlands C-133/15, the Court of Justice of the European Union has significantly extended Zambrano rights beyond those so far recognised by the Home Office and UK courts. The case offers far better guidance than was available in previous cases and emphasises that...
The Home Office proposed to remove the father of a family and three children to India and the wife and mother to Pakistan, thus separating the family. The family argued that they would be permanently separated because the immigration laws of India would not allow entry for the mother. The...
The judgment in OO (Nigeria), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 338 is one of a series of cases challenging the lawfulness of the certification regime under s.94B Nationality Immigration Asylum Act 2002 (as amended). The issue has been considered...
LC (Albania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 340. The Home Office has relied on outdated guidance to determine asylum applications from Albanian nationals, the Court of Appeal has held. The judgment in LC (Albania) will have far-reaching effects for those people denied protection under...
Vicarious or secondary traumatisation refers to the emotional impact of bearing witness and engaging in an empathic way with traumatic material. As a solicitor or caseworker, working with asylum seekers and refugees can be extremely rewarding, but also very emotionally demanding. This electronic research project (conducted by Line Rønning, a...
The children’s charity, The Children’s Society, and the University of Bedfordshire, are working together to document the impacts of LASPO (2012) on unaccompanied and separated migrant children. As such, they are looking for legal practitioners – OISC, solicitors, barristers and QC’s – to take part in a survey and or...
This post discusses issues arising for asylum practitioners from INTERPOL “wanted person” notices. The key points are (i) you can find out, possibly quite quickly, if there is such a notice in place, which in the affirmative may help to establish a risk of persecution; and (ii) if there is...
R (Ademiluyi) v SSHD [2017] EWHC 935 (Admin) concerns a successful claim for damages by an individual unlawfully detained under immigration powers. It is notable for its restatement of the importance of the third Hardial Singh principle, and as a further example of the Secretary of State’s ‘enduring casualness’ [23]...
1.1 The purpose of this Guideline is to promote greater understanding of cases involving sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE) and the harm individuals may face due to their non-conformity with socially accepted SOGIE norms. This Guideline addresses the particular challenges individuals with diverse SOGIE may face in...
Do you want to play an important role in a high profile national charity? JCWI (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) is looking for a dynamic and committed Solicitor or Level 2 caseworker with at least 2-3 years’ experience of working in immigration and asylum law to join our...
The latest tribunal statistics, published in March 2017, show that the average waiting time for appeals to be heard in the immigration tribunal is now 48 weeks. This is the time between the appeal being lodged and the appeal being promulgated, I understand. The breakdown for different types of appeal...
Welcome to the February 2017 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This episode I start with two major developments, namely the coming into force of new EEA immigration regulations and the judgment of the Supreme Court in the MM case. I run through some Home Office and enforcement...
Official headnote: (i) A decision of the Upper Tribunal refusing to exercise its power to reinstate a judicial review claim which has been struck out may be the subject of an application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. (ii) Such a decision, given its nature and consequences,...
Important if dealing with cases involving exclusion from the UK: This guidance has been completely re-formatted and deals with the exclusion of both non-Economic European Area (non-EEA) nationals and European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their family members. It replaces Exclusion decisions and exclusion orders guidance which has been archived....
Theresa May refused to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in the UK but did at least assure them that their situation would be a early negotiating priority. That perhaps was not terribly reassuring given that Theresa May also suggested that everyone should prepare for the UK to crash...
Chowdury and Others v Greece (Application number 21884/15 – the judgment is only available in French. An English-language press summary is available.) The European Court of Human Rights has found that strawberry-pickers in Greece were subjected to forced labour. The Court found that the authorities failed to prevent forced labour...
Official headnote: (i) In cases involving convictions for an offence for which the person was sentenced to a period of imprisonment of less than 4 years, the Secretary of State’s policy, as expressed in paragraph 391(a) of the Immigration Rules, is that the public interest does not require continuation of...
A few months ago a group of UK volunteer immigration lawyers, together with the support of ILPA (Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association) set up the Athens Legal Support Project, a 4 month pilot to run from 10 April through to July 2017 to provide legal advice and support to refugees and...
In this thoughtful and full exploration of refugee law, nationality and statelessness Eric Fripp explores some interesting and underdeveloped themes. Added to his earlier and excellent work from 2015, The Law and Practice of Expulsion and Exclusion from the United Kingdom, Eric is establishing himself as pre-eminent in this important...
Most Home Office application forms are accompanied with guidance explaining how to make a valid application, and the EEA(PR) application form is no different. While the EEA(PR) form was last updated in March 2016 the guidance accompanying that form was last updated in December 2015 and so an update has...
Official headnote: (1) The expression “self-serving” is, to a large extent, a protean one. The expression itself tells us little or nothing. What is needed is a reason, however brief, for that designation. For example, a letter written by a third party to an applicant for international protection may be...
In a controversial determination, the President of the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber, Mr Justice McCloskey, has found that the Home Office has wrongly issued British passports to hundreds or even thousands of children of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens born in the UK before 2 October 2000. The...
Shortly after Christmas in 2009, a young woman from Somalia flew into Stanstead and claimed asylum. She had just turned 18. As later accepted by the Home Office, she had experienced severe depredations in her home country. This included her rape at the age of six in the presence of...
The case is UK v Banger C-89/17. Text of the reference here: Do the principles contained in the decision in Immigration Appeal Tribunal and Surinder Singh, ex parte Secretary of State for the Home Department (Case C-370/90) [1992] operate so as to require a Member State to issue or, alternatively,...
There is an excellent report out today by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees about the problems faced when a refugee is granted refugee status following an asylum claim. Essentially, central government asylum support and accommodation is immediately terminated and local authority support takes time to become available. This...
The Home Office is now advising EU nationals to sign up for Government email alerts rather than applying for residence documents as proof of status. The guidance was issued on 7 April 2017 and is a tacit admission that the Home Office is overwhelmed by applications from EU citizens and...
Official headnote: (I) The settlement of migrant Turkish nationals and their family members does not fall within the scope of the “stand-still clause” in Article 41(1) of the Ankara Agreement (ECAA) Additional Protocol as it is not necessary for the exercise of freedom of establishment under Article 13. Thus the...
The case of R (Majera) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKUT 163 (IAC) is a thoughtful judgment from the Upper Tribunal giving helpful guidance on the legal status of a First-tier Tribunal bail decision which may have an error on its face. It may be helpful...
