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 ten 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.

Two more immigration lawyers, a barrister and a solicitor, are facing the possibility of a Hamid hearing and a referral to their professional regulator after the Upper Tribunal issued show cause orders to each of them in cases involving alleged misuse of AI. These are two unreported decisions, one was...

29th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Home Affairs Committee has published its report into the Home Office’s management of asylum accommodation. Unsurprisingly, given the known extent of the issues, the report is 123 pages with several pages of recommendations. Conclusions include that there is an over-reliance on the use of contingency accommodation, such as hotels,...

27th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

A deaf and blind man has unsuccessfully challenged the Home Office’s decision to move him within the asylum accommodation system, away from a place where he could easily access a supportive community. The case is R (BLV) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 2516 (Admin) and...

15th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

An immigration adviser trading as Sport Immigration Services (SIS) has lost his appeal against cancellation of registration by the Immigration Advice Authority (formerly OISC). The case is Kesejini (t/a Sport Immigration Services) v Immigration Services Commissioner [2025] UKFTT 290 (GRC). Background Complaints were made about SIS in January and February...

14th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Court of Appeal has overturned a refusal of permission by the Upper Tribunal in a judicial review claim where the appellant disputed receipt of an email from the Home Office cancelling his leave. He had seemingly only discovered that the cancellation has been sent after he instructed solicitors to...

13th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

We now have the Court of Appeal’s written decision in R (CTK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1264. This was the case where the High Court granted interim relief preventing the removal of an Eritrean man to France, prompting a change in the modern...

10th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Home Secretary must carry out a review of the policy on refugee family reunion for child refugees under the now closed Appendix Family Reunion (Sponsors with Protection) in line with her duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, having failed to do so previously....

9th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

September brought us a new Home Secretary who immediately made some inaccurate comments about “last minute” legal challenges to removal and the modern slavery identification system, so Sonia looked at those in this month’s podcast. Sonia also covered the final act of the previous Home Secretary, which was the closure...

8th October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

A gay man from India has successfully challenged a decision by the Home Secretary to certify his human rights claim, meaning that he was unable to appeal the refusal. He will now be able to appeal the refusal of his human rights claim to the tribunal. This is a Scottish...

3rd October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Home Secretary has won a deportation appeal in the Court of Appeal, overturning a 70 year old woman’s successful appeal against a refusal to revoke her 23 year old deportation order. Success was only on a narrow point though and the matter has been returned to the same tribunal...

2nd October 2025
BY Sonia Lenegan
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