Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #48

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

On Wednesday the government made a written statement on eVisas that didn’t contain much that was new, apart from the ability of people to use biometric residence permits that expire on 31 December 2024 to travel up until 31 March 2025 (actually announced in the Guardian the day before). Good luck to anyone trying that. ILPA and the3million are meeting with the minister this week and have sent this letter setting out concerns ahead of the discussion.

The Department for Work and Pensions has responded to the letter from Migrants Organise, the3million and others raising concerns about eVisas and access to public funds, saying essentially that everything will be fine and not to worry, while also acknowledging that errors have been made. Publishing the internal guidance referred to in the letter would be a helpful and reassuring step to take.

Starting today, the Home Office is piloting an extension to the move-on period from 28 to 56 days, doubling the amount of time that newly recognised refugees will have to prepare for the end of their asylum support. The pilot follow on from the most recent homelessness statistics showing a huge increase in newly recognised refugees needing assistance.

A story from Lizzie Dearden over the weekend disclosed that only 52% of asylum decisions checked met the Home Office’s internal quality assurance processes in the year 2023/24, down from 72% the previous year. When you combine that with the high number of withdrawals, there are a lot of people out there who have not had their asylum claims properly considered. As well as the increased number of appeals, it is concerning to think about the ability of unrepresented people to properly challenge these poor decisions in the tribunal. This is a mess that is going to have repercussions for a long time, assuming that nothing will be done by the Home Office now to review and withdraw the faulty decisions.

On Free Movement, we reported that OISC is changing name in the new year. On OISC, if anyone has any horror stories to share about using the new registration/renewal process then do get in touch, as I have heard one organisation’s nightmarish experience and it would be good to get an idea of how widespread the problems are. If the rebrand means that efficiency and communications are improved then honestly, fine by me.

There were a few case write ups, covering certification of removal decisions, refusal of indefinite leave to remain under the Windrush scheme and deportation of EU nationals. The November roundup podcast is out and we also have an update on the latest in the long running Diego Garcia cases where further hearings are expected to take place early next year.

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

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

Visa delays crippling lives of hundreds of UK migrants – even when they have British children – Sky News, 6 December

Driving exploitation and breaching international law: ATLEU legal challenge to the UK’s Seasonal Worker Visa – ATLEU, 6 December

Why do the UK’s net migration numbers keep being revised – and can we trust the data? – The Conversation, 2 December

Unauthorised migration: UK returns agreements with other countries – House of Commons Library, 5 December

Press release: Home Office to apologise and compensate Asylum Aid’s client for four years delay – Asylum Aid, 2 December

Operational note: Operation Tornado – Home Office, 2 December

UK Home Office to double Dash 8 patrol fleet – ch-aviation, 3 December

Migrants and Housing in the UK – Migration Observatory, 4 December

Police raid migrant smuggling ring accused over small boat Channel crossings – The Guardian, 4 December