…some parts of the rules relating to the EU Settlement Scheme are so difficult to comprehend that it is at least arguable that they lack the clarity of law. An aspect of the definition of a ‘durable partner’ contained in Annex 1 of Appen ...

There is no good reason to treat victims of transnational marriage abandonment differently from victims of domestic abuse in the UK. So found Lieven J in the case of R on the application of AM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] E ...

You’ve left extending your visa until the last minute and are now in danger of missing the deadline. Does this matter and is there anything you can do about it? The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. Fortunately, in most cases, th ...

In the case of Velaj v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 767, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that Zambrano applications always require factual inquiries as to what would happen to the British dependant if their primary care ...

Owing a debt to the National Health Service is a ground for refusing applications for permission to enter or remain in the UK. Such debts arise because “overseas visitors” are charged for certain types of NHS treatment. The National Health ...

The signatories of the Refugee Convention thought that some people didn’t deserve protection on account of having committed particularly heinous crimes. They therefore introduced “exclusion clauses”, found at Article 1F of the Convention. Ac ...

Where an individual would be at risk if forcibly returned to a part of his country of nationality, is it a valid answer to a protection claim that he might nevertheless avoid any such risk by returning voluntarily to another part of that country, even ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

The important case of Akinsanya, which we introduced in these articles, has opened the door for many non-European primary carers of British citizens to now apply for residence rights under the EU Settlement Scheme. There are many advantages to doing s ...

On 9 June, in the case of Akinsanya, the High Court found that the definition of Zambrano carers in the rules for the EU Settlement Scheme was wrong, insofar as it prevented those with permission to remain under another part of the Immigration Rules f ...

In a welcome judgment handed down yesterday, R (Akinsanya) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 1535 (Admin), Mr Justice Mostyn found in no uncertain terms that Zambrano carers do not lose their EU law right to reside just because ...

In the recent High Court case of R (Arman & Anor) v SSHD [2021] EWHC 1217 (Admin), Mr Justice Mostyn made comments about remote hearings that may be a straw in the wind suggesting that it will be harder to argue the unfairness of out-of-country ap ...

Juba (s. 94B: access to lawyers) [2021] UKUT 95 (IAC) is the latest judgment dealing with the “deport first appeal later” policy, following on from the famous Kiarie and Byndloss case. In Juba, the Upper Tribunal has found that it was acceptable f ...

When someone applies for indefinite leave to remain in the UK, but is granted limited leave to remain instead, that decision does not attract a right of appeal. So held President Lane of the Upper Tribunal last year in the case of Mujahid [2020] UKUT ...

As we approach 30 June 2021, the deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme, people are increasingly and understandably worried about their applications. In this post, we* try to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about the scheme, f ...

Children may arrive in the care of local authorities without British citizenship or UK immigration status. They and their social workers may not realise there is an issue until, for example, the child has a school trip abroad and needs a passport; unt ...

The long-awaited statement of changes giving us more details on the famous “new Points-Based Immigration System” has now been published. It is over 500 pages long and even the explanatory memorandum, which is usually just a few pages long, ...

In the case of G (A Child : Child Abduction) [2020] EWCA Civ 1185, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that, where a child has been granted refugee status in their own right, or has their own pending asylum claim, they cannot be returned under the Hague ...

Is a statement of changes even a statement of changes nowadays if it doesn’t introduce a new appendix to the Immigration Rules? On 10 September 2020, the government laid the first statement of changes of its infamous “new Point-Based Immigration S ...

People from Commonwealth countries often ask whether they can get a British visa on the basis of their country’s historical ties to the UK. The answer is, generally speaking, “no”. But there is one route which is open only to, althou ...

Local authorities have recently made headlines for failing to regularise the immigration status of children in their care. As the case of Darrell and Darren Roberts sadly exemplifies, not taking care of the immigration or citizenship status of childre ...

In the case of Ashfaq (Balajigari: appeals) [2020] UKUT 226 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal reiterates its previous findings that First-Tier Tribunal hearings provide appellants with the necessary opportunity to rebut findings of dishonesty by the Home Offi ...

The Home Office can impose entry bans on people who have previously breached immigration law or used deception in their application for leave. Bans can last one year, two years, five years or ten years. Generally speaking, and except for some minor ex ...

If you can say one thing about the Home Office, it’s that they have questionable priorities! In the middle of a pandemic, with thousands of migrants not knowing whether or not they will have to leave the UK in just over two weeks, the department ...

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 r ...

Last year, in the important case of Balajigari [2019] EWCA Civ 673, the Court of Appeal ruled that, before refusing a settlement application on the basis that the person applying has been dishonest, the Home Office must: Let the applicant know that th ...

The case of MY (refusal of human rights claim) Pakistan [2020] UKUT 89 (IAC) represents yet another cutback in the rights of migrant victims of domestic abuse, and in appeal rights more generally. The Upper Tribunal has ruled that the Home Office can ...

Adilah is from Afghanistan. In 2012, she marries a British citizen, and moves to the UK on a spouse visa, which her husband applied for on her behalf. When she arrives in the UK, things are, to say the least, different from what she had imagined. She ...

How can a young man with Asperger syndrome and poor mental health, who has lived in the UK for the overwhelming majority of his life, be deported to Jamaica? The Voice newspaper reports on the case of Osime Brown, a 21-year-old man who the Home Office ...

The case of R (Suliman) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 326 (Admin) is a welcome reminder to the Home Office that there may be an array of reasons for a victim of domestic abuse not to tell the authorities. Mr Suliman is a Sud ...

The case of SD (British citizen children – entry clearance) Sri Lanka [2020] UKUT 43 (IAC) shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone following developments around Appendix FM and the rules relating to the rights of family members of British citiz ...

In the case of Tahir Yaseen v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 157, the Court of Appeal has reiterated that refusals on the ground of character or conduct require a balancing exercise, taking into account both positive and ne ...

The case of MM v NA (Declaration as to Marital Status) [2020] EWHC 93 (Fam) is very (very!) niche, but may be of interest to practitioners with clients who got married in Somaliland and wish to rely on that marriage for immigration purposes. Spoiler: ...

See this article on applying for settled status after the deadline, which was on 30 June 2021. On 31 January 2020 at 11pm, the United Kingdom left the European Union and entered a transition period, due to end on 31 December 2020. During this transiti ...

The first of no doubt countless statements of changes of 2020 was published yesterday, 30 January 2020.  The main purpose of this set of changes to the Immigration Rules is to introduce the new Global Talent category, announced by the govern ...

Following another paragraph 322(5) case, where an applicant was refused indefinite leave to remain on the basis of dishonesty for disclosing different income to HMRC as opposed to the Home Office, the Upper Tribunal has issued guidance on evidence fro ...

The Home Office has published specific guidance on settlement applications by migrants who previously held Tier 1 (General) leave and who declared different sets of earnings to the Home Office and HMRC. The document must be read alongside the more gen ...

On 20 December 2019, the Upper Tribunal issued a new country guidance case on Iraq. This new case, SMO, KSP & IM (Article 15(c); identity documents) Iraq CG [2019] UKUT 400 (IAC), replaces all existing country guidance, including AA (Article 15(c) ...