Free Movement: Recent Episodes
Free Movement
We are a bit behind the times this month, catching up from the summer. This time Sonia and I cover not one but two statements of changes, the Illegal Migration Act, asylum withdrawals, the massive increase in fees, several legal updates on the rights of EU citizens and a load of cases, including one from the Supreme Court on Palestinian refugees.
Statement of changes
Statement of changes HC 1715: visa regime imposed on Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu
Statement of changes HC 1496: asylum, EU Settlement Scheme, and restrictions on students
Asylum
The Illegal Migration Act 2023: what has changed?
Briefing: why and how is the Home Office treating more asylum claims as “withdrawn”?
What safe and legal routes are available for refugees to come to the United Kingdom?
OISC
OISC amends judicial review practice note to prevent advisers conducting litigation
EU
New law confirms British citizenship for children of EU citizens born in UK before 2 October 2000
How does absence from the UK work under the EU settlement scheme?
A glitch or a feature? Systemic problems with digital proof of immigration status
Immigration
Massive increases to immigration fees announced
Briefing: the rules on returning residents with indefinite leave to remain (ILR)
Points Based System
How to apply for a Global Business Mobility: Secondment Worker visa
Cases
Supreme Court finds exclusion of Palestinians from resettlement scheme not unlawful
Asylum seekers don’t need ‘direct evidence’ they’re being covertly monitored
‘Minded to cancel’ process applies to dishonesty allegations at the UK border
Airport detainee wrongly denied a solicitor in immigration interview
Upper Tribunal reminds parties to identify the issues in an appeal
Tribunal must consider Home Office decisions in full even when not explicitly relied on by representative
High Court rejects challenge to EU Settlement Scheme dependency rules for children
Upper Tribunal rules post-Brexit Zambrano appeals can continue
Home Office withdraws objective evidence test for trafficking decisions
This month Sonia and I discuss the Rwanda judgment (we're saving that to the end as our good news story), a couple of fairly lengthy immigration and asylum history blog posts I've been working on for a while, several asylum developments and also our Refugee Week content, some procedural updates, a bunch (carousel?) of cases and a few other things too. There's quite a lot to go over, so we're just highlighting some of it rather than going into much depth.
The podcast follows the running order below.
A short guide to the legal position and history of the Windrush generation
A short history of refugees coming to Britain: from Huguenots to Ukrainians
Last traces of Nationality and Borders Act 2022 erased with abandonment of “differentiated status” for refugees
Data shows Ukrainians in the UK continue to face homelessness crisis
Is Rishi Sunak’s “Stop The Boats” plan really working?
Rwanda impact assessment looks hopelessly optimistic
United Nations Refugee Agency identifies problems in asylum screening processes
Briefing: the state of the UK asylum system
What is the legal definition of a “refugee”?
Should refugees claim asylum in the first safe country they reach?
Preparing foreign language witness statements
So-called mandatory grounds for refusal will not always be mandatory
Briefing: the Seasonal Worker visa
Reaction economy: the Home Office’s use of social media
Will I need Electronic Travel Authorisation to enter the UK?
Briefing: what is the Common Travel Area and how does it work?
New country guidance on Democratic Republic of the Congo
Scottish inquiry finds immigration detention centre death was avoidable
Supreme Court finds golden visa scheme unlawful
Trafficking victims wrongly denied financial support in lockdown
Court declines to take legal guardianship of refugee children missing from hotels
Court of Appeal finds Rwanda plan unlawful as Rwanda is not a safe third country
This month Sonia and I start with the Big Free Movement News (spoiler: Sonia is joining the team as the new Editor) and then cover a bunch of visa news and updates, a load of case law and several policy developments.
If you are a lawyer and would like to prove to your regulator you are keeping yourself up to date, make sure you remember to take our monthly course and quiz.
This month we talk more about the Illegal Migration Bill and its potential consequences, the right way to go about tackling the asylum backlog, Colin's suggestion of a new British Citizenship Act, the resumption of hostile environment bank account closures, we run through a load of cases and end by talking about some business immigration issues.
If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are well over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on Anchor, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go.
The podcast follows the running order below.
How does the Illegal Migration Bill breach the Refugee Convention?
Illegal Migration Bill: helping force refugees into illegality and danger
Could ‘safe and legal routes’ stop the boats?
If the Illegal Migration Bill is unworkable, what can the government do instead?
Amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill attack basic legal rights and processes
Two ways to address the asylum backlog and improve access to justice
It is time for a new British Citizenship Act for the post-Brexit era
Home Office resume bank account closures
High Court rejects challenge by Afghan families to hotel move
High Court dismisses challenge to family reunion rules for refugee children
Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 ouster clause found effective
Court of Appeal re-affirms restrictive parameters of domestic violence provisions in immigration rules
Exceptional circumstances in a spouse or partner visa application under Appendix FM
How to apply for a Senior or Specialist Worker visa
Reporting hybrid working patterns: new sponsor obligations
Visit visa operations are “refreshingly well run”
For this month's roundup podcast, Sonia and I manage to rattle through a huge volume of updates in a mere 36 minutes. We cover a load of cases, some important asylum policy updates and then several developments in immigration law as well. We're sorry it is a little later than usual; the Easter holidays intervened. And I am sorry if you can hear scaffolders poles bouncing off the pavement outside the block of flats opposite my house...
If you are a lawyer and would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are well over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
The 30-minute podcast follows the running order below.
Permission granted on additional grounds in the Rwanda case in the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal emphasises absence of corroboration is not fatal in asylum cases
Court of Appeal dismisses appeal against criminalising small boat arrivals
Legal challenges against GPS tagging for people on immigration bail
High Court considers how the loss of work may engage article 8
No recourse to public funds policy found unlawful (again)
“High hurdle” for hotel accommodation challenges?
Refusals of naturalisation on good character grounds can only be challenged by irrationality
Amended data protection exemption for migrants declared unlawful
UK spends one third of international aid budget on domestic asylum costs
Are the new asylum questionnaires fit for purpose?
Assisting with the new asylum questionnaires: OISC Level 1 caseworkers and volunteers
Home Office publishes guidance on streamlined asylum processing for children
Home Office’s approach to family reunion applications condemned by immigration inspector
Borders Inspector “frustrated” by lack of action from Home Office
New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules HC1160
Spring budget migration announcements
New ‘Appendix Adult Dependent Relative’ to the immigration rules
All families matter: An inquiry into family migration
Government Authorised Exchange: one visa, 40 options
Colin Yeo and Sonia Lenegan discuss the Illegal Migration Bill. They talk through what is in it, what will it do, how is it intended to work, whether it is compatible with international law and what effects it might have in reality.
This month Sonia and I talk a bit about denaturalisation generally and the case of Shamima Begum specifically, we cover the new streamlined asylum process and a few other asylum-related blog posts and then we run through a few cases. We manage to keep things a bit shorter than normal, but watch out for our coverage of the Illegal Migration Bill, which will be available separately.
The 30-minute podcast follows the running order below.
Denaturalisation
Security tribunal finds Shamima Begum was trafficked but she loses anyway
Book review: Stephanie DeGooyer’s Before Borders: A legal and literary history of naturalization
Bad cases make bad law: the unintended consequences of denaturalising bad guys
Deception and denaturalisation: seek and you shall find
Asylum
Latest asylum stats show the Home Office failing on all fronts
New streamlined asylum process
Does 10 year ‘temporary refugee protection’ status breach of the Refugee Convention?
New policy: temporary permission to stay for victims of human trafficking
Trafficking victims should get leave during their asylum claim
Cases
Immigration officers don’t have to corroborate your story
No damages for unlawful no recourse to public funds policy
Differential treatment of Ukrainian and Afghan applications justified on national security grounds
Not all procedural errors need to be remitted says Upper Tribunal
More bad news from the Upper Tribunal for extended family members of EU citizens
This month Sonia and I talk through various government policies all about being horrible to migrants. It's a seemingly inexhaustible vein. Indeed, there aren't many (any?) government immigration policies NOT about being horrible to migrants. We then move on to discuss a few different nationality law issues, including the mind-boggling case of Roehrig, which appears to have effectively denaturalised tens of thousands of British citizens at a stroke. Finally, we turn to some important but rather technical updates for the lawyers amongst you.
If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are well over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
Government policy
The misguided allure of deterrence policy
Adults at risk in immigration detention annual report scrapped after highlighting inadequacies (mention)
High Court orders Home Secretary to immediately increase asylum support rates (mention)
Is it time for the UK to change its stance on asylum seekers working? (mention)
Operation Warm Welcome cools: over 9,000 Afghans still in temporary accommodation (mention - and update with new news on this)
Legal aid for asylum seekers is broken
Will in-country visa delays have long-term consequences for economic migration? (mention)
A modest proposal for reforming the immigration system: shorten key immigration routes
Nationality
Revised guidance on section 4L British Nationality Act 1981: the Romein principle
The reasonably foreseeable consequences of depriving someone of British citizenship
High Court casts doubt on British citizenship of children of EU citizens
For lawyers...
“Upgrading” a visa application you have already made
Permission needs to be properly sought for video link evidence from abroad
Case disposed of in error after Secretary of State fails to comply with court directions
Is Chikwamba still relevant?
Durable partner rules dumbfound the Upper Tribunal
Identifying litigation friends for vulnerable migrants
Colin and Sonia take a look back at 2022 and ahead to 2023 as well as covering the immigration updates from December 2022. Looking back, they talk about small boat crossings, the Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes, the impact (or lack of) the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the Rwanda judgment, the asylum backlog and the net migration figures. Looking to the future they cover Rishi Sunak's asylum plan, whether the Home Office can cope, the prospect of yet more legislation and the ideas for immigration restrictions on families, students and workers floated via The Times over the Christmas break.
Finally, they cover several litigation developments for lawyers from December 2022 and end by discussing to big cases for EU citizens with pre settled status. Phew.
Looking back and ahead
Free Movement review of the year 2022
Rishi Sunak announces new new plan for asylum
Has Sunak’s bank account closure plan killed off the Windrush Lessons Learned Review?
High court rules Rwanda plan is lawful
When will there be another Rwanda removal flight?
Litigation
What is the duty of candour?
Social media and the duty of candour in age assessment proceedings
False imprisonment claimant punished for failing to negotiate
Tribunal quarterly statistics: 54 week waiting time for asylum appeals and 26,000 cases outstanding
Five million pound investment to increase the number of days tribunals operate
EU citizens
Win for Pre-Settled Status holders accessing benefits
High Court finds EU Settlement Scheme breaches the Withdrawal Agreement
This month, Colin and Sonia mainly talk about an avalanche of asylum related news, law and updates. It's not all asylum, though, there's also some blog posts to go over on Comprehensive Sickness Insurance, third party support in spouse applications, marriages in durable partner cases, the opening of the citizenship route for Chagossian descendants and a Solicitor Regulation Authority report on immigration lawyers. They end by discussing a couple of opinion pieces Colin published, on whether the Home Office should be abolished and whether strategic litigation does more harm than good.
The blog posts covered include:
- What are ‘short term holding facilities’ like the Manston refugee camp?
- Briefing: What is Article 1D of the Refugee Convention?
- How does the asylum ‘white list’ work and what does the government plan to change?
- Asylum backlog hits 150,000 and net migration hits 500,000
- Understanding the Home Office’s problem with asylum decisions
- Appendix Settlement Protection: indefinite leave to remain for people granted refugee status or humanitarian protection
- Reducing distress when working with children in the asylum process
- Record high referrals for potential victims of modern slavery
- The refugee reception crisis in the UK mirrors the situation on the continent
- Failed asylum seeker’s false identity conviction quashed
- Home Office breaches the duty of candour in mobile phone seizures case
- Home Office guidance update: the NHS and comprehensive sickness insurance for EEA nationals
- Developments in third party financial support for spouse or partner visa applications
- Post-Brexit marriages in durable partner appeals
- New route to British citizenship for people of Chagossian descent
- Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes new guidance for immigration work: supervision, quality, and complaints
- Should the Home Office be abolished?
- Strategic litigation: more harm than good?
Welcome to the October 2022 episode of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month, Colin and Sonia talk politics, asylum, the statement of changes to the immigration rules and case law. The episode is a bit longer than usual as there was a lot going on!
Politics
Braverman attacks modern slavery victims and student families
Assessing Braverman’s legacy as Home Secretary
How much influence does the media have over the hostile environment?
Home Office hotels not fit to house unaccompanied child asylum seekers
Indefinite leave to remain applications under Appendix FM: slow, expensive and inaccessible
Asylum
Why has the asylum success rate gone up so much in recent years?
Are people crossing the Channel in small boats doing anything illegal?
Putting small boat crossings in perspective
Ukrainians in the UK face a homelessness crisis and the government needs to act now
What’s happening in the Rwanda legal challenges?
Statement of Changes
New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 719 (Afghanistan, Ukraine, and victims of trafficking)
Statement of Changes HC 719: Ukraine Extension Scheme
Statement of Changes HC 719: Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit)
Statement of Changes HC 719: Appendix Temporary Permission to Stay for Victims of Human Trafficking or Slavery
Case law
Introducing proportionality assessments into marriage of convenience cases
Lack of route for victims of transnational marriage abandonment is unlawful, High Court finds
Home Office to review policy on timing of applications after single father’s right to work limbo
Applicants from Afghanistan may not need to enrol biometrics at the time of an application
Court of Appeal quash trafficking victim’s 2009 conviction
Welcome to the September 2022 episode of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month Colin is joined again by “immigration lawyer about town”, as she put it, Sonia Lenegan. She is in danger of becoming a co-presenter if she carries on like this...
Amongst other things, they discuss Albanian asylum claims, age assessment, military conscription and asylum, Windrush and an important update to the guidance on good character in British citizenship applications.
If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are well over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
The 30-minute podcast follows the running order below.
Asylum and human rightsGrand Chamber finds France breached the European Convention of Human Rights
Why are so many Albanian asylum claims succeeding if the country is so “safe and prosperous”?
Government lawyers confirm that the Albanian “fast track” removal scheme will not apply to asylum seekers
New critique of Home Office country information on Albanian blood feuds
Major European judgment on age assessment process
Would Russian men fleeing conscription qualify as refugees?
Amendments to the Windrush Compensation
Other important stuffDependency under EU law: education as an essential living need
Guidance update: good character in nationality applications
Economic migrationHow to apply for a Temporary Work – Creative Worker visa
Employers take note: all change for right to work checks from 1 October 2022
Colin and Sonia have a short chat about what's going on with immigration and asylum policy right now. With Truss and No 10 saying one thing and Braverman and the Home Office saying something very different, what should we make of it all? Are we going to have more students or less? Encourage skilled workers or reduce net migration? Cut unskilled migration or expand the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme? We thought we'd separate out a general discussion about politics and policy this month from the normal update, to try and keep the podcast short and snappy. We'll be back early next week with the normal update covering substantive legal developments from September 2022.
Welcome to episode 104 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month Colin is joined by "immigration lawyer about town", as she puts it, Sonia Lenegan. Taking pity on Colin after his solo effort last month, Sonia is the legal and policy director at Rainbow Migration, a consultant solicitor at Saltworks and a volunteer at Asylos and the Unity Project. She previously worked at Hackney Law Centre and as the legal director at the Immigration Law Practitioners Association.
Our discussion is a bit more free ranging than for past update episodes and we run to just over 40 minutes. We discuss the change of Home Secretary, the direction of government immigration policy, some changes in policy and new visas and go through the latest case law. Let us know in comments or by email what you think of the slightly different approach.
If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are well over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on Anchor, iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go.
To access previous Free Movement podcasts click here.
Welcome to episode 103 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month — the first in something like five years with no CJ McKinney — I’m starting with some material on asylum and trafficking then quickly going over a bit of immigration and nationality history and why it matters today, before moving onto various bits of Home Office news and then ending with a couple off items on deportation and foreign national offenders.
If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are well over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go.
To access previous Free Movement podcasts click here.
The immigration system has been through a lot since I started covering it for Free Movement five years ago. In September 2017, the UK was still in the two-year countdown to leaving the European Union, and there were even doubts about whether it would happen at all. The EU Settlement Scheme was still a twinkle in the Home Office's eye, and instead of the exciting post-Brexit points-based immigration system we had a boring old... points-based immigration system.
But while the basic architecture of the visa system remains largely the same, lots of the details have changed. Gone are the Investor and Entrepreneur routes, while in have come a host of new or (more commonly) rebranded visas: Innovator, Graduate, Global Talent, High Potential and Seasonal Worker. The flagship Skilled Worker route is now much easier to recruit into than Tier 2 (General) ever was, and visa issuances to non-Europeans have soared. That's led to a recent narrative that immigration has actually risen since Brexit -- although as Peter William Walsh of the Migration Observatory points out, this theory is somewhat lacking in key epistemic features, such as being true.
I spoke to Peter, Colin and business immigration guru Nichola Carter for a valedictory podcast looking back at the big themes and trends of the past five years in UK immigration, including Brexit, Windrush and Rwanda.
Welcome to episode 102 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we start with elements of the Borders Act 2022 coming into force before moving on to Appendix Private Life and Appendix FM. We then review the latest case law on criminal deportation, touch briefly on Zambrano applications, and conclude with Rwanda.
If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here.
The downloadable 29-minute podcast follows the running order below. Timestamps indicate when a particular section begins.
Borders Act When is the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 coming into force?
Detailed policy on differential treatment of refugees announced
Humanitarian protection is being downgraded from 28 June 2022
Human rights (7.50) New guidance on private life and family relationships
Judge takes “points based system” a bit too literally
Appendix FM (10.44) Free family visas: the entry clearance fee waiver policy
Whether income is “lawfully derived” to be assessed case by case, Upper Tribunal holds
Deportation (15.16) Supreme Court allows foreign criminal deportation case
Foreign convictions in deportation appeals
Challenge to “deport first, appeal later” process rejected
Zambrano (23.08) No change to settlement rules for Zambrano carers despite Akinsanya judgment
Rwanda (25.05) Home Office plans second flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda
How to respond to Rwanda removal notices
Comprehensive Sickness Insurance continues to hang over the heads of many EU citizens who, over the years, were told that they needed private health coverage for their residence in the UK to be lawful. The UK government’s insistence on this was always legally controversial, but it took until after Brexit for the EU Court of Justice to rule (in a case referred to it just before the UK’s departure) that CSI was not in fact required. What are the implications of the ruling for EU citizens affected by the supposed CSI rule over the years? People were denied benefits, British citizenship and even protection against criminal deportation — not to...
Welcome to episode 101 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we start with some great news on fees, then some updates on the new Borders Act before turning to Rwanda and asylum more broadly. We have a quick check-in on business immigration and end on the latest with detention and bail. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free...
In the States, they’re known as “Dreamers”. Children and young people who grow up perfectly integrated, only to find out that — through no fault of their own — they’re actually unauthorised migrants. Here in the UK, children who are British in every sense but legal can at least regularise on the basis of long residence: seven years for under-18s, or half their life for those aged 18-24 inclusive. Securing immigration status under these “private life” rules is only the beginning: they still have to serve a probationary period of ten years before being able to apply for indefinite leave to remain and come out of the immigration system altogether....
Welcome to episode 100 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’ve got some pretty major asylum stuff to go over plus quite a few different topics, including compensation for unlawful removal, the unending saga of the English language tests, new immigration fees, changes to work visas, a big case from the Upper Tribunal on expert evidence and a rather unusual case in the Court of Appeal on deportation. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all...
The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 hit the statute books yesterday. The Home Office says that the Act “puts into law that those who arrive illegally in the UK – who could have claimed asylum in another safe country – can be considered as ‘inadmissible’ to the UK asylum system”, and so removed to Rwanda under plans announced just before Easter. In fact, as Jon Featonby tells me on the latest episode of the podcast, inadmissibility provisions authorising removal to Rwanda are already part of the Immigration Rules: 345C. When an application is treated as inadmissible, the Secretary of State will attempt to remove the applicant to the safe third...
Welcome to episode 99 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we start with statements of changes to the Immigration Rules on Ukraine, ten-year routes to settlement and the suite of new business visas. I then try not to get too cross about Comprehensive Sickness Insurance before turning to cases on small boats, the Home Office’s duty of candour (hah!) and human trafficking. We finish on the latest deprivation of citizenship statistics. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You...
The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner is changing. For one thing, there will soon be no office — or at least, not a physical one. The OISC is ditching its London headquarters and going fully remote, as well as regional. From 1 April, its staff will be assigned to a particular patch and told to get out into the community to find out what’s going on in the immigration advice world. The Immigration Services Commissioner, John Tuckett, wants a more “proactive” regulator that strikes a better balance between its two core functions: regulating OISC advisers and stamping out the illegal activities of unregulated ones. Regulation will be less prescriptive,...
Welcome to episode 98 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’ve got a load of different topics to cover, from fees, investor visas and CSI to asylum, age assessments and appeals. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage...
Welcome to episode 98 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’ve got a load of different topics to cover, from fees, investor visas and CSI to asylum, age assessments and appeals. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage...
Closing the Investor visa route to new applicants with immediate effect was necessary, the Home Secretary said this week. If potential applicants had been given a decent period of notice, it might have attracted a last-minute flood of undesirables who “may not comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules or who may pose national security risks”. To which Sophie Barrett-Brown and Hazar El-Chamaa, my guests on the podcast this week, respond: why would you be granting visas to people who don’t qualify or threaten national security? The Home Office had plenty of existing powers to turn away applicants who can’t prove their money is clean or who seem that...
Closing the Investor visa route to new applicants with immediate effect was necessary, the Home Secretary said this week. If potential applicants had been given a decent period of notice, it might have attracted a last-minute flood of undesirables who “may not comply with the requirements of the Immigration Rules or who may pose national security risks”. To which Sophie Barrett-Brown and Hazar El-Chamaa, my guests on the podcast this week, respond: why would you be granting visas to people who don’t qualify or threaten national security? The Home Office had plenty of existing powers to turn away applicants who can’t prove their money is clean or who seem that...
Welcome to episode 97 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we cover quite a few different asylum issues, a bit on visas for social care workers, EU rights, marriages of convenience and finishing on the hot topic of citizenship deprivation. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement....
Welcome to episode 97 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we cover quite a few different asylum issues, a bit on visas for social care workers, EU rights, marriages of convenience and finishing on the hot topic of citizenship deprivation. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement....
One of the Home Secretary’s more startling powers is to take people’s British citizenship away where they acquired it by fraud or it is “conducive to the public good”. In the latter case, losing citizenship often amounts to exile in the interests of national security: the tactic is to wait until the person is abroad before making the deprivation order. Under the Nationality and Borders Bill, the person need not be told about the order at all. The Home Office tells us that this power is used “sparingly”. Between 2010 and 2018, “only around 19 people a year were deprived of their citizenship on ‘conducive to the public good’ grounds”....
One of the Home Secretary’s more startling powers is to take people’s British citizenship away where they acquired it by fraud or it is “conducive to the public good”. In the latter case, losing citizenship often amounts to exile in the interests of national security: the tactic is to wait until the person is abroad before making the deprivation order. Under the Nationality and Borders Bill, the person need not be told about the order at all. The Home Office tells us that this power is used “sparingly”. Between 2010 and 2018, “only around 19 people a year were deprived of their citizenship on ‘conducive to the public good’ grounds”....
Welcome to episode 96 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’re covering December 2021 and we’ll go over some EU rights issues, a bit on deportation, a bit on asylum, touch on human rights and address some fascinating procedural issues of law. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for...
Welcome to episode 96 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’re covering December 2021 and we’ll go over some EU rights issues, a bit on deportation, a bit on asylum, touch on human rights and address some fascinating procedural issues of law. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for...
Welcome to episode 95 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we cover some developments on EU citizens’ rights, several cases on immigration appeals, the latest work visa statistics, and then a few court and tribunal judgments on asylum, human trafficking and deportation. Our thanks to Iain Halliday who ably stands in for Colin this month. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can...
Welcome to episode 95 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we cover some developments on EU citizens’ rights, several cases on immigration appeals, the latest work visa statistics, and then a few court and tribunal judgments on asylum, human trafficking and deportation. Our thanks to Iain Halliday who ably stands in for Colin this month. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can...
Welcome to episode 94 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we kick off with some human rights developments and some fairly consistently good news on asylum (which is nice for a change). There are quite a few business immigration issues to run over quickly before we turn to developments in the English Channel and the international law of the sea for a nice, depressing ending… If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here....
Welcome to episode 94 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we kick off with some human rights developments and some fairly consistently good news on asylum (which is nice for a change). There are quite a few business immigration issues to run over quickly before we turn to developments in the English Channel and the international law of the sea for a nice, depressing ending… If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here....
People being persecuted on account of their sexual orientation can seek asylum in the UK, but face having to convince the Home Office that they are in fact lesbian, gay or bisexual. While asylum seekers are no longer quizzed about Oscar Wilde, more subtle forms of stereotyping persist. Decision-makers can demand of all LGBTQI+ asylum seekers a narrative that only some can provide: feelings of shame, stigma and difference, and a sort of emotional journey towards understanding their sexuality. On the podcast this month I hear from Katherine Soroya and Allan Briddock about what the Home Office expects from gay refugees and the problems that can cause for people who...
People being persecuted on account of their sexual orientation can seek asylum in the UK, but face having to convince the Home Office that they are in fact lesbian, gay or bisexual. While asylum seekers are no longer quizzed about Oscar Wilde, more subtle forms of stereotyping persist. Decision-makers can demand of all LGBTQI+ asylum seekers a narrative that only some can provide: feelings of shame, stigma and difference, and a sort of emotional journey towards understanding their sexuality. On the podcast this month I hear from Katherine Soroya and Allan Briddock about what the Home Office expects from gay refugees and the problems that can cause for people who...
Welcome to episode 93 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast, a week later than advertised. This month we start with changes to the Immigration Rules and other news around work and student visas, and then the latest on deprivation of citizenship. We review some new case law on asylum, talk about why the Home Office is now conceding so many appeals, before ending on EU citizens’ rights and the inevitable coronavirus material. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can...
Welcome to episode 93 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast, a week later than advertised. This month we start with changes to the Immigration Rules and other news around work and student visas, and then the latest on deprivation of citizenship. We review some new case law on asylum, talk about why the Home Office is now conceding so many appeals, before ending on EU citizens’ rights and the inevitable coronavirus material. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can...
A woman went back to her husband who had previously been violent to her, and it was at least partly because she couldn’t find anyone to make her application for indefinite leave to remain under the domestic violence rules within the timescale required, and she panicked and went back him. So that means that a rule that’s expressly there to protect people from serious harm was left ineffective because of the lack of access to immigration advice. But it is less visible than in the criminal justice system. In criminal work, the trial gets listed and then it gets postponed. Here in immigration and asylum, it’s more that the application...
A woman went back to her husband who had previously been violent to her, and it was at least partly because she couldn’t find anyone to make her application for indefinite leave to remain under the domestic violence rules within the timescale required, and she panicked and went back him. So that means that a rule that’s expressly there to protect people from serious harm was left ineffective because of the lack of access to immigration advice. But it is less visible than in the criminal justice system. In criminal work, the trial gets listed and then it gets postponed. Here in immigration and asylum, it’s more that the application...
Welcome to episode 92 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we begin with EU citizens’ rights before moving to a couple of cases on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as it applies to migrants. We then discuss asylum, including a disappointing Supreme Court decision on age assessment, before concluding with the latest on immigration appeals. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on...
Welcome to episode 92 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we begin with EU citizens’ rights before moving to a couple of cases on Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as it applies to migrants. We then discuss asylum, including a disappointing Supreme Court decision on age assessment, before concluding with the latest on immigration appeals. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on...
The UK’s emergency evacuation of Afghan civilians ends today, ahead of the 31 August deadline for the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan. Where does that leave Afghans hoping to escape the Taliban for safety in Britain? That’s the subject of this episode, in which I’m joined by two lawyers with extensive experience in this area: Jamie Bell of Duncan Lewis Solicitors and Sarah Pinder of Goldsmith Chambers. We discuss the two existing resettlement programmes for Afghans with ties to the British government; what we know about the additional Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme announced on 18 August (not much); and what happens to those already in the UK with pending...
The UK’s emergency evacuation of Afghan civilians ends today, ahead of the 31 August deadline for the withdrawal of Western troops from Afghanistan. Where does that leave Afghans hoping to escape the Taliban for safety in Britain? That’s the subject of this episode, in which I’m joined by two lawyers with extensive experience in this area: Jamie Bell of Duncan Lewis Solicitors and Sarah Pinder of Goldsmith Chambers. We discuss the two existing resettlement programmes for Afghans with ties to the British government; what we know about the additional Afghan citizens’ resettlement scheme announced on 18 August (not much); and what happens to those already in the UK with pending...
Welcome to episode 91 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we begin with a Supreme Court decision on deportation and some developments on immigration judicial reviews. We then move to business immigration, where a new type of visa has just been announced, and then off in the other direction completely to cover asylum and refugee issues. We end with a couple of court decisions on deception and long residence. Note that we are not covering the Immigration Bill published in July, as we did a separate podcast on that a couple of weeks ago. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and...
Welcome to episode 91 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we begin with a Supreme Court decision on deportation and some developments on immigration judicial reviews. We then move to business immigration, where a new type of visa has just been announced, and then off in the other direction completely to cover asylum and refugee issues. We end with a couple of court decisions on deception and long residence. Note that we are not covering the Immigration Bill published in July, as we did a separate podcast on that a couple of weeks ago. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and...
The Nationality and Borders Bill 2021 looks set to sail through Parliament, passing its second reading stage in the House of Commons this week by 101 votes. The headline provisions of the Bill are by now well known — indeed, notorious — so we’re not going to spend this episode rehearsing the various ways in which it tries to make life more difficult for asylum seekers. Instead, we’ve picked out some of the less high-profile elements that have received less scrutiny to date. Colin himself joins me for this episode. We discuss the Bill’s proposed changes to: The rules on citizenship for stateless children The definition of a “particular social...
The Nationality and Borders Bill 2021 looks set to sail through Parliament, passing its second reading stage in the House of Commons this week by 101 votes. The headline provisions of the Bill are by now well known — indeed, notorious — so we’re not going to spend this episode rehearsing the various ways in which it tries to make life more difficult for asylum seekers. Instead, we’ve picked out some of the less high-profile elements that have received less scrutiny to date. Colin himself joins me for this episode. We discuss the Bill’s proposed changes to: The rules on citizenship for stateless children The definition of a “particular social...
Welcome to episode 90 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. We’re covering June 2021, which feels a little unreal given the Nationality and Borders Bill had landed shortly before we were due to record. But life goes on, and we’ve got a few points about the EU Settlement Scheme to cover; a couple of cases on family immigration and one on long residence; several asylum issues; a couple of deportation cases to touch on; and a couple of cases in which the Court of Appeal schools the immigration tribunal in how to do its job. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening...
Welcome to episode 90 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. We’re covering June 2021, which feels a little unreal given the Nationality and Borders Bill had landed shortly before we were due to record. But life goes on, and we’ve got a few points about the EU Settlement Scheme to cover; a couple of cases on family immigration and one on long residence; several asylum issues; a couple of deportation cases to touch on; and a couple of cases in which the Court of Appeal schools the immigration tribunal in how to do its job. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening...
Brexit begins on 1 July. From that date, “hostile environment” checks apply to EU citizens in earnest. It will no longer be possible to satisfy an immigration status check — for benefits, employment or a tenancy — by flashing an EU passport. Instead, as Home Office guidance puts it, EU nationals “will be required to provide evidence of lawful immigration status in the UK, in the same way as other foreign nationals”. For those living in the UK before the end of 2020, evidence of lawful immigration status is likely to mean pre-settled or status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme. Applications to that scheme are, for the most part,...
Brexit begins on 1 July. From that date, “hostile environment” checks apply to EU citizens in earnest. It will no longer be possible to satisfy an immigration status check — for benefits, employment or a tenancy — by flashing an EU passport. Instead, as Home Office guidance puts it, EU nationals “will be required to provide evidence of lawful immigration status in the UK, in the same way as other foreign nationals”. For those living in the UK before the end of 2020, evidence of lawful immigration status is likely to mean pre-settled or status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme. Applications to that scheme are, for the most part,...
Welcome to episode 89 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month is a bit of a bumper episode, so we may hurry through some updates to keep it a manageable length, but you can read more about each item at the links below. We start with a couple of rather concerning court cases involving massive Home Office delays before turning to immigration policy. We’re then off to the Upper Tribunal to discuss a series of new decisions on family migration and the conduct of immigration appeals, before ending with a couple of quick coronavirus updates. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and...
Last year over 10,000 people were identified as possible victims of human trafficking or modern slavery, around two thirds of whom were foreign nationals from places like Albania, Sudan and Vietnam. That’s just a drop in the ocean, given that an estimated 100,000 victims are out there at any one time. Nevertheless, the existence of a support system for victims can provide exploited migrants with important rights — so naturally the government is keen to reduce the number of people helped by it. In this podcast I talk to Maya Esslemont about her work with After Exploitation, which tries to dig out proper data on what happens to trafficking survivors,...
Welcome to episode 88 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’ve got quite a few different subjects to cover, including some detention issues, the EU Settlement Scheme — for which the deadline is now rapidly approaching — and British nationality law. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or by pointing your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free...
Do you know your PG (Jamaica) from your HA (Iraq)? Our coverage of deportation decisions over the past few years has felt non-stop, with the courts pumping out judgments sending the law in different directions. In particular, the legal test for when deportation will be “unduly harsh” on family members left behind has been subject to intense, and often contradictory, judicial analysis. Thankfully, things have now settled down a bit, so it’s a good time to take stock of where we’re at with the “unduly harsh” test in 2021. I spoke to Nick Nason of Edgewater Legal, who has written up all the big deportation cases for Free Movement in...
Welcome to episode 87 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we’re covering two main sets of reform proposals, the New Plan for Immigration and changes to judicial review. We’ve also got a bunch of new Immigration Rules to mention, a handful of interesting cases and a proposed new code of conduct for Presenting Officers, the officials who represent the Home Office in immigration appeals. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If...
The statute book is crammed with criminal offences relating to borders and immigration control, from entering the UK illegally to renting property to an unauthorised migrant. Most are rarely prosecuted, with an average of 625 prosecutions a year between 2017 and 2019. But many convictions are high-profile, with a steady stream of people being jailed for “assisting unlawful immigration” by piloting small boats across the Channel. The Home Office also announced this week proposals to increase the maximum sentences for the main immigration offences. So will criminal prosecutions increasingly become a mainstream tool of immigration control? On this episode of the podcast I speak to John Vassiliou from Shepherd and...
Welcome to episode 86 of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. There were quite a lot of significant court judgments this month, so the episode is almost entirely case law. We start with the Supreme Court decision in the Shamima Begum case (where else) and the Court of Appeal judgment on child registration fees. We then proceed through other cases on immigration detention, human rights, asylum and deportation, and finally a couple of judgments on highly technical but important general immigration matters. For a treat at the end, we discuss a useful new report on reform of immigration enforcement and the hostile environment. If you would like to claim CPD...