Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #43

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

The bad news is that we apparently have to tolerate yet another media contrived “small boats week”. The good news is that this is the exact opposite of a quiet news week and the US election will presumably drown out most other news, whatever the outcome. Political noise aside, the immigration and asylum system continues to claim lives as last week a man died at Brook House immigration removal centre and at least one man died attempting the Channel crossing.

There was a reminder of the dangers of leaving the country for those with an unresolved application under the EU Settlement Scheme, as a Greek Cypriot man who went to Amsterdam for a short break was given three days to leave the UK on his return. He had an outstanding administrative review but was forcibly removed to Amsterdam on Friday. It is so important that people are aware that the guidance changed in August this year and now recommends that people do not travel pending the outcome of an application. In September Chris Benn wrote up this and more for us in his definitive guide to travelling with or without status under the EUSS. 

Home Office ministers continue to refer to Migration Advisory Committee advice in a misleading way when answering questions about the right to work for those in the asylum system. What the committee has actually said about asylum and the immigration salary list is: “We question the value of restricting work to roles on the SOL. This was never the purpose of the SOL which is not suited to determining which jobs asylum seekers should work in. We therefore recommend that, if granted the right to work, asylum seekers should be able to work in any job.”

Has anyone spotted the “further information on the initiation of the move on period” that was promised before the issuing of BRPs was stopped (last week Thursday)? This update to the guide on living in dispersal accommodation is obviously insufficient and it appears that a BRP is still needed to apply online for a refugee integration loan. 

On Free Movement, we flagged up a new form introduced by the Home Office to report issues with eVisas. We also covered the latest ICIBI report on the inspection of contingency asylum accommodation and published this very useful look at various things that can go wrong during an asylum interview, and what you can do if any of these do happen. 

In a move that was extraordinarily discourteous to legal practitioners, the First-tier Tribunal introduced a new Practice Direction on Friday, effective from that date, with no advance public consultation or notice. Substantial changes have been made and everyone who is involved with Tribunal work must familiarise themselves with the document in full. 

For everything else on Free Movement and elsewhere in the past week, read on.

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

‘We’re leading a horrible life’: the reality of living in UK asylum limbo – The Guardian, 3 November

Palestinian student stripped of UK visa after Gaza remarks wins human rights appeal – The Guardian, 30 October

Leaked EU document: Visas for under-30s ‘essential’ to Brexit reset – Politico, 30 October

Smuggler reveals operation to help Vietnamese reach UK – BBC News, 28 October

Caught in the net: how migration became a criminal offence – openDemocracy, 28 October

Children prosecuted as adult ‘smugglers’ in UK, Italy, Greece – openDemocracy, 30 October

How to End the Backlog of Asylum Cases? Take Them Out of the Courts – Bloomberg, 1 November

Profits of Home Office asylum housing provider rise to £90m a year – The Guardian, 3 November

UK asylum system would descend into chaos without more hotels, says minister – The Guardian, 3 November