Woman jailed for providing unqualified immigration advice – Legal Futures

‘A woman has been jailed for fraud and providing unqualified immigration advice and services, with her husband sentenced to community service.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 19th April 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Wife of British wrestling champion refused UK visa – The Independent

‘The wife of a British wrestling champion who has won gold medals for the country has hit out at the UK’s “cruel” immigration rules after his wife was refused a visa.’

Full Story

The Independent, 17th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office breaching human rights law by failing to investigate detainee deaths, court rules – The Independent

‘The Home Office’s policy for investigating deaths in immigration detention has been found to breach human rights law.’

Full Story

The Independent, 15th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office faces inquiry into use of barracks to house asylum seekers – The Guardian

Posted April 14th, 2021 in asylum, detention, government departments, housing, immigration, inquiries, news by sally

‘MPs and peers from the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on immigration detention agreed to proceed with the inquiry at a private meeting on 17 March. The cross-party group is due to publish its initial findings before the summer recess and hopes its findings can inform parliamentary discussions about the Home Office’s new plans for asylum seekers.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 13th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rough Sleeping Immigration Rule Must Be Repealed – EIN Blog

Posted April 13th, 2021 in charities, deportation, homelessness, immigration, news by sally

‘The UK government has recently, and quietly, reintroduced a scheme that works with councils and homelessness charities to obtain personal data on migrant rough sleepers that may result in their deportation.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 12th April 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Dozens of asylum seekers moved to Napier Barracks despite warnings of ‘unsuitable’ accommodation – The Independent

Posted April 12th, 2021 in asylum, government departments, housing, immigration, mental health, news by sally

‘Dozens of asylum seekers have been moved to Napier Barracks despite concerns from health officials and government watchdogs about its suitability and an ongoing court case into the legality of such housing. Charities and lawyers are concerned that vulnerable people are being wrongly placed in the army camp in Kent, after it emerged one man with severe mental health problems was almost moved to the site “in error”.’

Full Story

The Independent, 10th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Procedural fairness: ECO must put suspicions of dishonesty to applicant before refusal says Court of Appeal – EIN Blog

Posted April 8th, 2021 in guilty pleas, immigration, judicial review, news, road traffic offences by sally

‘Following the approach in Balajigari v SSHD [2019] EWCA Civ 673 (discussed here), the Court of Appeal has held that it is arguable that procedural fairness required the entry clearance officer (ECO) to put suspicions of dishonesty to the entry clearance applicant, one Mr Wahid an advocate of the High Court of Sindh, and that UTJ Frances got it badly wrong by thinking that permission should be refused. In 2009, then 21 years old, Mr Wahid was convicted on his guilty plea entered at the first opportunity to a driving offence. He had permitted a friend to drive his car without a licence or insurance. He received a short driving ban and a fine and penalty, both of which were duly paid. He completed his LLB that year and then made an in-time application for further leave to remain as a student. He studied and completed his LLM in March 2011. He was then granted further leave as a student and was then granted a Tier 1 (PSW) migrant until 4 January 2014. While he was travelling from London to Pakistan in July 2012, security officers at Heathrow Airport found a blunt Spanish butterfly knife on a keychain in his bags which was a prohibited item. Security staff apologised when explaining to Mr Wahid that the police needed to be called as a matter of protocol. He was taken to a police station and interviewed. He was not charged. He said that he was informed that no further action would be taken.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 7th April 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

UK’s ‘headlong rush into abandoning human rights’ rebuked by Amnesty – The Guardian

‘Amnesty International has published a stark rebuke of the UK government’s stance on human rights, saying that it is “speeding towards the cliff edge” in its policies on housing and immigration, and criticising its seeming determination to end the legal right for the public to challenge government decisions in court.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 7th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office ‘presenting opinion as fact’ on immigration issues, lawyers warn – The Independent

‘Prominent barristers have accused the Home Office of misleading the public on immigration issues in the UK in breach of the civil service code and equating “child rapists” with “failed asylum seekers”.’

Full Story

The Independent, 29th March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Thousands of EU children face ‘cliff edge’ as still without post-Brexit status three months before deadline – The Independent

Posted March 30th, 2021 in brexit, children, families, immigration, news, visas by sally

‘Thousands of European children living in care in the UK face becoming undocumented within months as only one in four has been granted post-Brexit immigration status, data reveals.’

Full Story

The Independent, 30th March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Case Preview: BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – EIN Blog

‘On 16 March 2021 the Supreme Court heard the Secretary of State’s appeal in BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 29th March 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Home Office still has no agreements with other countries for deportations central to new immigration plan – The Independent

Posted March 26th, 2021 in asylum, brexit, deportation, EC law, government departments, immigration, news, refugees by sally

‘Britain still has no way of deporting refugees from the UK to other countries, the Home Office has confirmed – despite this being a key component of its asylum overhaul announced on Wednesday. Priti Patel has unveiled new measures that will see refugees who arrive in Britain via unauthorised routes denied an automatic right to asylum and instead regularly reassessed for removal to safe countries they passed through, which are usually in the EU.’

Full Story

The Independent, 25th March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Turani & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department- Equality Law Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in equality, immigration, news, race discrimination, refugees by sally

‘The Court considered an appeal from a High Court decision which had rejected indirect race discrimination and PSED challenges to the application of the Defendant’s ex gratia scheme to support and assist third-country national refugees outside the UK who have fled the conflict in Syria. The case is important, if somewhat disheartening to equality lawyers, for its conclusions on the (limited) extra-territorial effect of the Equality Act 2010. It is worth emphasising that the Court of Appeal’s approval of the High Court’s conclusions on justification were subject to the proviso that the limited evidence on which the High Court was prepared to find in the Defendant’s favour was the result of the way in which the claim had developed post-issue; as Underhill LJ, concurring with Simler LJ leading judgment, stated at §110: “the story is indeed a good illustration of the perils of “rolling judicial review”.’

Full Story

Equality Law Blog, 22nd March 2021

Source: equalitylawblog.com

The Domestic Abuse Bill and its Lack of Support for Migrant Women – EIN Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in benefits, bills, domestic violence, immigration, news, women by sally

‘Domestic abuse is a pivotal issue within today’s society, and is often not realised to be exacerbated by poor policy and support. After years of development the Domestic Abuse Bill returned to the House of Lords in the UK on the 8th March 2021 to complete its report stage, one of the final stages before being enshrined in law.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 22nd March 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

British nationality law reform aims to remove Windrush anomalies – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2021 in citizenship, colonies, deportation, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘British nationality laws are to be reformed to remove a number of anomalies that have recently led to people from the Windrush generation being refused citizenship – despite the Home Office admitting that its own errors led to them being ruled ineligible.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 18th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Pandemic NHS workers should be granted indefinite leave to remain — Aaron Gates-Lincoln – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Migrant workers have been essential to the operations of the NHS ever since its inception in 1948. Over the decades, many programmes have been used to encourage and find overseas workers and help them migrate to the UK to be employed in the healthcare system, demonstrating our governments acknowledgment of how important they are. As early as 1949, campaigns were made by the UK government in the Caribbean to recruit NHS staff, through advertisements in local newspapers.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 17th March 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Case Preview: BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – UKSC Blog

‘On 16 March 2021 the Supreme Court will hear the Secretary of State’s appeal in BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department.’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 15th March 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

High court rejects bid to extend UK’s EU settlement scheme – The Guardian

‘The high court has rejected a legal bid for an extension to the EU settlement scheme (EUSS), dismissing campaigners’ concerns that those EU residents who fail to apply to remain in the UK before July could face “devastating” consequences, similar to those experienced by the Windrush generation.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shamima Begum: SSHD strikes back in Supreme Court – EIN Blog

‘Ms Shamima Begum was born and raised in the UK. She was a British citizen at birth and at age 15 she travelled to Syria with two friends and soon afterwards she married an ISIS fighter and is currently detained in poor conditions in the Al-Roj camp run by the Syrian Democratic Forces. She now wishes to return home to the UK to have a fair and effective appeal. She was deprived of her British citizenship on 19 February 2019 because the SSHD believed that her return would present a risk to national security. She applied for leave to enter (LTE) the UK so that she could pursue an appeal against the deprivation decision. The Court of Appeal unanimously held that the only way Ms Begum, can have a fair and effective appeal is to be permitted to come into the UK to pursue her appeal. King, Flaux and Singh LJJ found that fairness and justice must – on the facts of her case – outweigh any national security concerns. But in a twist of fate, the Supreme Court unanimously held in favour of the SSHD and found that the right to a fair hearing does not trump everything else, such as the public’s safety. The court took the view that if a vital public interest makes it impossible for a case to be fairly heard, then the courts cannot ordinarily hear it. Therefore, her deprivation appeal should be stayed until she can play an effective part in it without compromising the public’s safety.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 7th March 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Lacuna in leave to remain policy arising from delays in identification of victims of trafficking – Garden Court Chambers

‘In EOG v SSHD [2020] EWHC 3310 (Admin) the Court considered a challenge to the Home Office’s policy not to grant victims of trafficking a right to work or leave to remain whilst they are within the National Referral Mechanism. Mostyn J found in the Claimant’s favour and declared the Home Office’s policy unlawful as it failed to implement the obligation in Article 10.2 of ECAT to protect potential victims of trafficking from removal pending the conclusion of the process. He held that “[s]uffering such persons to remain as overstayers, or as illegal immigrants, does not fulfil the obligation” (§48). He left the issue of how the policy should be reformulated to the Home Office to determine. As regards the right to work, the Judge held that “Someone in the position of the claimant, who has a time-limited right to work, should not have the arbitrary adverse consequence of a removal of that right meted out to her simply by virtue of the delays that she is likely to face” (§48).’

Full Story

Garden Court Chambers, 26th February 2021

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk