Details of free fast track service from the Home Office for obtaining your personal records. Only applies to certain computerised records but it is free rather than £10 and only takes 20 days rather than 40 days. Basically it is a faster version of the subject access request method, which...
A recent Freedom of Information request reveals the number of times the Home Secretary has deprived British citizens of their citizenship over the last ten years as well as the breakdown of reasons. The raw numbers were as follows: Year Total 2006 > 5 2007 0 2008 0 2009 > 5 2010 > 5 2011 […]
...I am currently commissioning some development work on the Free Movement website and it would be extremely useful if you could spare two minutes to answer the reader survey, which includes an opportunity to make suggestions about new features or changes you would like to see. I am very grateful...
Last week the Court of Justice of the European Union gave judgment in the case of NA C-115/15 on the vexed issue of retained rights of residence for victims of domestic violence. It is hard to care given the result of the Brexit referendum but it is a very important case...
Some significant updates to the guidance on exclusion from the Refugee Convention (both Articles 1F and 33(2)) according to the change log: updated to incorporate guidance on applying Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention additional guidance on extremism and extremist behaviours to align with wider cross government extremism strategy incorporated...
Another Dublin / 3rd country removal case. Now that Italy has made general assurances to their EU partners that families will be accommodated together in appropriate conditions that do not breach Article 3, following the judgment in Tarakhel v Switzerland, specific assurance will not need to be made in any individual case. Ms...
Upper Tribunal Judge Francis Trevor Woodman Pinkerton retires with effect from 5 July 2016. Notes to editors Upper Tribunal Judge Pinkerton (70) was admitted as a Solicitor in 1970. He was appointed a part-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1995, a full-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1999 and a Deputy District Judge (Civil)...
Interesting case where the appellant did not run a Refugee Convention or Article 3 ECHR case against his removal, instead relying on Article 9 ECHR, the right to freedom of religion. He argued that his religious work for and with the Afghanistan Islamic Cultural Centre in the UK, of which he...
Some worrying news from The Guardian: UK citizenship has been given to the children of eastern Europeans living in Britain without the proper paperwork, the Guardian has learned. The affected families come from countries including Poland and the Czech Republic that joined the EU in 2004 and so far around...
Upper Tribunal Judge Kate Esi Eshun retires with effect from 1 July 2016. Notes to editors Upper Tribunal Judge Eshun (65) was called to the Bar (I) in 1983. She was appointed a part-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1992 and full-time Immigration Adjudicator in 1994 (now known as Judge of the...
First of all, as I have written previously, it seems highly likely that those EU nationals and their families currently resident in the UK will be allowed to remain. We do not know on what basis but it nevertheless seems highly likely. There are very many concerned readers of this...
More from the tribunal on how a “protection claim” implicitly means the paragraph 353 fresh claim must be met where it applies. The tribunal must decide its jurisdiction, apparently, but not in these circumstances, where someone else must decide it. I still don’t buy it, but so far the higher...
The case of Ruhumuliza (Article 1F and “undesirable”) [2016] UKUT 284 (IAC) concerns an Anglican bishop judged by the Secretary of State on the balance of probabilities to have been involved in crimes against humanity, specifically genocide, in Rwanda in 1994. He was therefore excluded from the protection of the Refugee Convention...
1. The No 3 Commencement Order of the 2014 Act, SI 2014/2771, extends the new appeals provisions to identified persons, but the amendment of it in SI 2014/2928 further extends those provisions to identified decisions. 2. In consequence, a person against whom a deportation decision was made in the period 10 November 2014 – 5 […]
...When a foreign offender has been convicted of an offence for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment of at least 4 years and has successfully appealed on human rights grounds, this does not prevent the Secretary of State from relying on the conviction for the purposes of paragraph 398(a)...
The people of what is currently the United Kingdom have voted to leave the European Union. What happens now? Here I am going to take a quick look at the immediate consequences for EU nationals living in the UK. In short, there are no immediate legal consequences that flow directly...
The Supreme Court has referred an interesting although fairly unusual question to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the entitlement to subsidiary protection of a person who has suffered awful past persecution. The full question (referring to the Qualification Directive) is: “Does article 2(e), read with article...
Official headnote: 1. For the purposes of Art 8ZA(2) of the Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 (SI 2000/1161)(as inserted by SI 2013/174 with effect from 12 July 2013), a notice is not sent to a postal address “provided for correspondence by the person” if the address is...
This judgment is of historic interest only as the right of appeal under consideration by the court was re-written by the Immigration Act 2014 anyway. For what it is worth, the old section 83 did not give a right of appeal against refusal of asylum to a person who already...
In short the court concludes that immigration status as a domestic worker is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. The court suggests that the law should be amended to remedy this protection gap and refers to the particular vulnerability of migrants on tied visas and the review of the...
Yes, there is a right of appeal against a refusal of entry clearance, even under the appeals regime introduced by the Immigration Act 2014. I mention this because a client’s appeal was just rejected by the First-tier Tribunal under rule 22 of the procedure rules on the basis that there...
Interesting from the BBC: Converts to Christianity are being unfairly treated by the asylum system, according to a report by a parliamentary group. But how do you prove someone is Christian? The full report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief is available here:...
Page contentsThe relationship between the ECHR and the EUIntroductionAccession of the EU to the ECHRThe EU from the perspective of the European Court of Human Rights: the protection gapThe impact of the relationship between the EU and the ECHR on a post-Brexit UK The relationship between the ECHR and the...
Very useful update from my colleague Shu Shin Luh: R (Hossain and Ors) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWHC 1331 (Admin) Mr Justice Cranston this week handed down judgment in Hossain & others v SSHD, the test case (with four representative claimants) on the lawfulness of the...
Page contentsThe implications for Scotland of a vote in the EU referendum for the UK to leave the EUIntroductionThe current legal positionThe referendum and withdrawal: legal arrangementsUK devolution arrangementsThe messier realityScotland and the EU—a distinctive relationship?More devolved powers for Scotland, more intertwined responsibilities, more constitutional unease?Scotland and migration—divergence and tension...
Page contentsThe EU’s Borders: Schengen, Frontex and the UKIntroductionThe Schengen zoneTreaty foundationsInternal border controlsSupporting measuresExternal bordersExternal border rulesFrontexThe EU border regime and the 2015-2016 crisisRe-introduction of internal border controlsDevelopments with FrontexThe UK and the EU Border RegimeConclusion: What are the implications for the referendum?References The EU’s Borders: Schengen, Frontex and...
Page contentsThe UK Referendum on the EU and the Common European Asylum SystemIntroductionWhat is the Common European Asylum System?Outcomes of the CEAS and the possible consequences of UK withdrawalAfghanistanIranIraq The UK Referendum on the EU and the Common European Asylum System By Elspeth Guild, Partner, Kingsley Napley, 29 April 2016...
Get a quicker decision on your visa application if you’ve already applied by post: what forms you need, the cost and how long it takes There are significant caveats. It costs an additional £400 on top of the normal application fee. The service is only available for applications on these...
Page contentsThe Impact of BrexitIntroductionThe UK’s main optionsProcess of withdrawalImpact on UK citizens in the remaining EU and EU citizens in the UK The Impact of Brexit By Steve Peers, University of Essex, 17 May 2016 Introduction What would happen if the UK left the EU? In each case, that...
Interesting from The Register. The Home Office seems to have commissioned a massive restructuring of its databases to enable simple tracking and search for officials, police and immigration officers. At least it consulted… The public? Parliament? No one? WHAT! Source: UK Home Office is creating mega database by stitching together ALL...
Gedi, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Home Department [2016] EWCA Civ 409 (17 May 2016) is a case where the Home Office took it into their own hands to impose curfew restrictions over and above bail conditions those imposed by the First Tier Tribunal, as well...
Page contentsThe implications of UK withdrawal for immigration policy and nationality law: Irish aspectsIntroductionThe common travel areaOverviewCurrent arrangementsImplications of withdrawalThe status of Irish citizens in the UK OverviewCurrent arrangementsImplications of withdrawalConclusionsReferences The implications of UK withdrawal for immigration policy and nationality law: Irish aspects By Bernard Ryan, Professor of Law, University...
Page contentsFree Movement and Criminal LawIntroductionDeporting EU citizens: criminal law as a limit to protection against expulsion and exclusionChecking EU citizens’ criminal records: the EU criminal record exchange systemBringing to justice individuals fleeing prosecution or custody: the European Arrest Warrant systemPreventing the entry of individuals deemed to pose security threats:...
Page contentsEU Citizens’ Access to Welfare Benefits: Past, Present and FutureIntroductionThe eligibility rules for EU citizensHow the rules developed over timeChanges since 2014Universal CreditFuture changes to in-work benefitsThe main types of benefitsWhen can EU citizens claim benefits? – a summaryEU citizens excluded from benefitsHousing AssistanceConclusionsFurther Reading EU Citizens’ Access to...
Page contentsEU free movement in practice at home and abroadIntroduction Treaty provisions on free movement for EU citizensWho determines who is a citizen of the Union?What rights does EU citizenship bring to individuals?What about the wider and economic benefits of EU citizenship?Setting up a businessEducation and researchSharing of personal dataMobile phone...
