Free Movement Free Movement

In the March roundup, Sonia and Colin discuss the latest with Albanian cases as uncovered in the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration's report on asylum casework. We cover articles looking at recent changes to the Ukraine schemes, as well as a reminder of the existence of Hamid cases and how to avoid being on the receiving end of a telling off from the High Court. We also recap the recent telling off that Swift J gave the government legal department, changes to work routes, costs in SIAC reviews, GPS tagging, deportation of stateless people and much more!


The 32 minute podcast follows the running order below:


Asylum (00:32)

Asylum casework inspection report reveals mishandling of cases, secret ministerial directions



How to effectively represent Albanian people seeking asylum in an increasingly difficult environment



How the changes to the Ukraine Schemes will make it more difficult for Ukrainians to come to the UK – and why they should be cancelled

 

Procedural (08:40)

Two Hamid referrals made in asylum cases where out of hours injunctions were sought


Government Legal Department told by High Court to keep “rather basic point” in mind when advising on redactions



Special Immigration Appeals Commission has the power to award costs in reviews

 

Points based system (12:40)

Statement of changes HC 590: salary thresholds increased, shortage occupation list gone


Changes to work visa routes from 4 April 2024 and what it means for employers

 

Detention (14:30)

Court finds that the Home Office’s imposition of a GPS tag was unlawful for over a year in the first case of its kind

 

Deportation (17:35)

Can a stateless person be subject to deportation proceedings?

 

EU Settlement Scheme (20:00)

Akinsanya latest: guidance on Zambrano carers found to be unlawful, Appendix EU unaffected

 

British Citizenship (22:10)

Roehrig upheld by Court of Appeal: no changes for certain children of EU citizens not entitled to British citizenship



Appellant keeps British nationality after Court of Appeal overturns dishonesty finding


General immigration (24:40)

More increases to application fees, including passports and Appendix FM

Your February roundup is here as promised. Colin and Sonia discuss Shamima Begum's latest appeal, the pause on some asylum cases, a run of decisions involving poor conduct on the part of either the Tribunals or the Home Office, as well as corporate transactions, the sudden closure of the Ukraine Family scheme and much more.



The 35 minute podcast follows the running order below.



Asylum (00:25)

Number of asylum refusals and homeless refugees skyrocket in latest statistics

How the Nationality and Borders Act has criminalised those seeking safety in the UK

Briefing: Can criminals be denied refugee status?

Home Secretary confirms “pause” on processing asylum claims



Trafficking (07:45)

Deportation order exclusion in discretionary leave policy for victims of modern slavery found unlawful

Risk of re-trafficking must be assessed before disqualification on public order grounds



Procedure (10:55)

Court of Appeal allows Iranian asylum appeal against “difficult to understand” First-tier Tribunal decision

Court of Appeal demolishes First-tier Tribunal in deportation appeal but upholds decision

Rewarding failure: Home Secretary permitted to withdraw decision under appeal following failure to admit excluded evidence

Home Secretary’s “shockingly poor” handling of case did not amount to contempt of court

Judicial review no longer the appropriate remedy to challenge age assessments in Scotland



Points based system (19:45)

Migration Advisory Committee recommends 21 occupations for the new immigration salary list following rapid review

Briefing: the immigration implications of a corporate transaction



British citizenship (21:45)

Court of Appeal rejects Shamima Begum’s appeal against the deprivation of her British citizenship



Family immigration (26:05)

Statement of changes HC 556: Home Office shuts Ukraine Family Scheme without notice (and details of the webinar mentioned are here: https://freemovement.org.uk/product/webinar-immigration-options-for-ukrainian-nationals-and-their-family-members/)

How to apply for entry clearance for victims of transnational marriage abandonment

Changes to the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession



General (31:05)

What you need to know before buying a property in the United Kingdom

What are the UK’s inheritance tax rules?



Updated (32:20)

Applying for British citizenship by naturalisation

How to apply for leave to remain as a victim of domestic violence

What is the Immigration Health Surcharge and how much does it cost?

Colin and Sonia have rounded up January 2024. We cover the government's claims to have cleared the 'legacy' asylum backlog and look at the three backlogs that have replaced it. We also discuss the latest in an increasingly long list of cases in which the Home Office has behaved poorly. We also cover everything else from gender based asylum claims, to new rules for business visitors and care homes both losing and keeping their sponsor licences, as well as an interesting case on detention and the Illegal Migration Act.



We conclude with an invite to former Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and (hopefully not also former!) Free Movement podcast listener David Neal to join us on a future episode.



Asylum (00:26)

Reduction in asylum backlog achieved mainly through withdrawals and questionnaires

The inadmissibility process and the three new asylum backlogs

High Court reminder in age assessment challenge of the importance of providing papers on time

Briefing: evidence and arguments in asylum claims based on gender-based violence

CJEU: Women who are victims of gender-based violence can qualify for refugee status

The Home Secretary’s unlawful secret policy to withhold leave to remain from victims of modern slavery

Concessions for applicants to the Hong Kong BN(O) route who are on immigration bail or have withdrawn their asylum claim

 

Points based system (11:48)

High Court quashes Home Office decision to revoke another care home’s sponsor licence

Care home operator loses ability to sponsor overseas workers after compliance failures

More flexibility for business visitors from today

Dates confirmed for changes to income thresholds for family and skilled worker visas

Tax residence in the UK: when do people become liable for income and capital gains tax?

Appendix Children: which routes does it apply to and what are the requirements?

 

Detention (18:18)

High Court grants bail to person detained under new Illegal Migration Act powers

High Court quashes Home Office policy of delaying release of vulnerable detainees to get a second medical opinion

 

Family immigration (23:00)

How to avoid the minimum income requirement for partners under Appendix FM

Webinar: Exceptional circumstances in family-based immigration applications

 

EU Settlement Scheme (25:38)

Changes to treatment of some late applications to the EU Settlement Scheme in new guidance

 

Updated (27:45)

Briefing: The duty to safeguard children in need and their families at section 17 of the Children Act 1989

What are the immigration rules for settled returning residents of the United Kingdom?

In our December 2023 round up, Colin and Sonia discuss the latest developments with Home Office evictions and withdrawals, as well as the new Rwanda legislation. We also cover the government's five point plan to reduce net migration as well as the latest case law and Tribunal statistics.


Asylum (01:00)

What is in the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill?

“These guarantees already existed”: the UK’s new treaty with Rwanda

Home Secretary must set out plan to eliminate use of hotels for lone refugee children

Refugees can now claim Universal Credit without a biometric residence permit

Asylum withdrawals guidance amended to halve time given to explain non-attendance at interview

 

Family immigration (19:03)

Objective evidence must be considered when deciding “very significant obstacles” to integration

In-country settlement applications for children and the different sole responsibility requirements

What happens when relationships breakdown on the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) route?

 

General immigration (22:34)

Statement of changes HC 246: rules finally amended to provide for victims of transnational marriage abandonment

Supreme Court dismisses appeals in validity and continuous residence case

Government attack on families as minimum income requirement to rise to £38,700

What should UK employers make of the government’s five-point plan to reduce immigration?

 

EU settlement scheme (31:45)

Article 8 not automatically engaged by a refusal under the EU settlement scheme

Home Office unaware of the extent to which ‘mystery’ stamp has been used to grant entry to UK in error

 

Citizenship (34:55)

Deprivation of British citizenship without advance notice is lawful, says Upper Tribunal

 

Procedure (36:55)

Court of Session agrees restricting judicial reviews of the Upper Tribunal is lawful

Outstanding immigration tribunal appeals up 20% to 31,000

Court of Appeal: raising an entirely new issue in a determination for the first time is unfair

 

Detention (40:32)

Home Office criticised by High Court for “five very concerning features” of detention case

Are safeguards from the harm caused by immigration detention working?

 

Updated articles (43:16)

What is the no recourse to public funds condition?

 

Free Movement (44:00)

New OISC Level 2 training course in immigration and asylum law now available to members

Our November roundup is here, where Colin and I cover the latest asylum and trafficking statistics, changes to the way late applications to the EUSS are treated, questions the SRA still hasn't answered, a couple of articles on Palestinians as well as quite a lot of case law.



Policy (00:45)

Assessing Braverman’s legacy as Home Secretary: Part Deux

 

Asylum (02:10)

Latest statistics show huge increase in rejections of late EU settlement scheme applications, no evidence that Rwanda has impacted Channel crossings



Briefing: four looming problems in the UK asylum system and how to address them



Permission granted in challenge to rejection of Albanian asylum claim



Returning a refugee to persecution must be a last resort



India and Georgia to be added to the list of ‘safe’ countries



Gaza: what is the UK doing to rescue British citizens and their family members?



Damages claim for asylum delay dismissed by Court of Appeal



Upper Tribunal failed to properly assess whether error of law was material in asylum appeal

 

Immigration (16:10)

Court of Appeal tells Home Office to reconsider “plainly wrong” decision on Turkish business person application



Deception case returned to the Upper Tribunal after material error of law made



Making sense of sole responsibility for child visas in immigration law

 

Deportation (19:10)

Court of Appeal says deportation of mother of British child not “unduly harsh”

 

Nationality (20:45)

Court of Appeal dismisses appeal on interpretation of nationality law

 

Trafficking (21:55)

Latest trafficking figures show benefit of change in Home Office policy



The UK must improve labour market enforcement in order to tackle exploitation of workers



Increasing numbers of sponsored migrant workers are being exploited in the UK

 

EU Settlement Scheme (26:05)

Important changes to the way late EUSS applications are treated



Court of Appeal dismisses government appeal on access to benefits for people with pre settled status

 

Procedure (28:38)

How to become an OISC level 2 adviser



Government should not routinely remove names of civil servants in judicial review disclosure



Guidance in Begum on deprivation decisions is not restricted to national security cases


Solicitors Regulation Authority has questions to answer about their “warning” to immigration solicitors



Late evidence from the Home Office can be admitted in an appeal where the appellant was aware of it

 

Updated article (34:30)

Briefing: Article 1D of the Refugee Convention and Palestinian refugees

Our October immigration round up is here and we have also included discussion of the Supreme Court's decision in the Rwanda litigation. As well as that, Colin and Sonia covered everything from fishing to legal aid shortages via eSports, medico-legal reports, public funds and the shortage occupation list. We're still not entirely sure that either of us are pronouncing "refoulement" properly.


Timestamps are below, the link to the quiz will be included when we post about this episode on Free Movement.

Rwanda (00:58)

Supreme Court finds Rwanda is not a safe country to which refugees can be removed
Reflections on the Supreme Court's Rwanda judgment



Blog news
(10:15)

Free Movement 2023 reader survey results

 

Asylum (12:55)

High Court success in challenge to move of highly vulnerable asylum seeker away from his support network 

Over half the people seeking asylum are now unable to access a legal aid lawyer 

Safe Passage report: the case for safe routes 

What is a medico-legal report? 

Medico-legal reports: how to instruct and common mistakes to avoid  

New asylum processes set up on disputed territory of Diego Garcia

Court of Appeal gives guidance on sentencing for small boats prosecutions

Fairness in safe third country removals: the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Asylum Aid’s case

 

Policy (25:35)

Migration Advisory Committee recommends shortage occupation list is abolished  

 

Immigration (28:54)

The effect of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 on the fishing industry

Home Office concedes latest challenge to no recourse to public funds policy

Do foreign gamers need a visa to play competitive eSports in the UK?  

TLScontact in unsuccessful challenge to new Home Office contract  

 

Nationality (37:32)

Court of Appeal upholds deprivation of citizenship decision 

 

Updated articles (38:55)

What are the 10 and 20 year rules on long residence? 

Briefing: what is the law on deporting foreign criminals and their human rights?