Late applications to the EU Settlement Scheme
From 1 July 2021, EU, EEA and Swiss citizens living in the UK without having applied for pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme will be here unlawfully. The Home Secretary confirmed a few months ago that people can apply after th ...
12th April 2021Refugee rights under threat from Channel boats hysteria – and Brexit
Human beings crossing the English Channel are making headlines again. The number of people who reach the UK via this extremely difficult, dangerous but lawful route is minuscule, and the total number claiming international protection here insignifican ...
12th August 2020Government: we don’t want “low-skilled” workers after the pandemic
What a moment for the Home Office to update its guidance on the new immigration system to reiterate: There will not be an immigration route specifically for those who do not meet the skills or salary threshold for the skilled worker route. Basically, ...
9th April 2020300 people turned down by EU Settlement Scheme
The EU Settlement Scheme statistics for February 2020 are out. They show 300 refusals. We’re told by the Home Office that the increase is mainly due to refusals for eligibility, not over criminality. The two core reasons, the Home Office says, for t ...
19th March 2020Coronavirus and the EU Settlement Scheme
I’ve been working on Appendix EU from the very beginning, and it still boggles my mind with its complexity. We can admire the Home Office for creating a practical application process (the EU Settlement Scheme) that most people will be able to use wi ...
13th March 2020New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 120
The government continues to keep us immigration lawyers on our toes, and everyone else completely flummoxed, with yet another statement of changes to the Immigration Rules. Thankfully, many of these changes are welcome as they plug gaps in the EU Sett ...
13th March 2020New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 170
Another statement of changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 170) was laid on 24 October 2019. The changes relate to Appendix EU of the Rules and their functioning in a no-deal Brexit scenario. This is somewhat surprising given recent events. Jacob Rees- ...
25th October 2019Do dependent parents actually need to be dependent under the EU Settlement Scheme?
An EU citizen, or their spouse or civil partner, is entitled to have his or her dependent parent continue to live with them or join them in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme. This has always been the case since the scheme began. But one particular ...
16th September 2019Welcome and unwelcome rule changes made to EU Settlement Scheme: analysis
Yesterday afternoon the government dropped statement of changes to the Immigration Rules HC 2631. This is a formal change to the Immigration Rules and there is a lot to it: the full version weighs in at 102 pages. We’ll deal with other changes in a ...
10th September 2019Still no clarity on immigration status checks for European residents
Following Priti Patel’s recent comments about the immediate end of free movement following a no-deal Brexit, the Home Office sent an email reassuring EU citizens that they will continue to be eligible to remain in the UK so long as they apply fo ...
28th August 2019Ending free movement overnight: what exactly is the government playing at?
Confusion abounds after Dominic Cummings sources close to Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Telegraph and Independent over the weekend that free movement of EU citizens would end the day after a no-deal exit on 31 October 2019. While at first glance ...
19th August 2019EU settled status: the story so far
Over 900,000 people have applied for EU settled status so far. By the end of June 2019, the Home Office had processed 806,000 applications, granting full settled status in 65% of cases and pre-settled status in 35% of cases. The department says that n ...
23rd July 2019Government announces plan for EU immigration if no Brexit deal
The UK government has confirmed what was suspected (and what the Home Office has hinted at in private talks): in the event of a no-deal Brexit, free movement will end on 29 March 2019. EU citizens arriving after this date face a new temporary system. ...
29th January 2019Do you need to worry about Brexit if you have indefinite leave to remain?
An EU citizen with indefinite leave to remain in this country has taken the drastic step to leave the UK because of Brexit. You might have seen the story on Twitter, where it went viral. 24/ So my mum has taken the decision to return to the country of ...
11th April 2018Briefing: Brexit, settled status and citizens’ rights – what has been agreed?
On 19 March the European Union and the UK published the impressively named Draft Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community. In other words, ...
26th March 2018Article 3 and the extradition of a British national to Taiwan
The Supreme Court in the case of the Lord Advocate (representing the Taiwanese Judicial Authorities) (Appellant) v Dean (Respondent) (Scotland) [2017] UKSC 44 considered the first occasion on which Taiwan has sought to extradite a British national. ...
11th August 2017Home Office makes changes to Appendix FM Minimum Income Rule following MM case
On 20 July 2017 the Home Office published changes to the Immigration Rules intended to give effect to findings made by the Supreme Court in MM (Lebanon) & Others v the Secretary for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 10 on the Minimum Income Requirem ...
10th August 2017New Home Office Policy Guidance for British Nationality
The Home Office today published a new collection of guidance documents used by the UK Visas and Immigration service when deciding applications for British nationality. These seem to have replaced the Nationality Instructions with, it seems, no gu ...
27th July 2017Safe return reviews and Home Office policy on settlement for refugees
In March 2017 the Home Office announced a new policy of reviewing whether all refugees require protection at the end of a 5 year initial period of Refugee Status. This policy is effective for all existing and future applications for Indefinite Leave t ...
22nd June 2017Alternative options for EU partners: making an application under Appendix FM
Now that the election manifestos have been officially published we have an indication what Labour and Conservative have planned for EU nationals living in Britain. While the Labour manifesto confirmed a pledge to immediately guarantee existing rights ...
31st May 2017UK wrong to deny residence rights for non-EEA family members of dual nationals
The question about what rights are enjoyed by an EU citizen who naturalises as a British citizen becoming a dual citizen is critically important in the context of Brexit. We previously gave some context on why the UK denies dual citizens’ rights und ...
31st May 2017UK law found to be more generous than EU law for jobseekers acquiring permanent residence
The case of GE v. SSWP (ESA) [2017] UKUT 145 (ACC) sets out how the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 (since replaced with the 2016 version), are in some areas, more generous than EU law itself by concluding that an initial right o ...
22nd May 2017New EEA(PR) application form guidance published
Most Home Office application forms are accompanied with guidance explaining how to make a valid application, and the EEA(PR) application form is no different. While the EEA(PR) form was last updated in March 2016 the guidance accompanying that form ...
27th April 2017Court of Appeal gives go-ahead for Dublin returns to Italy
If the case of Tarakhel was considered another body blow to the Dublin system, the recent Court of Appeal case of NA (Sudan) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWCA Civ 1060 has picked up the Dublin system up off the ropes for ano ...
3rd January 2017