Author: Chris Benn

Chris Benn

Chris Benn

Chris Benn is Legal and Policy Advisor at Seraphus Solicitors. He is accredited as a Senior Caseworker and Supervisor under the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme. Seraphus provides advice on the EUSS and EU citizens' rights to the EU Delegation to the UK.

It is not often you’ll see an Upper Tribunal judge simply concede defeat trying to understand what on earth the immigration rules mean, but this is exactly what happened in this unreported Appendix EU durable partner appeal. For those who have battled the complexities of Appendix EU, there is some...

25th January 2023
BY Chris Benn

The Brexit fall out continues with the High Court finding in the case of Independent Monitoring Authority v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3274 (Admin) that the EU settlement scheme is unlawful. The scheme was set up by the British government to transition the lawful basis...

23rd December 2022
BY Chris Benn

The problems faced by pre-settled status holders who cannot show a qualifying right to reside when trying to access benefits have been dragging on for several years. Notwithstanding their lawful immigration status, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Regulations treat them as a person not in the UK and...

15th December 2022
BY Chris Benn

Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit) have both received some updates in the latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules. The accompanying explanatory statement gives an overview of the changes that have been made. The changes come into force on 9 November 2022.  A few of the definitions...

20th October 2022
BY Chris Benn

Under EU free movement law, British citizens who had been exercising “treaty rights” in the European Economic Area and then decided to move back to the UK could sponsor their family members to come with them. This allowed them to use the friendlier EU law rules on family migration, rather...

29th March 2022
BY Chris Benn

The most recent version of the EU Settlement Scheme caseworker guidance was released on 9 December last year. After checking the “changes from last version of this guidance” you would be forgiven for assuming that nothing had changed about the approach to late applications to the scheme, the main deadline...

1st March 2022
BY Chris Benn

The UK’s agreements on the post-Brexit rights of EU, EFTA and Swiss residents allow beneficiaries to sponsor their non-European family members to live with them in the UK. There are broadly two types of eligible family members: direct family members, such as spouses, civil partners, children and dependent parents, who...

8th November 2021
BY Chris Benn

On 15 December 2020 the Home Office published a short guidance document covering absences from the UK connected to COVID-19. It applies to EEA citizens and their family members who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or those who are eligible but haven’t applied yet. That...

17th June 2021
BY Chris Benn

Appendix EU and Appendix EU (Family Permit), which contain the rules for the EU Settlement Scheme, have received their latest revamp in the recent statement of changes (HC 813) to the Immigration Rules. The explanatory memo says that the changes “mainly reflect the end of the transition period” between the...

5th November 2020
BY Chris Benn

As we’re constantly being reminded, free movement will come to an end this year. From 1 January 2021, EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who wish to move to the UK to work and study will have to meet the requirements of the new points-based immigration system. Existing residents have until 30 June 2021...

25th September 2020
BY Chris Benn
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