This course was last updated in December 2024.
There are few circumstances where the UK authorities are permitted to hold people against their will – one of which is immigration detention. Every year around 20,000 people are detained under immigration powers across the UK’s detention estate, with around 1,800 people detained at any one time. These stark figures represent a concerning proportion of the UK’s migrant population. Many people who are detained under immigration powers are granted release back into the community – the vast majority under immigration bail.
In 2018, the immigration bail system was overhauled. Temporary release and temporary admission were scrapped, and replaced with a single power of immigration bail. The process for applying for bail from inside detention largely remains the same as before 2018, but the nature of bail has been turned on its head, allowing the Home Office to regulate those without leave to remain but who cannot be detained.
Immigration bail hearings can feel like a lottery – clients will ask why they are still detained when they have seen other people released weeks or months earlier. To some extent, immigration bail is a lottery. Different Tribunal hearing centres have very different grant rates and individual judges can adopt very different approaches. Considering whether to grant bail is essentially a risk assessment and everyone’s attitude to risk is slightly different.
This course is for lawyers, caseworkers and those supporting people in detention who are making an application for immigration bail, and is designed to set out the legal framework and the practicalities of applying for bail, giving examples along the way.
The course is only available to paying members of Free Movement. If you are not already a member, you can join here and access not just this course but all of our courses. Membership starts from £24 plus VAT per month, or £240 plus VAT for annual membership, and you can cancel at any time. We also offer corporate and group membership options.