The asylum system seems finally to have turned a corner: the asylum backlog is starting to fall. The backlog is the single most important problem with the asylum system. Unlike arrivals, it is something the government can control. It creates huge fina ...

The Supreme Court has today held that Rwanda is not a safe country and that it would be unlawful for refugees to be removed there. The government’s appeal against the Court of Appeal’s judgment has been dismissed. Lord Reed, giving the co ...

The “sole responsibility” immigration test comes into play where one of the parents of a child is relocating to the United Kingdom and one parent remains abroad. The United Kingdom’s immigration rules effectively presume that a child ...

She managed longer than 43 days this time. But achieved little if anything more the second time around. Braverman forced the Illegal Migration Act 2023 through Parliament in record time on the basis that it was desperately urgent. Almost all of the le ...

Britain has a proud history of welcoming refugees. It also has a shameful history of hostility to refugees. Often exactly the same refugees at the same time. As with all real life and real history — as opposed to more transparently ideologically dri ...

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 ...

There aren’t many books about immigration law in the United Kingdom so the publication of a new one should be regarded as something of an event. On top of that, it’s not often a book challenges your view of the concept of “law”. Professor Robe ...

Theresa May’s unironically named book, The Abuse of Power, reveals that even now, five years later, she still does not understand what caused the Windrush scandal. She blames Clement Attlee’s government, other governments over the interven ...

A visit visa is a visa allowing a person to visit the United Kingdom for up to six months at a time, during which time they are not allowed to work. Visa nationals have to apply for and be granted a visit visa before they travel otherwise they will au ...

The “no recourse to public funds” condition is imposed on grants of limited leave to enter or remain with the effect of prohibiting the person holding that leave from accessing certain defined public funds, set out at paragraph 6 of the ...

The Home Office annual report for 2022 has belatedly been published. It shows an additional £3 billion had to be allocated to pay for unexpected asylum system expenditure. An extra £1.6 billion had to be allocated because of “pressures within ...

Criminal convictions and other signs of poor character can, unsurprisingly, negatively affect applications for leave to enter or remain in the UK. Those caught out by these rules over the years include former boxer Mike Tyson, Duane “Dog the Bou ...

Who are you? What do you want? To find out, we are running another reader survey. Long-time followers of Free Movement may remember that we’ve done this several times in the past. More specifically, in 2013, 2016 (online and email), 2018 and 2020. W ...

We are a bit behind the times this month, catching up from the summer. This time Sonia and I cover not one but two statements of changes, the Illegal Migration Act, asylum withdrawals, the massive increase in fees, several legal updates on the rights ...

If you are involved in undertaking judicial review litigation, you’ll want to know that the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide 2023 as been published. Miraculously, it is dated October 2023, so you really can get ahead of the curve on th ...

Need or want to learn immigration law with an OISC Level 1 training course? Planning to sit the OISC level 1 exams? Prefer to learn in a small group? We have the perfect course for you. Our approach to OISC Level 1 training is to offer ‘guided learn ...

This post is intended for refugees (including those with humanitarian protection), their families and their friends trying to understand the rules on refugee family reunion. The requirements to be met are fairly straightforward and simple for chi ...

The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), which regulates immigration advisers who are not practicing solicitors, barristers or Chartered Legal Executives, is consulting on a new code of standards. The OISC was brought into bein ...

Making a mistake on an immigration application form can be disastrous. If the mistake is interpreted by officials as an attempt to mislead or deceive, the application may be refused. If the application was for entry clearance, it can also lead to a te ...

Have a listen to to this episode of the Who Do We Think We Are? podcast with Nando Sigona, Michaela Benson and me as a guest. We recorded it a while back but I thought there were some really interesting questions we discussed. You can see the show not ...

Excellent, forensic and damning statement from ILPA about attacks on immigration lawyers over the last few years. It’s appalling this all needs to be said. An independent legal profession is fundamental to ensuring access to justice, equality before ...

I’ve been busy catching up after my holiday and doing various media requests the last few days: Radio 5 Live, Radio 4 PM and BBC Radio Kent. I’ve had to turn down a few as well, not being based in London. I think this one is worth a listen. It’s ...

I was away on holiday when the Daily Mail published its article with allegations of serious misconduct by immigration solicitors. It is a shocking article and accompanying video. The Solicitors Regulation Authority agrees and has intervened at three o ...

The so-called summer is upon us. The final rush of judicial jottings to precede their holidays has abated. The silly season rush of confected immigration stories has begun. The weather is terrible. Time has slowed, particularly for those of us with ch ...

The government is going to triple the maximum level of fine that can be imposed on employers who fall foul of the regime penalising those who employ illegal workers. Currently the maximum is set at £15,000 per worker for a first offence. It is £20,0 ...

HM Inspectorate of Prisons has published a new report following an unannounced inspection of the Tinsley House immigration detention centre. There are some broad positives: We found a safe and respectful centre, where violence was rare, and when it di ...

In a highly technical decision, Osunneye (Zambrano, transitional appeal rights) Nigeria [2023] UKUT 162 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal has concluded that Zambrano appeals may proceed notwithstanding the various Brexit regulations. The official headnote: A ...

Heads up for those interested in policy questions that I’ve started a series on family immigration, trying to think about some of the fundamentals rather than just the details. Limits can be ‘hard’ and obvious, as with the imposition of a ca ...

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 ...

The second Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules this week landed today: HC 1715. It adds Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu to the list of countries whose nationals require a visa to travel to the UK as a visitor. The change ...

This month Sonia and I discuss the Rwanda judgment (we’re saving that to the end as our good news story), a couple of fairly lengthy immigration and asylum history blog posts I’ve been working on for  a while, several asylum developme ...

The government has announced massive increases in immigration fees and the immigration health surcharge. Abolition of some fees has also been announced. The normal rate for the immigration health surcharge will increase from £624 to £1,035 per year. ...

A good, interesting episode of BBC Radio 4’s More or Less programme about immigration statistics and net migration. I helped with a short bit on the background to the net migration target and then there are proper expert contributions from Georgina ...

The OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) has again amended its guidance note on advisers conducting litigation in judicial review cases. The amendment appears to be with immediate effect, although the online version of the practice ...

I don’t really know Sunder Katwala personally but I’ve been following him since his long-ago days at the Fabian Society, of which I’ve been a member all my adult life. On Twitter, Katwala is measured, patient and wise. Which makes him stand out ...

The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Neal, has published an inspection report on the Home Office’s handling of foreign national offender cases. It is a highly critical report and, as the government was no doubt aware, had it bee ...

The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation on the level at which legal aid fees for advising and representing refugees falling within the scope of the Illegal Migration Bill. Alex Chalk, the Lord Chancellor, writes in the foreword: Given the ...

The government yesterday published its economic impact assessment for the Illegal Migration Bill and its Rwanda plan. The assessment reveals that Rwanda will be paid approximately £105,000 per refugee received on top of the £120 million already ...

I hadn’t realised they’d ever gone away, I confess, but Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick wrote on 5 June 2023 to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee to say that appeal first, deport later cases are back: I am writing to advis ...

A former judge from Afghanistan refused leave to enter the United Kingdom has won part of his case against the Home Office. The judge had sat on innumerable cases involving Taliban fighters and he and his family are currently in hiding. He did not qua ...