Author: Sonia Lenegan

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Sonia Lenegan

Sonia Lenegan is an experienced immigration, asylum and public law solicitor. She has been practising for over fifteen years and was previously legal director at the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association and legal and policy director at Rainbow Migration. Sonia is the Editor of Free Movement.

The Court of Appeal has made clear that Part 5A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which sets out the public interest considerations when considering article 8 in a deportation case, applies to decisions on revocation of a deportation order when the applicant is outside the UK. The...

28th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The quarterly immigration system statistics covering the period to September 2025 have been published. As highlighted in the title of the post, I have looked at quite a few of the areas in light of last week’s proposals and I am particularly concerned as to whether even the Home Office...

27th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Court of Appeal has reiterated that for adult siblings to be able to establish family life for the purpose of article 8(1) there is a requirement for “additional elements of dependence, involving more than the normal emotional ties”. The court found that these additional elements did not exist in...

27th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

A person refused a skilled worker visa because they were on immigration bail at the time of their application has lost their challenge in the Court of Appeal. The case is R (Kaur & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1474. Background The appellant...

26th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Home Secretary has partly succeeded in her appeal in a case concerning eVisas and section 3C leave, with the rest of the case being adjourned by the Court of Appeal so that the parties can make further submissions on the section 55 duty regarding the welfare of children. Our...

21st November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The consultation on extending the period people in certain immigration routes will need to wait before being able to apply for settlement (also referred to as indefinite leave to remain) has been opened. The Home Secretary also made a statement in the House of Commons. The changes were first trailed...

20th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

An applicant has successfully challenged the refusal of a visitor visa in an unreported judicial review decision by the Upper Tribunal. The case is R (Shajna Begum) v Entry Clearance Officer JR-2024-LON-003343. Background The applicant sought to enter the UK as a visitor to provide her pregnant cousin with support...

19th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

Following a plethora of media briefings and coverage over the past few days, the Home Secretary has officially published her policy paper on “Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy“. She also gave an oral statement in the House of Commons this evening and...

17th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

Our October round up is here! Barry does the honours this time around with the statement of changes and Sonia foreshadows some bad news potentially coming next week. Barry shares an AI horror story that is really one for the ages (so far) after Sonia’s segment on the latest lawyers...

14th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission has dismissed a review of the refusal of a naturalisation application on good character grounds, based on the applicant’s previous involvement with a proscribed organisation. The case is AZ (Naturalisation: Substantive) [2025] UKSIAC SN/04/2024. Background AZ is a Turkish national of Kurdish origin. When he...

13th November 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan
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