It was a relatively quiet April ahead of what looks to be a busy May. Sonia is joined by Andrew again this month. Sonia runs through the amendments made at committee stage of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration one and despaired over the lack of attention given to the case where the UK detained a Brazilian tourist for eight weeks. Andrew looks at Asylum Aid's successful statelessness challenge as well as a really interesting piece on discrimination against non-EEA nationals with pre-settled status. There were also lots of case updates, including on fee waivers in indefinite leave applications, successful and unsuccessful skilled worker cases, and much more!The following posts were covered in this episode:What amendments have been made to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill?Asylum (03:45)New Iran country policy and information note on social media, surveillance and sur place activities First-tier Tribunal wrong to allow appeal based on a grant of humanitarian protection that did not exist Court of Appeal considers standard of proof for internal relocation Family (08:00)Asylum Aid wins High Court challenge to the statelessness family reunion rules The armed forces immigration rules: what are they, why do they exist and what are the challenges? Home Office guidance on discretionary indefinite leave for children held to be unlawful Is it discriminatory to prevent non-EEA nationals with pre-settled status from being joined in the UK by their spouse? Visitors (22:40)Brazilian tourist unlawfully detained after “volunteering” in a hostel Work routes (24:40)Court of Appeal rejects student’s attempt to switch into skilled worker route Challenging the suspension and revocation of a sponsor licence Successful challenge to cancellation of skilled worker leave after Home Office errors Guidance on “exceptional assurance” Covid policy given by Court of Appeal Updated (40:30)Refugee family reunion: a user’s guideFee waivers for applications made outside the UK: who can qualify and how to applyBriefing: the sorry state of the UK asylum systemA guide to right to work checksA guide to making fresh claimsWhat are the financial requirements for UK spouse and partner visas?
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42:15
Immigration roundup: 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!Asylum (01:05)High Court confirms ability to challenge lawfulness of withdrawal decision in asylum support appealHigh Court finds that three men were unlawfully accommodated at WethersfieldCourt of Appeal says exclusion of those with deportation orders from trafficking concession is lawfulChildren with pending asylum claim can be removed from the UK to be reunited with their parentsInspector’s report finds penalty scheme for deterring clandestine entry is still lackingTen years after the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act, safety is more elusive than everHome Office wrong to exclude kidnapping victim from trafficking protectionsThe Home Office is leaving thousands of Afghans in limbo in the UKIncrease in Home Office refusals sees number of asylum appeals soar in latest tribunal statisticsStatement of changes (19:16)Statement of changes HC 733: visa regime imposed on Trinidad and Tobago and help given to some care workersFamily (20:43)Man unlawfully denied spouse visa wins appeal too lateInspection of fee waiver applications notes improvement in processing times, concerns about decision qualityNationality (28:03)Supreme Court adopts “nuanced” approach in deprivation of citizenship appealHome Office to reconsider Windrush compensation rejection after court lossProcedure (32:52)Increases to most Home Office fees from 9 April 2025Increase to court and tribunal fees from 1 April 2025eVisa ‘grace period’ allowing travel with an expired biometric residence permit extended to 1 June 2025New sanctions for failure to comply with biometric regulations in eVisas changes from 27 March 2025Court of Appeal upholds decision to refuse extension of time to woman deprived of British citizenshipUnlocking the potential of pro bono costs ordersHome Office decision to “correct” grant of indefinite leave made in error held to be lawfulPoints based system (37:49)No duty for Home Office to carry out impact assessment before revoking sponsor licenceNational Audit Office recommends more is done to tackle exploitation in the Skilled Worker routeHuman rights (41:06)Home Office concede that Dutch man was wrongly excluded from UK in case of mistaken identityUpdated (42:17)How does absence from the UK work under the EU settlement scheme?How to claim asylum in the UKBriefing: How to make a change of conditions application and remove the ‘no recourse to public funds’ restrictionThe 180-day absence rule doesn’t apply to people with a spouse or partner visa
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43:36
Immigration roundup: February 2025
The February podcast is here! We kick off with Sonia briefly summarising the recently published statistics for 2024. There was then a lot to cover on asylum with several case updates and of course the recent Home Office changes to the good character requirements. Barry was thrilled to be able to discuss his favourite section of the British Nationality Act 1981 as well as getting to cover Alex Piletska’s “highly entertaining” housesitting piece. All that and much more!General immigration (01:00)Health and care worker visas and asylum grant rates both plummeted in 2024 according to latest statistics Asylum (03:15)High Court upholds award of £98,757 damages to refugee Home Secretary’s decision on national security is sufficient to revoke refugee status Upper Tribunal dismisses judicial review in case of parents seeking to reunite with young children High Court provides guidance on interaction between Schedule 10 accommodation and Care Act duties Who is eligible and how to apply to the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme? Challenge to refusal to relocate Diego Garcia refugee to the UK dismissed by High CourtGood character guidance amended to block refugees from naturalisation British citizenship (20:45)High Court considers new provisions for registration as a British citizen in special circumstances Court of Appeal returns deprivation appeal to the Upper Tribunal EU Settlement Scheme (27:25)Frequently asked questions: family member applications to the EU Settlement Scheme Work routes (28:15)A guide to civil penalties for illegal working Procedure (29:40)The Home Office is creating unnecessary additional work and delays in change of conditions applications Litigant in person to pay thousands in costs after falling foul of procedural rules Visitors (34:40)Housesitters and holiday swappers: what are the immigration law implications? Updates (39:20)What is the no recourse to public funds condition?Government Authorised Exchange: one visa, over 30 optionsGeneral grounds for refusal: contriving to frustrate the intention of the rulesVisas for children under Appendix FM of the immigration rulesWhat is a Scale-up visa and how does it work?
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40:42
Immigration roundup: January 2025
Sonia and Barry are back already to celebrate the end of January! There is a brief look back at 2024 and look forward to 2025 which of course now includes the new Bill (seriously what are we calling this thing for short? BSAIB just doesn't work, as Barry ably demonstrates). Sonia and Barry cover two of the recent Court of Appeal deprivation cases, as well as Asylum Aid's recent statelessness challenge and a recent decision on children separated from their parents during a Channel crossing.
Sonia also covered a few trafficking updates and made a plea for one final effort on legal aid as the final consultation opens. There are new briefings and case updates on work routes as well as interesting one on urgent removals. Barry finishes off with a look at Manston and the recent judicial review forcing a proper inquiry into what happened at the centre.
The 41 minute podcast follows the running order below:
Immigration news (00:30)
Free Movement review of the year 2024
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Nationality (04:05)
Deprivation of British citizenship process is procedurally unfair, says Court of Appeal
New Court of Appeal guidance on the correct test to be applied to s.40(3) deprivation of citizenship appeals
Statelessness – Asylum Aid legal challenge to family reunion rules change in High Court this week
Asylum (13:45)
Home Office wins appeal against interim admission of parents of separated children
Consultation on increase to legal aid fees opens
Changes to guidance on requesting reconsideration of trafficking leave decisions
Briefing: how to request leave to remain for survivors of trafficking
How to identify whether a migrant domestic worker is a victim of modern slavery?
Work routes (16:35)
Care home operator successfully challenges Home Office approach to genuine vacancy requirement
Briefing: how to sponsor a Charity Worker
Briefing: how to apply for a Charity Worker sponsor licence
Significant changes made to guidance on sponsoring workers
Skilled worker encountered “volunteering” loses challenge to cancellation of leave
Unsuccessful challenge to refusal of further leave where appellant was aware of issues with sponsor licence
Family (27:20)
Two recent Strasbourg cases on family life between adults
EUSS (32:10)
Home Office to start converting eligible EUSS pre-settled status holders to settled status this month
Immigration Advice Authority (33:00)
OISC renamed Immigration Advice Authority from 16 January 2025
Deportation/Removal (33:50)
High Court gives guidance on secret correspondence for charter flight removals
Detention (35:00)
Home Office settles Manston inquiry judicial review
Updated (39:30)
Briefing: how to apply for a student sponsor licence
Home Office guidance on streamlined asylum processing for children
Briefing: how to apply for a religious work visa
What is the Immigration Advice Authority, previously known as the OISC?
Will I need Electronic Travel Authorisation to enter the UK?
What are the UK immigration rules on statelessness?
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40:47
Immigration roundup: December 2024
It’s goodbye to 2024 in this month’s podcast, with Sonia and Barry wrapping up December. They spend a bit of time discussing eVisas at the beginning of the podcast, before moving on to asylum and trafficking where issues around the quality of decision making have been raised in a couple of different posts.
Barry covered two Court of Appeal decisions on the EU Settlement Scheme as well as an Upper Tribunal decision on deportation of EU nationals. Sonia discussed OISC’s name change and suggests that time and money might have been better spent on resolving the various issues with the new online portal. All that and much more!
The 46 minute long podcast follows the running order below:
eVisas (00:40)
eVisas and the hostile environment: a disaster waiting to happen
Home Office minister makes statement on eVisas
Asylum (13:10)
Briefing: current problems in the UK asylum system and how to address them
Migrant Help: now more helpful?
Court of Appeal dismisses Iranian asylum appeal
Afghan family to have application decided a sixth time after unfair refusal
Recent changes to the policy on granting leave to survivors of trafficking
Inspection of trafficking decision making body finds speed prioritised over quality
EUSS (23:10)
Court of Appeal says that application made to EU Settlement Scheme was correctly rejected
Court of Appeal allows appeal on EU Settlement Scheme dependency rules
Procedure (29:05)
New Presidential Guidance on litigation friends in the tribunals
Leave obtained by deception does not count as “continuous lawful residence”
Court of Appeal finds Home Office cannot use the same certification decision in successive removals
Unrepresented claimant fails in judicial review of voided application
Deportation (38:10)
Upper Tribunal clarifies position on deportation of EU nationals for pre and post-Brexit conduct
Regulatory (39:14)
Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner to be replaced by Immigration Advice Authority
Nationality (41:25)
High Court dismisses challenge to refusal of indefinite leave under Windrush scheme
Updates (45:00)
Fee waivers: what can you do if you cannot afford to pay your immigration application fee?
Briefing: applying for a graduate visa
How to apply for the UK’s global talent visa
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