A deaf and blind man has unsuccessfully challenged the Home Office’s decision to move him within the asylum accommodation system, away from a place where
We now have the Court of Appeal’s written decision in R (CTK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1264. This
The Home Secretary must carry out a review of the policy on refugee family reunion for child refugees under the now closed Appendix Family Reunion
The Home Secretary has claimed (as have many of the last several of them) that the modern slavery identification process is “being misused” and has
Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors with Protection) was closed to new applications on 4 September 2025. This does not mean that refugees can no longer bring
The modern slavery statutory guidance has been amended yesterday, following a grant of interim relief temporarily halting one man’s removal to France this week. Background
The Upper Tribunal has allowed a judicial review brought by a Palestinian man after a nightmare scenario where the Home Office withdrew the refusal of
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is at committee stage in the House of Lords. The Bill as first introduced has several government amendments
Last weekend’s reshuffle saw Yvette Cooper replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood, who was previously the Lord Chancellor. In addition, Angela Eagle, previously the
As trailed earlier in the week, the refugee family reunion route will be “suspended” as of 3pm today as set out in the statement of
Update: this route is currently suspended and new applications cannot be made. Family reunion applications submitted before 3pm tomorrow, including those currently under appeal, will
The Court of Appeal has overturned the grant of interim relief in the case of the hotel in Epping where the council sought, and at
The Home Secretary has been ordered to provide asylum accommodation to a man with mental health needs who has continued to be held in immigration
The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is regularly repeated by the government when justifying increasingly draconian legislation in an attempt to prevent refugees from
In this briefing we will take a look at what is really going on with the main features of the contemporary asylum system: arrivals, the
This is a detailed explainer of the process for people in France to apply to come to the UK under the new UK/European Applicant Transfer
The quarterly immigration and asylum statistics covering the period April to June 2025 have been published by the Home Office. A couple of notable points
Epping Council has succeeded in obtaining an interim injunction to prevent the use of the Bell Hotel as asylum accommodation pending the final outcome of
In a decision made in April 2024 but only made public now, the High Court quashed decisions made by the Secretary of State of Defence
The High Court has agreed with the Home Secretary in a judicial review challenging a claimant’s deportation and detention on the grounds that he had
The inadmissibility process is what the UK has used in recent years to exclude a person’s asylum claim from being considered and decided in the
This post has been updated with the latest developments on Thursday including the Home Office announcement on detentions and publication of the caseworker guidance applicable
On Tuesday, the government introduced a new Appendix UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme to the immigration rules and below we consider the implication of the new
It has been a big summer for the field of climate change, migration, and international human rights. On 3 July, the Inter American Court of
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has published a report following an inspection of the Home Office’s use of age assessments. The
Earlier today the High Court handed down a judgment discharging a super-injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence on 1 September 2023. Following on from
The High Court has ordered the Defence Secretary to publish caseworker guidance on the Triples review, which is reassessing eligibility decisions of certain applications made
Climate change, disasters and corporate driven-environmental harms are forcing communities to move – both within countries and across borders. Displacement linked to the impacts of
The High Court has rejected a judicial review challenging the Home Secretary’s refusal to consider an application made outside the rules. In doing so, the
In this briefing we look at the existing and developing mechanisms for support for migrant victims in the modern slavery system. We also recommend looking
A new statement of changes to the immigration rules (HC: 836) has been published today and before your adrenaline gets going I can tell you
Recently a Ukrainian national got in touch with me to raise concerns about mass refusals of asylum/humanitarian protection claims within the community. As I have
Over and over again we hear that refugees should claim asylum in the first safe country the reach. There are variations on the theme. Genuine
On the face of it, refugee status and humanitarian protection seem like two sides of the same coin. Both are a form of international protection
The current immigration rules on when a refugee may be joined by family members — often referred to as refugee family reunion — are woefully
Asylum lawyers like me tend to focus on just one clause of the Refugee Convention: the definition of a refugee. This is the gateway to
The Court of Appeal has issued a welcome corrective to the tribunals, telling them not to impose an “unrealistic evidential burden” on asylum applicants who
The latest report from Dr Jo Wilding, “No Access to Justice 2” looks at the continuing immigration and asylum legal aid crisis. This is an
An appellant who is a Yemeni national who has lived in China since he was one year old has lost his appeal against the refusal
In my previous article, I outlined the precipitous fall in the rate of recognition for Afghan asylum claims following the change in the Home Office
A deaf and blind man has unsuccessfully challenged the Home Office’s decision to move him within the asylum accommodation system, away from a place where he could easily access a supportive community. The case is R (BLV) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 2516 (Admin) and...
We now have the Court of Appeal’s written decision in R (CTK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1264. This was the case where the High Court granted interim relief preventing the removal of an Eritrean man to France, prompting a change in the modern...
The Home Secretary must carry out a review of the policy on refugee family reunion for child refugees under the now closed Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors with Protection) in line with her duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, having failed to do so previously....
The Home Secretary has claimed (as have many of the last several of them) that the modern slavery identification process is “being misused” and has used this as a reason to carry out an “urgent review” of modern slavery laws. Assertions of misuse are incorrect. In reality, the opposite is...
Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors with Protection) was closed to new applications on 4 September 2025. This does not mean that refugees can no longer bring their family members to the UK, but it does make it much more difficult. Below I take a look at some of the options and...
The modern slavery statutory guidance has been amended yesterday, following a grant of interim relief temporarily halting one man’s removal to France this week. Background The Home Office’s attempts to return people to France under the new treaty this week can at best be described as “shambolic”. This was entirely...
The Upper Tribunal has allowed a judicial review brought by a Palestinian man after a nightmare scenario where the Home Office withdrew the refusal of his asylum claim the day before his appeal hearing, indicating that refugee status would be granted, only to later to resile from that position following...
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is at committee stage in the House of Lords. The Bill as first introduced has several government amendments made as it completes its passage through Parliament, and so I have detailed those below. I look only at those put forward by the government...
Last weekend’s reshuffle saw Yvette Cooper replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood, who was previously the Lord Chancellor. In addition, Angela Eagle, previously the Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, and Seema Malhotra, previously the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship, have both been moved...
As trailed earlier in the week, the refugee family reunion route will be “suspended” as of 3pm today as set out in the statement of changes just published. The explanatory memorandum describes this as “introducing a temporary pause to Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors with Protection), as we undertake a full...
Update: this route is currently suspended and new applications cannot be made. Family reunion applications submitted before 3pm tomorrow, including those currently under appeal, will continue to be assessed under these rules. This post is intended for refugees (including those with humanitarian protection), their families and their friends trying to...
The Court of Appeal has overturned the grant of interim relief in the case of the hotel in Epping where the council sought, and at first obtained, an order for the people being accommodated in the hotel to be moved out by 12 September 2025. The Home Secretary succeeded in...
The Home Secretary has been ordered to provide asylum accommodation to a man with mental health needs who has continued to be held in immigration detention for 15 weeks after he was first granted conditional bail by the First-tier Tribunal. The High Court also granted permission for judicial review on...
The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is regularly repeated by the government when justifying increasingly draconian legislation in an attempt to prevent refugees from travelling to the UK under their own steam. The argument is that refugees should use these safe and legal routes instead of arriving in small...
In this briefing we will take a look at what is really going on with the main features of the contemporary asylum system: arrivals, the backlog, detention, removal and resettlement. The focus is on what caused the backlog and what consequences will flow from the large number of decisions being...
This is a detailed explainer of the process for people in France to apply to come to the UK under the new UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme as set out in Appendix UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme and version 1 of the guidance “UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme” dated 7 August 2025. This...
The quarterly immigration and asylum statistics covering the period April to June 2025 have been published by the Home Office. A couple of notable points on the asylum front is the increase in Palestinians arriving in the UK across the Channel and some fairly suspicious silence from the Home Office...
Epping Council has succeeded in obtaining an interim injunction to prevent the use of the Bell Hotel as asylum accommodation pending the final outcome of the proceedings. The case is Epping Forest District Council v Somani Hotels Ltd [2025] EWHC 2183 (KB). This is a planning law case so don’t...
In a decision made in April 2024 but only made public now, the High Court quashed decisions made by the Secretary of State of Defence that the claimants were not eligible under the Afghan Response Route because, as a judge and a journalist, they did not work in one of...
The High Court has agreed with the Home Secretary in a judicial review challenging a claimant’s deportation and detention on the grounds that he had an outstanding asylum claim. The High Court held that the implicit withdrawal of the asylum claim was lawful and accepted the Home Secretary’s argument that...
The inadmissibility process is what the UK has used in recent years to exclude a person’s asylum claim from being considered and decided in the UK, so that they can then be removed to a third country (first Rwanda and now France). The current inadmissibility process in asylum claims was...
This post has been updated with the latest developments on Thursday including the Home Office announcement on detentions and publication of the caseworker guidance applicable to those applying to come to the UK. Applications have also opened for people to submit an expression of interest to come to the UK....
On Tuesday, the government introduced a new Appendix UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme to the immigration rules and below we consider the implication of the new scheme from the perspective of an NGO working with people in Northern France. These changes come into swift effect following the coming into force of...
It has been a big summer for the field of climate change, migration, and international human rights. On 3 July, the Inter American Court of Human Rights released its historic advisory opinion on the legal obligations of states in light of the climate emergency, and on 23 July the International...
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has published a report following an inspection of the Home Office’s use of age assessments. The report states that “many of the concerns about policy and practice that have been raised for more than a decade remain unanswered”. Background: Home Office...
Earlier today the High Court handed down a judgment discharging a super-injunction granted to the Ministry of Defence on 1 September 2023. Following on from this, five previously private judgments have also been published, four by the High Court and one from the Court of Appeal. The case is Ministry...
The High Court has ordered the Defence Secretary to publish caseworker guidance on the Triples review, which is reassessing eligibility decisions of certain applications made under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy after several issues were identified with the initial decision making process. The case is R (TPL1) v Secretary...
Climate change, disasters and corporate driven-environmental harms are forcing communities to move – both within countries and across borders. Displacement linked to the impacts of climate change is no longer a speculative concern – it is a legal, social, and humanitarian reality that is increasingly shaping patterns of mobility –...
The High Court has rejected a judicial review challenging the Home Secretary’s refusal to consider an application made outside the rules. In doing so, the court rejected the argument that the Home Secretary should create a specific application form for leave outside the rules under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance...
In this briefing we look at the existing and developing mechanisms for support for migrant victims in the modern slavery system. We also recommend looking at “A guide to assisting survivors of modern slavery in the asylum system” produced by ATLEU and the Asylum Support Appeal Project in partnership with...
A new statement of changes to the immigration rules (HC: 836) has been published today and before your adrenaline gets going I can tell you that unlike some of the more recent ones, there are no immediate changes being made. As ever, the explanatory memorandum is a useful read but...
Recently a Ukrainian national got in touch with me to raise concerns about mass refusals of asylum/humanitarian protection claims within the community. As I have been predicting for a while, he told me that many people have been driven into the asylum system through a fear of being forced to...
Over and over again we hear that refugees should claim asylum in the first safe country the reach. There are variations on the theme. Genuine refugees claim asylum in the first safe country. Refugees should or even must claim asylum in the first safe country. The asylum seekers coming to...
On the face of it, refugee status and humanitarian protection seem like two sides of the same coin. Both are a form of international protection granted to a person in need. Both result in a grant of five years’ permission to remain in the UK on a pathway to settlement...
The current immigration rules on when a refugee may be joined by family members — often referred to as refugee family reunion — are woefully outdated and simply do not reflect the nature of modern families. Reform is long overdue. But in the meantime, it is feasible to make successful...
Asylum lawyers like me tend to focus on just one clause of the Refugee Convention: the definition of a refugee. This is the gateway to formal recognition as a refugee and is therefore of vital importance to any person seeking asylum. From this definition, set out at Article 1A(2) of...
The Court of Appeal has issued a welcome corrective to the tribunals, telling them not to impose an “unrealistic evidential burden” on asylum applicants who claim that they are subject to monitoring by their home government. The case is MH (Bangladesh) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025]...
The latest report from Dr Jo Wilding, “No Access to Justice 2” looks at the continuing immigration and asylum legal aid crisis. This is an update to her 2022 report and includes a region by region analysis of demand and provision. In the 2022 report, London was the only region...
An appellant who is a Yemeni national who has lived in China since he was one year old has lost his appeal against the refusal of humanitarian protection on the grounds that he can return to China, despite the absence of evidence that China would grant him entry. The court...
In my previous article, I outlined the precipitous fall in the rate of recognition for Afghan asylum claims following the change in the Home Office policy position in October 2024. I noted that the immigration statistics indicated that 26 Afghan women had their asylum claims refused. It seemed unbelievable...
