This course was published in May 2024. This short course covers the rules in place for victims of domestic abuse. Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse allows someone who has come to the UK in one of several (but not all) partner categories to stay in the country indefinitely if the relationship...
The second part of a challenge to the family reunion rules that exclude child refugees from bringing their family to the UK has been dismissed by the High Court. The case is R (DM) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees intervening) [2024]...
As I predicted earlier today, the Lord Chancellor has today laid The Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (Amendment) Rules 2024 before Parliament. Ominously, these rules are to come into force “immediately after the coming into force of section 2 (duty to make arrangements for removal) of the...
The Illegal Migration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2024 have brought section 50 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 into force from today. As set out in the explanatory notes, section 50(1) of the Act says that the first time that Tribunal Procedure Rules are made in relation to section 44 to 49 of […]
...In Al-Azad v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 407 the Court of Appeal has said that paragraph 322(1A) of the immigration rules (mandatory ground for refusal where false representations are used) applies to an application which has been varied by a later application in which...
Successful applicants under Appendix VDA are granted ‘settlement’, otherwise known as ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (or ‘indefinite leave to enter’ in cases of transnational marriage abandonment). VDA applications are not considered ‘human rights claims’ and do not carry a right of appeal. Instead, the applicant only has a right to...
Migrant victims of domestic abuse are highly vulnerable as a result of their insecure immigration status, especially as they usually have no recourse to public funds and may have limited resources of their own. This often makes it difficult for them to escape their abusive relationship. In recognition of this,...
There is no fixed or mandatory evidence that must be provided with a VDA application. All of the information and evidence submitted should be considered by the caseworker in the round and a conclusion drawn as to whether, on the balance of probabilities, the relationship broke down because of domestic...
Relationship requirements Not all people in the UK with permission as a partner qualify for protection under the VDA rules (see VDA 4.1). It is only applicants who currently have, or have last been granted, permission as a: Fiancé(e)s and proposed civil partners are not eligible to apply for indefinite...
Validity Applications under the VDA rules generally follow the same validity requirements as with other application categories. They are as follows: If an application does not meet all the validity requirements, it may be ‘rejected’ as invalid and not considered. This is important as the application is not ‘refused’ and...
The Immigration Rules for Victims of Domestic Abuse (VDA) recognises the vulnerability of spouses and partners coming to the UK to join their British or UK-settled partners who later become victims of domestic abuse. Immigration Rules to protect victims of domestic violence were established in 2002 and most recently were...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! First of all, a quick reminder that our membership prices are going up on Wednesday this week (1 May). It’s been a week. On Tuesday morning, hours after the Safety of Rwanda Act completed its final stages in parliament, five people included a little girl died while trying to...
CLOSING DATE: 5 MAY 2024 South West London Law Centres is seeking an experienced Asylum/Immigration Solicitor or Caseworker with the appropriate level of accreditation to provide casework together with colleagues in a number of new projects including homelessness and domestic violence cases. You will show care and attention to our...
The Court of Appeal has rejected a claim that Afghan nationals have been unlawfully treated less favourably than Ukrainians when it comes to the requirement to enrol biometrics as part of an entry clearance application. The case is R (AB) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA...
The Upper Tribunal has overturned a decision by the First-tier Tribunal to allow the appeal of a couple who were trying to rely on their residence rights under EU law in circumstances where their sponsor had lost his EU citizenship. The case is Secretary of State for the Home Department...
In what is a day of enormous shame for any right thinking person in this country, the UK’s treaty with Rwanda has today been ratified which means that the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration Act) 2024 which received Royal Assent today is now in force. On 22 January 2024...
As indicated in the recent consultation response, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has now published the new code of standards. It is a criminal offence to give immigration advice unless you are properly regulated and for those who are not practicing solicitors, barristers or Chartered Legal Executives, that usually...
The Home Office has published its latest “ad hoc” statistics release, showing a dramatic increase in the number of Vietnamese people coming to the UK and a 24% increase in people detected crossing the Channel so far in 2024. The statistics were published to support the Prime Minister’s speech in...
In AM (Belarus) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKSC 13, in a judgment delivered by Lord Sales, the Supreme Court has held that a man living in the United Kingdom for twenty six years with no immigration status was not entitled to status on human rights...
It is ten years since I launched Free Movement membership. In that decade, I’ve increased the cost just once, in 2022. Two years later, it is time for another increase. The new prices will take effect from 1 May 2024 for all renewed subscriptions and for entirely new subscriptions. If...
Closing date: 13th May 2024 5pm This is an opportunity to join a highly successful, creative, dynamic immigration team. 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 range of immigration work with experience of...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The only version of the Prime Minister’s press conference that I recommend reading is this fact checked one by Lizzie Dearden. As my periodic reminder that there are two countries involved in this process, it is worth checking in with what is happening at Rwanda’s...
Almost two years after changes were made by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 to the standard of proof, we have our first reported decision from the Upper Tribunal on how the assessment of whether a person’s fear of persecution is “well-founded” should be carried out. The case is JCK...
Presumably because everything is going so well with the Illegal Migration Act 2023 and the Rwanda Bill, it appears that the government is setting its sights back on the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, in particular the provisions not yet in force around priority removal notices and accelerated detained appeals....
The backlog of cases in the inadmissibility process was in the news again last week following senior Home Officials’ evidence session at the Public Accounts Committee on Monday. This article looks at legal arguments that can be made in relation to the Home Office’s delay in making admissibility decisions for...
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report ‘An inspection of the use of deprivation of Citizenship by the Status Review Unit’ contains some interesting points around the high number of Albanian decisions, proposed solutions for what happens to a person after deprivation and some fairly troubling use of...
Closing Date: 13-May-2024 Lead Immigration Lawyer We are looking for a dynamic and committed solicitor (or barrister with authorisation to conduct litigation) to join our legal team as Lead Immigration Lawyer. This is an exciting role, and will suit someone who enjoys using the law creatively and working collaboratively. ATLEU...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! “Election vanity scam” (as coined by someone who seemingly works for the Home Office) is probably the most accurate description of the Rwanda plan at this point. As I have said before, best case scenario for the government surely has to be that any...
Our monthly update course is available to Free Movement members. It is based on the articles we’ve published over the last month and on our immigration law update podcast. If you are not already a member, you can join here and access not just this course but all of our courses. Membership...
This month 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, the recent changes to the Ukraine schemes, as well as a reminder of the existence of Hamid cases and how to avoid being on...
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...
During judicial review proceedings it has been disclosed that around 80 children were evacuated from Afghanistan and separated from their families and a new route is to be put in place to facilitate the reunion of these families shortly. The case is R (HR & Ors) v Secretary of State...
The Appendix FM minimum income requirements for spouse and partner visas can catch out even those with enough money to meet them. Having the money only takes you so far: the income must come from a specific source, must be calculated in a certain way, and specified evidence must be...
In other posts we have looked at the requirements to be satisfied by a spouse or partner who seek leave to enter or remain. Under Appendix FM, the sponsor can be a British citizen, a settled person, a refugee, or someone with humanitarian protection, limited leave under Appendix EU, Appendix...
