Dutch man wins deportation appeal after judge messes up legal test
The Court of Appeal’s judgment in Hussein v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 156 is another reminder of the multiple layers of protection from deportation which EU citizens enjoy. In particular, it focuses on the importance ...
18th February 2020Devaseelan rules apply to Detained Fast Track judgments
The Detained Fast Track appeal system was found to be inherently unfair in Lord Chancellor v Detention Action [2015] EWCA Civ 840. But the impact of this bombshell decision was, over time, mitigated by two factors. Firstly, those who had appeals dism ...
28th January 2020Court of Session clarifies time limits for judicial review challenges in Scotland
In Odubajo v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] CSOH 2, the Court of Session has ruled that the three-month time limit for raising judicial review proceedings starts on the date of the decision, even though the person affected may not h ...
14th January 2020Duty to court means citing authorities against you, immigration lawyers told
The Upper Tribunal clearly has a tough time getting into the holiday spirit. Ejiogu (Cart cases) [2019] UKUT 395 (IAC), reported just before Christmas, is the equivalent of a judicial smack on the hand. It is another reminder of the importance of wha ...
6th January 2020Court of Appeal revisits human rights in immigration appeals
Following on from the Court of Appeal’s recent human rights “cheatsheet” in GM (Sri Lanka) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, we now have a gem of a sequel that is Lal v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 1925. ...
13th November 2019Refugees’ dependants can be sent packing if country of origin circumstances have changed
A grant of refugee status usually involves acceptance that a particular set of circumstances exist which would make it unlawful for a person to be returned to their country of origin. But circumstances change, and this can have a knock-on effect on wh ...
17th October 2019Lack of accommodation does not prevent claim for unlawful detention
In DM (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWHC 2351 (Admin), the High Court ruled that the lack of accommodation for foreign national offenders cannot be a defence in a claim for unlawful detention. The case involved DM’s ...
12th September 2019Human rights appeal reopened after court staff lose vital documents
You walk into court, lever arch folders tucked safely under each arm. You’ve tried to be organised and posted copies of your bundles weeks in advance. You’re part way through your submissions, furiously referring to this, that and the other whilst ...
30th August 2019Government can be liable for costs in Cart type judicial review cases
The Court of Appeal has held that the UK government can be asked to pay expenses where a judicial review has been brought against the Upper Tribunal’s refusal to grant permission to appeal. The test case of Faqiri v Upper Tribunal (Immigration and A ...
22nd August 2019New Home Office policy on removing migrants with children
The Home Office has updated its main guidance on family visas under Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules. The good news is now we have one consolidated guidance document dealing with both the five and ten-year routes for partners, parents and private ...
1st August 2019Senior judges despair of “Byzantine” immigration laws
Always a worry (but never a surprise) when Court of Appeal judges start off a judgment by saying that the case “has a tortuous procedural history”, is “highly technical” and involves “Byzantine… provisions” of immigration law. Firdaws v ...
31st July 2019“In limbo”: migrants stripped of leave to remain in the UK but can’t be removed
The Court of Appeal has handed down guidance on “limbo” cases in RA (Iraq) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 850. These are cases where a migrant cannot be removed from the UK because, for example, conditions in thei ...
24th May 2019Carer for 87-year-old British woman allowed to stay in the UK after Zambrano appeal
An adult primary carer of an British citizen can acquire a derivative right to reside under EU law, the Court of Appeal has said in MS (Malaysia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 580. On the facts, it is surprising that the ...
12th April 2019Court of Appeal dumps on retired judge for detention decision “without any supporting reasons or explanation”
Immigration judges who get things wrong tend not to be named, (unless of course you are Dr Majid. All the more surprising, then, that the Court of Appeal sought to name (and, frankly, shame) Judge Anthony Thornton QC in R (Hameed) v Secretary of State ...
22nd March 2019Asylum seekers must not be sent back to Italy if they face “extreme material poverty”
The Court of Justice of the European Union has today handed down judgment in the case of C-163/17 Jawo. The court held that asylum seekers cannot be sent back even to a fellow EU member state if they are at substantial risk of inhuman or degrading tre ...
19th March 2019Administrative review countdown starts even if no physical receipt of decision letter
The Court of Appeal has rejected a challenge that the time limit for bringing an administrative review only starts when a decision is physically received by an applicant. The appellant in R (Hasan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [20 ...
18th March 2019Tribunal guidance on raising long residence during appeals process
The President of the Upper Tribunal’s decision in OA and others (human rights; ‘new matter’; s.120) Nigeria [2019] UKUT 65 (IAC) has added another layer of complexity to an already biased and convoluted system. Readers are probably au fa ...
4th March 2019Home Office consent required for appeal relying on new category of Immigration Rules
The upshot of the Upper Tribunal’s decision in AK and IK (S.85 NIAA 2002 – new matters) Turkey [2019] UKUT 67 (IAC) is that a person who relies upon a different category of the Immigration Rules to succeed under Article 8 at their appeal or in a s ...
27th February 2019Deprivation of citizenship and “ISIS bride” Shamima Begum
The controversial story of British teenager Shamima Begum has dominated the news in recent days. Shamima left the UK in February 2015 to travel to Syria at the age of 15. She was very recently found in a Syrian refugee camp, heavily pregnant, after sh ...
18th February 2019No job required to export child benefit, Court of Justice holds
Under EU law it is not necessary that a person be working in a member state in order to be entitled to family benefits in respect of his children living in another member state. So ruled the Court of Justice of the European Union in C-322/17 Bogatu ...
12th February 2019Two successful judicial reviews in “paragraph 322(5)” tax cases
Since January 2015, 1,700 settlement applications from Tier 1 (General) migrants have been refused under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules, primarily due to discrepancies between earnings declared to HMRC and to the Home Office at the time of ...
16th January 2019Court of Appeal guidance on costs in ETS cases
The ETS saga continues and the latest edition is the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Rahman v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 1572. (Editor’s note: we may have been a tad premature in declaring that “The ETS Engl ...
7th December 2018Appeals law: a “new matter” includes EU law arguments
In Oksuzoglu (EEA appeal – “new matter”) [2018] UKUT 00385 (IAC), the appellant was a Ukrainian national and the sponsor was a British national. They had spent some seven months in Cyprus and on their return to the UK, the appellant appl ...
29th November 2018Family of four face removal for failing to tick box on visa application form
Invalid applications: in recent years, this has become one of the trickiest and dense parts of our immigration law. It’s one of my favourite areas because it’s so interesting and technical (as those of you who attended the Immigration Law Mastercl ...
13th November 2018Major court win for trafficking victims as subsistence payment cut is reversed
In a robust judgment yesterday, the High Court found the decision of the Home Office to cut weekly benefits to asylum-seeking victims of trafficking was unlawful. The rate was previously set at £65 per week and was dramatically cut by 42% from 1 Ma ...
9th November 2018Appeal against refusal of EEA residence card does not suspend removal, High Court confirms
The High Court’s recent decision in R (Shafikul Islam) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 2939 (Admin) is yet another case on the vexed issue of whether appeals against refusals of EEA residence cards are suspensive of removal ...
8th November 2018Permanent residence saves Polish man with two drug dealing offences from deportation
It is one thing when the state seeks to withdraw a permission or privilege. It is a very different matter when it seeks to interfere with an individual’s rights. Privileges are precarious. In the absence of good reason to the contrary, rights should ...
14th September 2018Doomed Article 8 application makes it all the way to the Court of Appeal
If there is one piece of advice practitioners take away from this post, let it be this: in ANY application you prepare, take the time and the effort to fully explain and particularise your client’s circumstances in your letter of representations. In ...
10th August 2018Jumping the gun in Dublin III cases
Today the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down a decision in the case of C-647/16 Adil Hassan v Prefet du Pas-de-Calais concerning the Dublin III Regulation. The press summary is here. Practitioners will be well aware how intricate and ...
31st May 2018Where’s the beef? Court criticises quality of Article 8 applications
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Parveen v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 932 seems to be an additional nail in the coffin for the once renowned (and now shut down) Malik Law Chambers, with the court repeatedly criticisi ...
16th May 2018Entry bans don’t preclude residence card applications, says Court of Justice
Fresh out of the Court of Justice of the European Union is the interesting case of C-82/16 K.A. & Others v Belgium. A significant part of the decision deals with the 2008 Returns Directive, which does not apply to the UK. The remainder of the co ...
11th May 2018New guidance for judges on granting immigration bail
Judge Clements, President of the First-tier Tribunal (IAC), yesterday released comprehensive new guidance on immigration bail for judges. The updated guidance naturally takes into account the significant changes brought about by the Immigration Act 20 ...
3rd May 2018Burden of proof is not on deportee, despite tribunal’s best efforts
In SA v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] CSIH 28, the Inner House considered an appeal from the Upper Tribunal concerning a deportation order against a Romanian national. The two main issues were: the burden of proof in EEA deportatio ...
2nd May 2018No right of appeal under EEA Regulations against notice of removal window
Back in July 2015, the Upper Tribunal delivered a puzzling judgment in the case of R (Bilal Ahmed) v SSHD (EEA/s 10 appeal rights: effect (IJR) [2015] UKUT 436 (IAC). The nub of the decision was that where the Secretary of State refuses an application ...
6th April 2018Risk of absconding is not a trump card in unlawful detention cases
Short and sweet is the best way to describe the High Court’s decision in BS v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 454 (Admin). It comes as a useful reminder that whether detention is “reasonable” depends on a ...
19th March 2018President Lane takes fresh aim at flimsy judicial review grounds
At a time when immigration practitioners are facing a wave of referrals and allegations of misconduct, the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Shah (‘Cart’ judicial review: nature and consequences) [2018] UKUT 51 (IAC) comes as another timely r ...
6th March 2018Immigration detention system failing mentally ill, Court of Appeal finds
Are there adequate procedures and protections for mentally ill migrants in detention centres who wish to challenge the lawfulness of their detention? No, said the Court of Appeal in R (VC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ ...
12th February 2018Court of Appeal gets it badly wrong on out-of-country appeals
When the Supreme Court delivered judgment in R (Kiarie and Byndloss) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 42, immigration practitioners across the UK took an audible sigh of relief. In that case, the Supreme Court held that the ...
18th January 2018No special rules for children of Gurkhas, says Court of Appeal
The legal arguments on family life between adult children and parents are notoriously tricky. The guise in which the issue arose in Pun & Anr (Nepal) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 2106 was whether non-dependent ...
21st December 2017A familiar nemesis: the Court of Appeal on “insurmountable obstacles”
R (Mudibo) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 1949 is yet another decision of the Court of Appeal grappling with the provisions of those familiar nemeses, section 117B and the “insurmountable obstacles” test in EX.1 of ...
6th December 2017