Author: Alex Piletska

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Alex Piletska

Alex Piletska is a solicitor at Turpin Miller LLP, an Oxford-based specialist immigration firm where she has worked since 2017. She undertakes a wide range of immigration work, including family migration, Points Based System applications, appeals and Judicial Review. Alex is a co-founder of Ukraine Advice Project UK and sits on the LexisPSL panel of experts and Q&A panel. You can follow her on Twitter at @alexinlaw.

The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision by the Home Office to refuse a certificate of travel to a woman granted leave to remain on family grounds following an unsuccessful asylum claim. The claimant in R (KH) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ...

6th June 2025
BY Alex Piletska

The High Court in R (TJ Trading Express Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1274 (Admin) held that before revoking the sponsor’s licence for non-compliance, the Home Office should have given the business an opportunity to make representations in response to its allegations. Background The...

3rd June 2025
BY Alex Piletska

Following the recent roll out of the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) regime for non-visa nationals, there has emerged an apparent discrepancy between some of the suitability requirements in the ETA rules and the visitor rules. This is relevant because it could, at least in theory, lead to cases of...

6th May 2025
BY Alex Piletska

Companies like TrustedHousesitters have recently hit the news following a number of incidents whereby some of its international members tried to enter the UK as a visitor in order to take advantage of an agreed-upon housesitting arrangement but were instead denied entry into the country. With the rise of this...

24th February 2025
BY Alex Piletska

Sometimes a migrant here in the UK unlawfully will want to apply for immigration status. Lawyers and the Home Office often call this “regularising” their status, because the person becomes a “regular” migrant within the rules rather than an “irregular” one outside the rules. One of the ways to do...

14th February 2025
BY Nath Gbikpi

Currently, anyone applying for British citizenship has to find two referees to vouch for their identity and confirm they are unaware of any reason why the applicant does not qualify for citizenship. Those referees can’t be just anyone – there are specific rules for who can be a referee for...

26th November 2024
BY Alex Piletska

This post is about what happens to a migrant who is in the UK on a partner visa if their sponsor passes away. If their partner dies before the migrant becomes settled, the last thing on their mind will be their immigration status. However, as status as a partner is...

10th October 2024
BY Alex Piletska

If a migrant makes a valid application to extend their leave (permission) to be in the UK before it expires, their existing leave will be rolled over until a decision has been made on the application, even if this is after the original expiry date. This is commonly known as...

11th September 2024
BY Alex Piletska

Anyone whose life consists of daily references to the immigration rules will tell you that the experience can feel a lot like deep ocean exploration in the Mariana Trench: despite constant research, you will still make new discoveries, even when you think there are no further depths to which you...

23rd August 2024
BY Alex Piletska

In a really interesting case, the High Court has held that issue estoppel prevents His Majesty’s Passport Office from refusing to issue a passport to an applicant, because of a finding made by the First-tier Tribunal that he is, in fact, British, despite the lack of evidence. That case is...

24th July 2024
BY Alex Piletska
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