The immigration rules allow people to apply to remain in the UK on the basis of long residence. Those here lawfully can apply for indefinite leave to remain following 10 years’ continuous lawful residence in the UK. Those who had periods of overstay ...

The Upper Tribunal has provided further guidance on the meaning of historical injustice in the case of Ahmed v SSHD [2023] UKUT 00165 (IAC). “Historical injustice” is the term used to describe the circumstances where an individual has suffered as ...

A “returning resident” is a resident of the United Kingdom with settled status who returns to the country after a lengthy absence abroad. Ordinarily, when a person refers to “returning residents” they might be talking about a t ...

In its 2023 World Report, Human Rights Watch found that the recent immigration and asylum policies introduced by the UK government breach domestic human rights obligations and undermine international human rights standards. The report focuses on the R ...

Across Europe, asylum seekers and displaced people are facing growing hostility as they look to start new lives escaping war and persecution. In Greece, there is continually mounting evidence of “pushbacks” to which Frontex, the European Border an ...

Figures the Ministry of Justice was instructed to publish by the Office for Statistics Regulation show that just 8% of all deportation appeals lodged in 2020/21 were allowed on human rights grounds only. The one-off statistical release follows from th ...

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has held that France breached Article 3.2 of Protocol 4 due to the lack of explanation for and independent scrutiny of decisions not to repatriate two French nationals living in camps controlled ...

In Celik (EU exit; marriage; human rights) [2022] UKUT 00220 (IAC) and Batool and others (other family members: EU exit) [2022] UKUT 00219 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal considered to what extent human rights arguments can be considered in EU Settled Status ...

The current/outgoing government on 22 June 2022 introduced to Parliament the Bill of Rights Bill. For those (like me) who have been struggling to keep up with the news of late, the legislation will, if it becomes law, scrap and entirely replace the Hu ...

The European Court of Human Rights has concluded that a maritime pushback operation conducted by Greek coastguards in 2014 violated the right to life of the 11 people who drowned in the process. The case is Safi and Others v Greece (application no. 54 ...

Immigration applications are extremely expensive. Most requests for permission to stay in the UK (other than under the Points Based Immigration System) now cost £1,048. In addition, applicants may need to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge (£624 a ...

The Home Office has published guidance on when officials should vary an application for indefinite leave to remain and instead grant an extension of permission to stay (i.e. limited leave to remain). The stated rationale is to ensure that people who a ...

The Home Office has published guidance on fee waivers for entry clearance applications (in other words, when it is possible to get a visa for free). This is important as the fees are set at a level that is prohibitive for many families. The waiver app ...

The Upper Tribunal has rejected a challenge to the Article 8 compliance of the “deport first, appeal later” system despite previously having ordered the Home Office to bring the claimant back to the UK to ensure he had an effective appeal. ...

The Supreme Court has allowed the appeal against the deportation of a Jamaican man who arrived in the UK aged ten. The case is SC (Jamaica) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] UKSC 15. The judgment covers the application of the co ...

When the Home Office is deporting someone for being convicted of a criminal offence, does it matter what country that conviction is from?   In practice, probably not. This seems to be the effect of the Court of Appeal’s decision in Gosturani v Secr ...

Practitioners will no doubt be aware of the Supreme Court’s decision in AM (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 17. The justices endorsed the European Court of Human Rights decision in Paposhvili v Belgium (applica ...

The Court of Appeal has held that the unlawful removal of a vulnerable Afghan child and the 18 months of disruption to his private life entitles him to damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 and under EU law. The case is QH (Afghanistan) v Secretary ...

Someone correctly refused leave under the Immigration Rules as then in force is not the victim of a historical injustice, and therefore can’t rely on this as strengthening a subsequent Article 8 claim. So ruled the Court of Appeal in Rahaman & A ...

The Upper Tribunal has decided that it has the power to transfer damages claims resulting from judicial review proceedings to the County Court. The tribunal held that its incidental powers mirror those enjoyed by the High Court, which routinely transf ...

In the case of Jallow v Norway (application no. 36516/19), the European Court of Human Rights looked at what is quite a familiar and popular topic at present: the fairness of conducting hearings remotely. In this case, the court found that the remote ...

The government has published its proposals for changing the Human Rights Act 1998. Not all the consultation questions will be of professional interest to immigration lawyers — for instance, there are sections on free speech and trial by jury  ...

In the case of PS (cessation principles) Zimbabwe [2021] UKUT 283 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal has reiterated the correct approach to cessation of refugee status. The case is also a helpful reminder of when a serious criminal offence can and cannot lead ...

What amounts to a “fresh claim” for permission to stay in the UK and how should the immigration tribunal handle challenges arguing that someone’s case should be treated as a fresh claim? These were the questions considered by the Upp ...

Some young people born or brought up in the UK without immigration status can now apply for settlement after five years rather than ten. The change in policy comes in a new and very welcome Home Office concession, published yesterday. What follows is ...

The Court of Appeal has given its long-awaited decision in the case of MY (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1500. Unfortunately, it confirms that the Home Office can refuse to engage with a human rights claim for ...

From a child’s perspective, seven years of residence in the UK can be literally a lifetime. It may be the sum of all the child’s experience and the UK may be the only home they know in any meaningful sense. On top of that, children do not make the ...

In R (BAA) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 1428 the Court of Appeal has clarified the reach of Article 8 in Dublin III family reunion judicial reviews. Unlawful refusal to accept Syrian asylum seeker The case was about an ...

In the absence of safe and legal routes to sanctuary countries in which they can rebuild their lives, refugees often resort to travel by unsafe means. The issue of rescuing refugees at sea has risen in global prominence, with an estimated 40,000 refug ...

Mark Henderson, Rowena Moffatt and Alison Pickup have produced an update of the seminal Best Practice Guide to Asylum and Human Rights Appeals and (bless them) made it available online through the Electronic Immigration Network. As a dumb medic, I can ...

The Home Office is routinely missing its target for issuing new residence permits to people who lose their British citizenship, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show. Those deprived of their citizenship for (often historic) decept ...

The ripple effects of Paposhvili v Belgium [2016] ECHR 1113 continue to be felt at the boundary of Article 3 ECHR. In the first reported decision of its kind, the Upper Tribunal has found that the “modified” (for which, read “lowered”) test fo ...

The protection afforded to children who are long-term UK residents has been further diluted in a new Court of Appeal decision, NA (Bangladesh) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 953. The judgment is the latest in a line of ca ...

In this edition of “have I got immigration news for you”, we look at the case of Mahabir v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 1177 (Admin), in which the High Court found that the Home Office had caused a “colossal interferenc ...