Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #91

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Sonia is away this week so I’m stepping in to bring you the newsletter. Please be kind!

It was a busy week which saw the fifth statement of changes to the immigration rules published in four months. As Colin noted, there were a lot of changes we were already expecting as well as a couple of surprises such as Part 9 being replaced with Part Suitability and Botswanan nationals being added to the visa national list.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee released a report criticising the government’s closure of the refugee family reunion route. Amongst other things, the report highlighted the change of position that seems to have taken place between the initial announcement of the “temporary pause” of the route and the Prime Minister’s announcement on 2 October that automatic family reunion rights for refugees “will” end. Lord Hanson of Flint has said that proposals for the route will be made “by April of next year”.

We also saw the UK’s legal professional bodies and Garden Court chambers publish statements denouncing the vilification of immigration practitioners in the press and on social media after the shadow justice secretary’s attack on judges at the Conservative party conference.

On Free Movement, there were several case write ups including a High Court case in which a care worker successfully challenged a decision to curtail his visa after an immigration enforcement interview in the middle of Birmingham New Street Station was ruled procedurally unfair.

We updated our briefing on the UK expansion worker route and our article on age assessments and what happens when a child arrives in the UK.

As part of the second stage of the review of the Temporary Shortage List, the Migration Advisory Committee has put a call out for government sector leads and organisations to provide evidence.

For everything else on Free Movement and elsewhere, read on.

Cheers, Rachel

What we’re reading

‘Clear parallels’ with Windrush as UK-born toddler denied passport – The Guardian, 10 October

Mayor calls for government to pause new visa rules – BBC News, 10 October

Labour won’t reduce homelessness until they understand how it links to immigration – Big Issue, 11 October

UK charities say toxic immigration rhetoric leading to threats against staff – The Guardian, 13 October

ECtHR ‘more necessary and relevant’ now, says outgoing UK judge – Law Gazette, 13 October

The UK is failing to protect vulnerable people in immigration detention: Medical Justice Annual Review – University of Oxford Border Criminologies Blog, 13 October

They fought with Britain and US in Afghanistan –now Taliban are taking their revenge – Independent, 15 October

Joint statement on anti-migrant rhetoric – Keeping our communities safe from racism – UNISON and other health unions, 15 October