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.

Leigh Day, instructed by Asylum Aid, have today sent a pre action letter challenging the lawfulness of certain aspects of the Safety of Rwanda guidance that was published on Monday 29 April 2024. The pre action letter is being shared widely within the immigration law sector (see below) so that...

3rd May 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

The second part of a challenge to the family reunion rules that exclude child refugees from bringing their family to the UK has been dismissed by the High Court. The case is R (DM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees intervening) [2024]...

2nd May 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

In Al-Azad v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 407 the Court of Appeal has said that paragraph 322(1A) of the immigration rules (mandatory ground for refusal where false representations are used) applies to an application which has been varied by a later application in which...

1st May 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

I have set out below what the legal process is for sending a person to Rwanda following the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024, which received Royal Assent on 25 April and came into force the same day. I have looked only at the law as it currently...

30th April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Court of Appeal has rejected a claim that Afghan nationals have been unlawfully treated less favourably than Ukrainians when it comes to the requirement to enrol biometrics as part of an entry clearance application. The case is R (AB) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA...

29th April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Upper Tribunal has overturned a decision by the First-tier Tribunal to allow the appeal of a couple who were trying to rely on their residence rights under EU law in circumstances where their sponsor had lost his EU citizenship. The case is Secretary of State for the Home Department...

26th April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

In what is a day of enormous shame for any right thinking person in this country, the UK’s treaty with Rwanda has today been ratified which means that the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration Act) 2024 which received Royal Assent today is now in force. On 22 January 2024...

25th April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Home Office has published its latest “ad hoc” statistics release, showing a dramatic increase in the number of Vietnamese people coming to the UK and a 24% increase in people detected crossing the Channel so far in 2024. The statistics were published to support the Prime Minister’s speech in...

25th April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

Almost two years after changes were made by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 to the standard of proof, we have our first reported decision from the Upper Tribunal on how the assessment of whether a person’s fear of persecution is “well-founded” should be carried out. The case is JCK...

23rd April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan

The Home Secretary has lost a case where it was argued that a refugee who held indefinite leave to remain in the UK should not be permitted to return to the UK based on his right to a private life. The refugee in question had lost his travel document while...

19th April 2024
BY Sonia Lenegan
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