Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! On Wednesday this week a Council of Europe meeting will take place at which there is expected to be discussion around “reinterpreting” article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Because of the reporting I have seen around this, and will no...
Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1491 has just been published. It is the seventh (!!) statement of changes we have had this year. It is thankfully a short one. Visit visa requirement for Nauru: 3pm today Effective 3pm today, nationals of Nauru will no longer be able...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the case of an Iranian man seeking asylum on the basis of sur place activity, namely his political activity after arriving in the UK. The case is OM v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1585. The appellant’s asylum claim...
What a month. Sonia kicked off the podcast with a run through of the major policy proposals which came out in November, including the changes to refugee settlement periods and a look at the earned settlement proposals (though not in too much detail as she is doing a full webinar...
Humans for Rights Network has published a new report “You can’t stay but you can’t go” – State violence at the UK-France border, evidencing the levels of violence perpetrated on people who are attempting to cross the border. The report notes that 2024 was the deadliest year ever at the...
When clients come to us, a key part of our role, as immigration legal advisors and advocates, is to listen sensitively and carefully to them: to what they have to tell us and to the particular threads of their lives that are relevant to their legal claim. Equipped with this...
The requirements for remaining in the UK under the Windrush scheme are outlined in the Home Office’s casework guidance. For the child of a Commonwealth citizen who was settled in the UK before 1 January 1971 the guidance requires that the applicant has been continuously resident in the UK since...
The latest of the – apparently now annual – immigration and asylum Bills has completed its journey through parliament, as the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 received Royal Assent yesterday. You should read Colin’s write up of the Bill as first published here for an overview of the...
It appears that the Home Office has started writing out to Syrian refugees who have pending settlement protection (SET(P)) applications. I know this is causing a lot of fear and worry and so I have tried to explain what is happening and give a bit of guidance on what to...
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....
The High Court has conducted a detailed analysis of what constitutes a “non-genuine vacancy” in R (Prestige Social Care Services Ltd) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 2860 (Admin). In doing so, the court introduced a new analytical framework for assessing whether a role is genuine....
The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure and Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 have been laid before parliament today and will come into effect on 22 December 2025. The regulations will amend schedule 1 of The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. Some of the main changes are set out below. Old initial...
An applicant has successfully challenged a refusal to grant him indefinite leave to remain on the grounds that he did not meet the continuous residence requirement, after his leave was wrongly cancelled in 2014 when the Home Office alleged that he had obtained an English language test by deception. It...
This post is based in Manchester providing face to face and online legal immigration advice and representation to people across North West England. GMIAU operates a hybrid work pattern with a minimum of 2 days per week to be spent in the office once the training period has been completed...
The Court of Appeal has made clear that Part 5A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which sets out the public interest considerations when considering article 8 in a deportation case, applies to decisions on revocation of a deportation order when the applicant is outside the UK. The...
The quarterly immigration system statistics covering the period to September 2025 have been published. As highlighted in the title of the post, I have looked at quite a few of the areas in light of last week’s proposals and I am particularly concerned as to whether even the Home Office...
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that for adult siblings to be able to establish family life for the purpose of article 8(1) there is a requirement for “additional elements of dependence, involving more than the normal emotional ties”. The court found that these additional elements did not exist in...
Bail for Immigration Detainees has published their latest report looking at access to legal advice for people in immigration detention and has found that levels of representation are the lowest they have been since the charity started their monitoring fifteen years ago. The report found the following: 64% of participant...
A person refused a skilled worker visa because they were on immigration bail at the time of their application has lost their challenge in the Court of Appeal. The case is R (Kaur & Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1474. Background The appellant...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! As if last Monday’s proposals were not bad enough, on Thursday the Home Secretary also published the consultation on “earned settlement”. Describing the sky as yellow does not make it so. And slapping the word “fairer” onto the worst immigration policy proposals the UK has seen...
If the Home Office seeks to deport a foreign criminal and certifies their human rights claim, but that foreign criminal successfully challenges the decision to deport (and to certify), what is the immigration status of the foreign criminal afterwards? The Upper Tribunal gives guidance on this question in MM, R...
There are a number of quirks to the process of becoming an accredited immigration adviser under the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA). In this post we clarify who is required to apply for Immigration Advice Authority accreditation, who is exempt, and – for those who must apply – who is not...
The Court of Appeal has overturned an Upper Tribunal decision to refuse an extension of time application in a judicial review claim. The court held that the tribunal was wrong to take “judicial notice”, i.e. to accept as fact without the need for evidence on the basis that it is...
The Home Secretary has partly succeeded in her appeal in a case concerning eVisas and section 3C leave, with the rest of the case being adjourned by the Court of Appeal so that the parties can make further submissions on the section 55 duty regarding the welfare of children. Our...
The consultation on extending the period people in certain immigration routes will need to wait before being able to apply for settlement (also referred to as indefinite leave to remain) has been opened. The Home Secretary also made a statement in the House of Commons. The changes were first trailed...
The House of Lords Constitution Committee has published a report looking at the state of the rule of law in the UK and concluding that it is “under threat“. You won’t be surprised to hear that immigration law is mentioned several times as an area of concern, as are attacks...
If you are travelling to the UK solely for the purpose of taking a connecting flight or other mode of transport to another country, you may need a transit visa. The rules about who needs a visa and who doesn’t when transiting through the UK can be a little confusing...
An applicant has successfully challenged the refusal of a visitor visa in an unreported judicial review decision by the Upper Tribunal. The case is R (Shajna Begum) v Entry Clearance Officer JR-2024-LON-003343. Background The applicant sought to enter the UK as a visitor to provide her pregnant cousin with support...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The far right were openly celebrating on social media over the weekend, as the Home Secretary heavily trailed the Labour government’s new asylum policy. The statement will include a proposal that people who have been recognised by the UK as refugees at risk...
In this article we take a look at unmarried partner applications since the changes made to the definition in January 2024, removing the cohabitation requirement. An unmarried partner visa is a popular choice for couples looking to live together in the UK. This type of application is made under Appendix...
We are looking for an experienced Immigration Solicitor to join our highly successful, creative, and dynamic immigration team. The Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit at Islington Law Centre has a much-respected Immigration Team. We are a category 1 Legal Aid Immigration provider, and we have considerable experience across the...
Following a plethora of media briefings and coverage over the past few days, the Home Secretary has officially published her policy paper on “Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy“. She also gave an oral statement in the House of Commons this evening and...
Our October round up is here! Barry does the honours this time around with the statement of changes and Sonia foreshadows some bad news potentially coming next week. Barry shares an AI horror story that is really one for the ages (so far) after Sonia’s segment on the latest lawyers...
A man who was granted indefinite leave to remain following Home Office failings on his case, and who subsequently naturalised as a British citizen, has lost his appeal against a deprivation decision made by the Home Office when they found out he had been using a false identity the whole...
