Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #55

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!

The 2nd reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will take place later today and it looks like committee stage will finish no later than 20 March 2025. Useful resources I have seen published in the last week include this briefing from Focus on Labour Exploitation and this commentary on the expanded criminalisation provisions contained within the Bill.

Pressure on the Home Office to start processing Syrian claims again is increasing, as it becomes clear that safety for some under the new regime does not mean safety for everyone. Also on asylum, the Home Office has published guidance on How to email the Asylum Central Communications Hub, including prescriptive templates for various types of requests. Do note that they have linked only to the judicial review form for the Administrative Court, as opposed to the Upper Tribunal, which is where most immigration and asylum judicial reviews are started nowadays.

For those who are into that sort of thing (hi), John Tuckett (current Immigration Services Commissioner) has his pre-appointment hearing with the Home Affairs Select Committee tomorrow at 2.30pm.

On Free Movement last week, we had a write up of this recent case involving revocation of refugee status on national security grounds and a decision by Fordham J giving guidance on the interaction between duties under the Care Act and Schedule 10 accommodation. We also published this guide to the new Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme.

There was also this very helpful FAQ on the family member applications to the EU Settlement Scheme, answered by Chris Benn after his excellent recent webinar on the topic. On Wednesday this week Chris is running another highly topical webinar, on Extensions, upgrades and curtailment of pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. 

The latest podcast is also out, for anyone who wants to relive January. For everything else on Free Movement and elsewhere, read on.

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

Record number of asylum seekers died in 2024 while in care of Home Office – The Guardian, 10 February

Still apart: The impact of Ukraine Scheme changes on families one year later – Work Rights Centre, 10 February

Teen refugee wants more support for asylum seekers doing GCSEs – Stoke-on-Trent Live, 7 February

Immigration rules keep changing, and the confusion can cause real problems for migrants – The Conversation, 4 February

Successful challenge to the Home Office’s ‘Re-entry’ into trafficking support procedure – ATLEU, 4 February

UK-wide blitz on illegal working to strengthen border security – Home Office, 10 February

Cross-Party group of Parliamentarians Call for Urgent Action on Safe Routes for Refugees – Refugee Council, 4 February

Nicholas Reed Langen: The Use and Abuse of Citizenship Deprivation: SSHD v Kolicaj – UK Constitutional Law Association, 6 February

Discretion and policy: Deprivation of British citizenship on fraud grounds after Daci – Nationality and Citizenship Law, 3 February

‘Passportisation’: ECtHR finds imposition of Russian citizenship in Crimea a breach of article 8 ECHR – EJIL: Talk!, 4 February