Immigration and Migration

Court of Appeal upholds status cessation decision for Congolese refugee
Free Movement
Free Movement
Court of Appeal upholds status cessation decision for Congolese refugee In JL v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 498 the Court of Appeal upholds a refugee status cessation decision for a recognised refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A cessation decision is one ...
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Nearly Legal and Giles Peaker: An Appreciation
Free Movement
Free Movement
Nearly Legal and Giles Peaker: An Appreciation One of the great legal bloggers died this week. I never got to meet Nearly Legal, aka Giles Peaker of Anthony Gold Solicitors. I knew him only through his blogging and, later, his micro-blogging on Twitter and BlueSky. The best ...
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What is the adequate maintenance and accommodation requirement?
Free Movement
Free Movement
What is the adequate maintenance and accommodation requirement? Several immigration routes require applicants to show that they can be adequately maintained and accommodated in the UK without recourse to public funds. This is a separate financial test from the minimum income requirement that applies to most spouse and partner visa ...
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Universities can now subscribe to Free Movement for their students
Free Movement
Free Movement
Universities can now subscribe to Free Movement for their students Free Movement now offers an institutional subscription for UK universities, giving law students and academic staff access to our full archive of articles and case law analysis. Free Movement has been covering UK immigration and asylum law since 2007. We ...
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Irregular migration status: a systemic problem
Free Movement
Free Movement
Irregular migration status: a systemic problem From politicians to the media, there is a prevailing narrative that migrants with irregular status have chosen to commit some personal, even moral, failure. If only migrants did the right thing, we are told, then irregularity would simply never happen, ...
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Job Ad: Training Manager, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA)
Free Movement
Free Movement
Job Ad: Training Manager, Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) Job title: Training Manager Organisation: Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) Location:  Hybrid. Primarily remote with one weekly hub day in London. Working arrangements may change. Deadline: 11:59pm on Sunday, 17 May 2026 Interviews: Weeks commencing 25 May or 1 June 2026  Salary: £33,000-£35,000 with scope to offer ...
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Past arrest and beating of Vietnamese protester does not amount to persecution
Free Movement
Free Movement
Past arrest and beating of Vietnamese protester does not amount to persecution The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a Vietnamese national who argued that his arrest, beating and blacklisting after attending an anti-China demonstration in Vietnam placed him at real risk of persecution on return. The judgment is a ...
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Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #116
Free Movement
Free Movement
Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #116 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! HM Chief Inspector of Prisons has published a second inspection report of a removal journey to France under the ‘one in one out’ scheme. The biggest concern remains the access to interpreting services, which was ...
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When domestic abuse survivors don’t fit the rules: options and risks
Free Movement
Free Movement
When domestic abuse survivors don’t fit the rules: options and risks When navigating the UK immigration system, people will naturally aim for the best status they can obtain. For victims of domestic abuse, that usually means an application under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse of the Immigration Rules, which – if ...
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Home Secretary accepts she can grant further leave on the five-year route without the no...
Free Movement
Free Movement
Home Secretary accepts she can grant further leave on the five-year route without the no... The Home Secretary has accepted she can grant leave on the five-year route without imposing a no recourse to public funds condition. The concession was made in judicial review proceedings brought by a woman with disabilities who had been granted ...
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High Court warns Home Office against imposing unrealistic evidence standards in trafficking cases
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Free Movement
High Court warns Home Office against imposing unrealistic evidence standards in trafficking cases The High Court has quashed a negative conclusive grounds decision made against a man rescued by police from a cannabis house he was forced to tend. The judgment confirms that there is no minimum standard of detail required for a ...
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Applications for costs in immigration cases: what practitioners need to know
Free Movement
Free Movement
Applications for costs in immigration cases: what practitioners need to know Applications for costs in immigration appeals are relatively rare. In fact, many practitioners can spend years, or even their entire career, without making one. While such applications should be made sparingly, in some circumstances they are justified and, in the ...
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Confusing changes to sponsor right to work checks: what has changed and what is still...
Free Movement
Free Movement
Confusing changes to sponsor right to work checks: what has changed and what is still... On 6 March 2026, the Home Office updated its guidance for sponsors to include new duties around right to work checks. The changes appeared to extend the duty to conduct right to work checks beyond sponsored workers, potentially capturing anyone ‘engaged’ ...
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Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #115
Free Movement
Free Movement
Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #115 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The Home Office has announced changes to how it will handle automated grants and removals of status under the EU Settlement Scheme. As of last Thursday, the system now checks whether people have 30 months of ...
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European Court rules return of Hazara Afghan national would breach Article 3
Free Movement
Free Movement
European Court rules return of Hazara Afghan national would breach Article 3 The European Court of Human Rights has handed down its judgment in a case concerning an Afghan asylum seeker for the first time since the Taliban takeover in 2021. The case addresses issues surrounding ‘westernisation’, the persecution of ethnic groups ...
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Immigration roundup podcast: March 2026
Free Movement
Free Movement
Immigration roundup podcast: March 2026 In the March round-up, Jasmine is joined by Chris Dias to discuss a new practitioner’s guide to children’s protection claims, whether policies to deter asylum seekers actually work and what happens when the Home Office grants settlement by mistake. They ...
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High Court finds Afghan relocation refusal unlawful and unpublished guidance is withdrawn
Free Movement
Free Movement
High Court finds Afghan relocation refusal unlawful and unpublished guidance is withdrawn The High Court has found that the Defence Secretary’s decision to refuse an application under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy was unlawful. The defendant failed to acknowledge that having a functioning justice system and promoting the rule of law ...
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Final Diego Garcia migrant moved from the military base to the Maldives
Free Movement
Free Movement
Final Diego Garcia migrant moved from the military base to the Maldives Following an urgent legal challenge mounted against the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary in light of Iranian airstrikes against Diego Garcia, the sole remaining Sri Lankan Tamil on the military base was transferred to the Maldives. He had spent ...
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Book review: What is immigration policy for? By Madeleine Sumption
Free Movement
Free Movement
Book review: What is immigration policy for? By Madeleine Sumption Madeleine Sumption’s newly published book, ‘What is immigration policy for?‘, is essential reading for politicians and policy-makers. It is succinct, really well-written and very informative. Honestly, it won’t take you longer than a few hours to read through it yet ...
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Members podcast: What is immigration policy for? With Madeleine Sumption
Free Movement
Free Movement
Members podcast: What is immigration policy for? With Madeleine Sumption In this episode, Jasmine is joined by Madeleine Sumption. Madeleine is the director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford and has recently been appointed interim chair of the Migration Advisory Committee. Drawing on decades of research, her ...
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