The Secretaries of State for Defence, the Home Office and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs have succeeded in an appeal against three orders made by the High Court in litigation arising from the Afghan data breach which came to light last year after the superinjunction was lifted. Two of the...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeals of two women who worked as domestic workers and were trafficked to the UK from the Philippines via Saudi Arabia. The appellants were arguing that they were refugees because of the risk that they would be re-trafficked if returned to the Philippines....
In the absence of a reported decision on the matter (yet), we are writing to set out our recent experience and success in challenging Home Office refusals of leave to recognised victims of trafficking, in the hope that this will help others with similar cases. Shortly before what was set...
Community Lawyer (Immigration) We are recruiting an immigration lawyer to take up the exciting new role of Community Lawyer within ATLEU. The successful candidate will play a pivotal role in delivering ATLEU’s community lawyering strategy to bring about meaningful change with and for survivors of human trafficking and exploitation. The...
The High Court has ordered the Home Secretary to reinstate support to a potential victim of trafficking where the Home Secretary had made a public order disqualification and cancelled his support. The case is R (EPS) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 3462 (Admin). The claimant...
Having been given a very hard time of it in the Court of Appeal, the Home Secretary has finally been vindicated in her series of appeals concerning the process for depriving people of their British citizenship. The Supreme Court has held that procedural fairness can be achieved through a statutory...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Plans for mandatory digital ID for everyone in the UK were dropped last week, although the government said that they will still be mandating that right-to-work checks are carried out digitally. The government’s position on this seems a little muddled, with the minister...
Permission for judicial review and interim relief has been refused in a case where the claimant care home sought to challenge the revocation of its sponsor licence. The revocation was because that the Home Secretary was satisfied that staff were being paid less than minimum wage. The interim relief application...
Unless and until a person has been notified that a decision has been made to make a deportation order against them, they are not liable to removal for the purpose of section 259 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The importance of that point in this case was that it...
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has published a report following an unannounced inspection of the Home Office’s short-term holding facilities in immigration reporting centres in October last year. Concerningly, right at the outset of the report the Chief Inspector notes that the use and average length of detention in these...
The Senior President of Tribunals has published his annual report for 2025. The section on the Upper Tribunal (IAC) notes that it “appears very likely” that workloads in the Upper Tribunal “will increase significantly” because of the increase in the number of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal “arising from government...
The case concerns a settlement application made on behalf of a child under paragraph 297 of Part 8 which was instead granted as limited leave under Appendix FM because although her father was a British citizen resident in the UK, her mother only had limited leave. The Court of Appeal...
A claimant has been refused permission for judicial review to challenge the refusal of his naturalisation application on good character grounds. The decision followed an oral permission hearing and the case is R (BSD) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 3333 (Admin). BSD arrived in the...
In this briefing we will take a look at what is really going on with the main features of the contemporary asylum system: arrivals, the backlog, detention, removal and resettlement. The information is drawn mainly from the quarterly immigration statistics and transparency data for the year ended September 2025, the...
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has disclosed some further details on the new immigration and asylum appeal body. The plans are contained in a letter to the chair of the Justice Committee. Some further hints at the process behind the scenes separately emerged in live questions to Sarah Sackman, Minister...
A charity has been refused permission to challenge “Operation Tornado” on the grounds that it has an indirectly discriminatory effect on people with the protected characteristic of disability, race (colour) and sex. “Operation Tornado” is what the government has named the increase in immigration raids since the Labour government was...
The Upper Tribunal has heard a challenge by a cohort of Syrian nationals regarding the certification of their asylum claims on the basis that they could be returned to a safe third country, in this case Bulgaria. It is believed that this case is the first of its kind since...
That’s officially a wrap on 2025, as Sonia and Barry run through December’s various happenings, including the final statement of changes for the year and our latest resources on the earned settlement proposals. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act is now in force and the latest tribunal statistics show...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Last week UNHCR published their legal observations on the government’s proposed changes to asylum. The agency said that the proposal to grant refugees only two and a half years’ leave at a time is likely to be detrimental to their “sense of security,...
In the first substantive judgment concerning the use of “public order disqualification” powers in trafficking cases under s.63 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the High Court has found that the Home Secretary’s general approach has been unlawful to date and requires significant revision. The case is R (ABW)...
Regulations were made just before the Christmas break which brought more of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 into force from 5 January 2026. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 2 December last year. At commencement, the following were brought into force...
In Majera v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 1597, the Court of Appeal considered the right approach to the ‘very compelling circumstances’ test in deportation cases where the foreign criminal claims to have been rehabilitated. This is a useful reminder of the limited weight that...
Despite a series of successful legal challenges against it, the Home Office’s current policy on handling requests to defer or be excused from biometric enrolment where an applicant cannot travel safely to a visa application centre remains unfit for purpose. The policy is frustrating access to family migration and reunification...
Following a interim agreement reached with the Home Office to prevent street homelessness, refugees living in asylum accommodation and receiving subsistence support can apply to extend their move-on period from 28 days to up to 56 days where they would otherwise be at imminent risk of street homelessness. This can...
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! I hope that you managed to have a bit of break over the holidays and are feeling well rested and ready for the many challenges that we already know 2026 will have in store, both for migrants and for those of us working...
Free Movement is seeking an Editorial Assistant to join our small team. You’ll be working with the Editor (Jasmine Quiller-Doust) and Training Manager (Rachel Whickman). The role will involve assisting with the publishing process and supporting the smooth running and delivery of our training courses. This position will suit someone...
The Court of Appeal recently granted permission to appeal the County Court decision in Jen and Jamie Ltd v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCC 41, [2025] 7 WLUK 288, in which an appeal against a civil penalty notice for illegally employing two individuals was dismissed. The...
The Home Office has published an updated country policy and information note known as a ‘CPIN’ on Pakistan and sexual orientation and gender identity claims. A new version of the note was published in May 2025, replacing the earlier version from April 2022 and making significant changes to the 2022...
Right to Remain are looking for an exceptional candidate who can hit the ground running as our Legal Education Officer, working closely with the Director and the rest of our small and dynamic Right to Remain team. Job title: Legal Education Officer Location: Remote work, with some travel to other...
The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is regularly repeated by the government when justifying increasingly draconian legislation in an attempt to prevent refugees from travelling to the UK under their own steam. The argument is that refugees should use these safe and legal routes instead of arriving in small...
Vacancies for full-time paralegals Wesley Gryk Solicitors LLP is a top-ranked specialist firm in UK immigration and nationality law, consistently recognised by The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners, and The Times Best Law Firms. We are known for our commitment to excellence, empathy, and life-changing legal work. We are seeking...
In a stinging judgment, the High Court has found that the Home Secretary failed to comply with an article 3 systems duty in the operation of the rule 35 system in Brook House immigration removal centre, at least between 28 July 2023 and 11 March 2024. The case is AH...
The High Court found that a University’s failure to rescind its withdrawal of sponsorship, or at least inquire about the possibility of doing so with the Home Office, was either a fettering of its discretion or irrational conduct given the circumstances of the case. The judgment is a welcome reminder...
The Upper Tribunal has said that when the Court of Session is transferring judicial reviews to the tribunal, a decision should be made by the court on permission before the matter is transferred. The case is R (EB) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Scotland; Transfer of claims)...
