The Upper Tribunal has in AS (Safety of Kabul) Afghanistan CG [2018] UKUT 118 (IAC) given new country guidance in cases concerning removal to Kabul. The new guidance covers two main areas of concern. The first is the risk, on return to Kabul, from the ...

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has urged the Home Office to fundamentally overhaul the country of origin information it gives to officials making asylum decisions. David Bolt’s latest report, published today, says tha ...

Further submissions are notoriously difficult to prepare. In PR (Sri Lanka), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 1946 the Court of Appeal has highlighted the need for focussed representations that mak ...

In FY (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 1853, the Court of Appeal refused the deportation of a Somali national on the basis that he would face a real risk of living in circumstances falling below the Article 3 th ...

What happens where the Upper Tribunal makes a mistake in a country guidance case? And in what circumstances will the Court of Appeal have jurisdiction to hear an appeal against an Upper Tribunal decision that has already been remitted to the First Tie ...

The violence in Libya has reached such a high level that substantial grounds are shown for believing that a returning civilian would, solely on account of his presence on the territory of that country or region, face a real risk of being subject to a ...

Is the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) bound to take into account a Country Guidance (CG) case that is issued by the Upper Tribunal after the date of the FTT hearing, and after the date the FTT judge signs the determination, but before that determination is ...

In HD (Trafficked women) Nigeria CG [2016] UKUT 00454 (IAC) the Upper Tribunal considered the position of victims of trafficking returning to Nigeria. Under the previous country guidance case, PO (trafficked women) Nigeria [2009] UKAIT 00046, in order ...

The Upper Tribunal has issued a new Country Guidance case on Eritrea: MST and Others (national service – risk categories) (CG) [2016] UKUT 443 (IAC). It weighs in at 459 paragraphs plus voluminous appendices. The findings are good news for Eritrean ...

The Home Office has published a new 285 page report of a UK fact finding mission to Eritrea from February 2016 and updated its country policy documents on illegal exit from Eritrea and military service. From a quick glance, it looks like there is lit ...

The official country information watchdog, the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information, has criticised the Home Office’s use of country information on the situation in Eritrea. The Guardian has picked up on the story and the full IAG ...

MM (Darfuris) Sudan (CG) [2015] UKUT 10 (IAC) is a commendably concise and to the point new Country Guidance case on Sudan and Darfuris: In the country guidance case of AA (Non-Arab Darfuris-relocation) Sudan CG [2009] UKAIT 00056, where it is state ...

In an arguably less than ideal piece of timing the Upper Tribunal has finally, just two days before Christmas, issued the long awaited Country Guidance decision on asylum claims by Pakistani Christians. The case is AK and SK (Christians: risk) Pakista ...

Some information about the shadowy Upper Tribunal Reporting Committee shared with me by the indefatigable Shoaib Khan, obtained through a Freedom of Information request: The current members of the reporting committee are: Mr Justice McCloskey (Preside ...

Long-awaited guidance on returns to Mogadishu poses significant, but not insurmountable, challenges to Appellants It may be 286 pages long but the apparent effect of the new Somalia Country Guidance — MOJ & Ors (Return to Mogadishu) (CG) [20 ...

The official headnote is quite long but you can get the gist from paragraph 2: There is significant evidence of human rights abuses, including within Cabinda and affecting Cabindans, problems of arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment in detenti ...

In GP and others (South Korean citizenship) North Korea CG [2014] UKUT 391 (IAC) the tribunal concludes, to cut a long story short, that North Koreans can jolly well go back to South Korea whether they like it or not. Henceforth. Whereforeunto. Hereaf ...

The phased withdrawal of US forces has not led to a return to generalised sectarian conflict and indeed appears to have resulted in a significant annualised drop in the number of security incidents … the most likely development is that the leve ...

Nearly 3 years after the end of the civil war in Libya that swept away the Qadhafi regime and its associated country guidance, and after nearly 8 months of deliberation, the Upper Tribunal has decided that Libya isn’t so bad after all, at least for ...

So says the immigration tribunal in the latest Country Guidance case of QH (Christians – risk )(China) CG [2014] UKUT 86 (IAC). ...

So says the tribunal in MD (same-sex oriented males: risk) India CG [2014] UKUT 65 (IAC), anyway. And even if there was risk in the home area, the tribunal considers that relocation within India is generally reasonable and “LGBT support organis ...

For we tribunal watchers the list is notably short. Judicial ambitions to categorise, measure and risk assess the entire world have been scaled back, perhaps because of the impossibility of the task but more likely because resources are being absorbed ...

Official headnote: (1) All Turkish males are required to undergo military service but exemption can be granted on the grounds of physical or mental disability which includes “sexual identity disorder”. (2) Homosexuality is regarded by the ...

Permission has been granted by the Court of Appeal to challenge the outcome of the recent Country Guidance case on Sri Lanka, GJ and Others (post-civil war: returnees) Sri Lanka CG [2013] UKUT 00319 (IAC) (previous post: “New Sri Lankan Count ...

The Upper Tribunal has listed an appeal to be heard in December in which it intends to give further country guidance about returns to Mogadishu.  No doubt the case will address the contention long advanced by the Secretary of State that the situation ...

Last Friday evening Renaissance Chambers’ immigration group hosted a seminar about the new Sri Lanka Country Guidance: GJ and Others (post-civil war: returnees) Sri Lanka CG [2013] UKUT 00319 (IAC). I had the pleasure of speaking together with Shiva ...

A long awaited and much needed new Country Guidance cases has finally been issued by the Upper Tribunal: GJ and Others (post-civil war: returnees) Sri Lanka CG [2013] UKUT 00319 (IAC). One of the three appellants succeeded on refugee grounds – c ...

DSG &  Others (Afghan Sikhs: departure from CG) Afghanistan [2013] UKUT 148 (IAC) Having done quite a few Afghan Sikh cases myself I can say this looks like a very sensible and pragmatic decision essentially disavowing the rather antiquated exis ...