Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #97

Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! 

Some earned settlement updates from the past week. First of all, the Home Secretary tweeted that the illegal entry penalty will not be applied to people who have been recognised as refugees. Thanks to Jon Featonby for spotting and flagging up that one. I personally feel this information would have been better off clearly stated in the consultation document. By Tuesday last week, five days after it opened, there had been 60,000 responses to the consultation (h/t CJ for that one). I wouldn’t be surprised if that had hit six figures by now.

Labour’s child poverty strategy is expected to be published shortly, however families that include migrants, including those with British or British born/raised children, will presumably be ignored as the earned settlement proposals will exacerbate and entrench poverty for those families. Reports have already started coming in about families choosing not to apply for or stopping claiming public funds that they are entitled to. The Guardian on the weekend told the story of this mother of a disabled child who cancelled her benefits because of fears it would lengthen the amount of time she has to wait before applying for settlement. One of the many problems here is that the proposal includes any past history of claiming benefits while in the route to settlement, so stopping now will not necessarily benefit people unless transitional provisions are put in place.

For those following the Mazur saga which has caused chaos throughout the legal sector, including in immigration, last week it was reported that CILEX has been granted permission to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal. Essential reading on what has been going on includes ILPA’s position statement on the implications for immigration practitioners, the Law Society’s Practice Note “Mazur and the conduct of litigation” as well as this piece in Legal Futures.

The Manston Inquiry emailed me last week to tell me that they have opened applications for those who want Inquiry Participant status. So now I’m telling you. More details and how to apply can be found on the website and the deadline is 8 December 2025.

On Free Movement, BID’s latest report looking at access to justice for people in immigration detention is out and things are looking more grim than ever. It was quarterly statistics day last Thursday. As ever, it is useful to consider what the Home Office is not telling us, and the data that is not published on family applications raises serious concerns about the extent to which the impact of the earned settlement proposals on families is known and has been taken into account. 

There were also quite a few case write ups, including the Court of Appeal looking at article 8 claims in the context of adult siblings in a case turned high profile by both media and politicians earlier this year. There were two deportation decisions, one on the effect of withdrawal of a certification decision and a failed challenge to refusal to revoke a deportation order. Also, TOEIC cases continue to rumble through the system.

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

Cheers, Sonia

What we’re reading

Immigration judges targeted by far right after Tory MP’s campaign – The Observer, 30 November

New asylum policies making homeless refugees “targets for the far right” – The Lead, 25 November

Poverty amongst children in families with NRPF – Project 17, November 2025

Mahmood’s Immigration Plan Breaks Labour’s Promises – Human Rights Watch, 21 November

How new asylum policies will affect child refugees – The Conversation, 24 November

Asylum seekers in UK go on hunger strike over ‘one in, one out’ removals – The Guardian, 26 November

Excessive restraint in immigration detention centres ‘deeply concerning’, report finds – The Guardian, 26 November

Man who died in migrant centre ‘faced no charges’ – BBC News, 24 November