Immigration and Migration

Statement of changes HC 1691: changes for refugees, skilled workers, children and more

Statement of changes HC 1691: changes for refugees, skilled workers, children and more A new statement of changes was published yesterday spanning a whole range of changes big and small across many different categories, including refugees, skilled workers, children settling under Part 8, Part Suitability, BN(O) and English language for settlement applications. Many ...

Is a person who obtained their leave by deception “lawfully resident”?

Is a person who obtained their leave by deception “lawfully resident”? TL;DR: No. In the case of Bokqiu v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 191 the Court of Appeal has decided that a person who obtained their leave to remain in the UK by deception is ...

Three months is enough: High Court confirms approach to salary assessment in sponsor licence revocation...

Three months is enough: High Court confirms approach to salary assessment in sponsor licence revocation... The High Court has upheld the revocation of a care provider’s sponsor licence in R (Southcroft Healthcare Lodge Limited) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 350 (Admin). The case is a useful illustration of the practical standards expected ...

Migration Advisory Committee call for evidence on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas

Migration Advisory Committee call for evidence on Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas The government’s Migration Advisory Committee is looking at how well or otherwise the current visa routes for unsponsored highly skilled individuals work. Many immigration specialists say they basically don’t work. We’ve seen repeated amendments over the last few years and ...

Home Secretary succeeds on children’s best interests ground in section 3C leave challenge

Home Secretary succeeds on children’s best interests ground in section 3C leave challenge The Home Secretary has now succeeded on every ground in her appeal against the High Court decision in R (Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London (RAMFEL) & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1374 ...

Court of Appeal refuses permission in late appeal by child sex offender

Court of Appeal refuses permission in late appeal by child sex offender In R (On the Application Of Barot & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 218, two married international students rather optimistically applied for judicial review of refusal of their applications for leave as graduate ...

Asylum judge forgets to make findings of fact

Asylum judge forgets to make findings of fact We do not often see the Court of Appeal interfering with factual findings by the First-tier Tribunal. Given it is they who hear the evidence, judges have very considerable discretion to make findings of fact. Also, the Upper Tribunal is ...

Extended deadline for Senior Legal Officer role Job title: Senior Legal Officer Organisation: Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) Location: Hybrid. Primarily remote with one weekly hub day in London. Working arrangements may change. Deadline: 9 March 2026 at 23:30 Contract: Permanent Salary: Up to £39,000 per annum Contact: info@ilpa.org.uk Website: ilpa.org.uk About ILPA: The ...

Student and work visa bans imposed on some countries to prevent asylum claims

Student and work visa bans imposed on some countries to prevent asylum claims The Home Office has announced it will cease issuing study visas to nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan and work visas for Afghans. The purpose is to prevent those entering on such visas from claiming asylum. The change will ...

Section 3C after a refused fee waiver: the “receipt” test and why a second fee...

Section 3C after a refused fee waiver: the “receipt” test and why a second fee... In the important case of R (Hussain) v SSHD [2026] UKUT 82 (IAC), the Upper Tribunal clarified that section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 only bites if an application for leave is submitted within ten working days of receipt ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #109

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #109 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The Home Secretary will announce today that that recognised refugees will now only receive temporary protection of 30 months. Refugee status will be reviewed every 30 months and where a person’s home country is considered ...

Habeas corpus writ not to be used to challenge bail conditions

Habeas corpus writ not to be used to challenge bail conditions In a very firm judgment in a case called R (On the Application Of CHK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 207, the Court of Appeal dismisses an appeal against refusal of a writ of ...

Home Office loses Afghan deportation appeal in Court of Appeal

Home Office loses Afghan deportation appeal in Court of Appeal It is common knowledge in the immigration law community that the Home Office will, as a matter of policy and politics, always attempt to challenge an allowed deportation appeal. This appears to be irrespective of the merits of such an ...

When would you ever use the secondary employment provisions?

When would you ever use the secondary employment provisions? Secondary employment is a variation of skilled worker permission. It’s wonderfully niche following the expansion of the supplementary employment conditions on 4 April 2024, which relaxed the previous restrictions and made supplementary work more available for most skilled workers. Secondary employment is ...

Home Secretary makes written statement on coming asylum changes

Home Secretary makes written statement on coming asylum changes The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has made a formal written statement in Parliament on the upcoming changes to asylum protection. There’s still little detail and the rules are apparently coming later this week. For now, this is the key passage: ...

High Court considers challenge to British National (Overseas) passport refusal

High Court considers challenge to British National (Overseas) passport refusal The High Court in R (on the application of Campbell) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 289 (Admin) has held that His Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) is entitled to refuse British national (overseas) passport applications where ...

High Court gives guidance on Article 3 operational duty and Illegal Migration Act

High Court gives guidance on Article 3 operational duty and Illegal Migration Act In a useful case for practitioners representing detained or formerly detained clients, the High Court has given guidance on the lawfulness of the Home Office’s policy related to the detention of HIV positive detainees. The court also gave, for the ...

SIAC dismisses appeal against citizenship deprivation of alleged intelligence agent

SIAC dismisses appeal against citizenship deprivation of alleged intelligence agent The Special Immigration Appeals Commission has dismissed an appeal against a decision to deprive a refugee father of two of his British citizenship for national security reasons. The case is D10 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] ...

Latest statistics: overall decline in visa grants and concerns as Syrian asylum success rate plummets The quarterly immigration and asylum statistics covering the period to December 2025 have been published by the Home Office, giving us a full picture for 2025. The Home Office issued a record number of asylum decisions, but also a record number of ...

Price of Free Movement membership increasing from 1 April 2026

Price of Free Movement membership increasing from 1 April 2026 It has been two years since our last membership price increase and the time has come for another. This will only be the third time we’ve increased the cost of membership since it launched in 2014. In future, though, we ...

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