- BY Sonia Lenegan
Immigration roundup podcast: March 2025
This month Barry is away and so his colleague Andrew Jones has stepped up and stepped in to co-host with Sonia, and frankly made it all look rather easy. March was a busy one, and Sonia and Andrew rattled through a lot. There were some big decisions in the asylum world, including Wethersfield and an important one on asylum support and withdrawals. Sonia attempted to explain an incredibly complex trafficking case in under 60 seconds and gave Andrew the two most depressing cases of the month, one involving the ongoing separation of a family in the UK and France and another where a man won his spouse appeal, but only after his spouse had died.
It was statistics galore with the 2024 figures now out for both for trafficking cases and the tribunals. There was also a statement of changes last month, along with some fee increases taking effect in April that practitioners should be aware of. We also covered the latest deprivation decision, this one from the Supreme Court. That’s not even all of it!
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The 45 minute long podcast follows the running order below:
Asylum (01:05)
High Court confirms ability to challenge lawfulness of withdrawal decision in asylum support appeal
High Court finds that three men were unlawfully accommodated at Wethersfield
Children with pending asylum claim can be removed from the UK to be reunited with their parents
Inspector’s report finds penalty scheme for deterring clandestine entry is still lacking
Ten years after the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act, safety is more elusive than ever
Home Office wrong to exclude kidnapping victim from trafficking protections
The Home Office is leaving thousands of Afghans in limbo in the UK
Increase in Home Office refusals sees number of asylum appeals soar in latest tribunal statistics
Statement of changes (19:16)
Family (20:43)
Man unlawfully denied spouse visa wins appeal too late
Nationality (28:03)
Supreme Court adopts “nuanced” approach in deprivation of citizenship appeal
Home Office to reconsider Windrush compensation rejection after court loss
Procedure (32:52)
Increases to most Home Office fees from 9 April 2025
Increase to court and tribunal fees from 1 April 2025
New sanctions for failure to comply with biometric regulations in eVisas changes from 27 March 2025
Unlocking the potential of pro bono costs orders
Home Office decision to “correct” grant of indefinite leave made in error held to be lawful
Points based system (37:49)
No duty for Home Office to carry out impact assessment before revoking sponsor licence
National Audit Office recommends more is done to tackle exploitation in the Skilled Worker route
Human rights (41:06)
Home Office concede that Dutch man was wrongly excluded from UK in case of mistaken identity
Updated (42:17)
How does absence from the UK work under the EU settlement scheme?
The 180-day absence rule doesn’t apply to people with a spouse or partner visa
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