Immigration and Migration

How to access old versions of Home Office guidance and identify any changes

How to access old versions of Home Office guidance and identify any changes Immigration law is constantly changing and the Home Office updates its guidance documents accordingly. Sometimes you will need to look at an older version of the guidance that applied at a certain time but it is no longer on GOV.UK ...

How to apply for an International Sportsperson visa

How to apply for an International Sportsperson visa The international sportsperson route was introduced in 2021 for elite and internationally established sportspeople and sports coaches to enter the UK. It replaced the previous system which involved applying under the now abolished Appendix T5 (Temporary Worker) Creative or Sporting ...

Job Ad: JCWI are recruiting a Head of Casework

Job Ad: JCWI are recruiting a Head of Casework This is a new role. The Head of Casework will be the second most senior member of the Legal Team, working collaboratively with the Legal Director. They combine high-quality immigration representation with departmental management responsibilities, including supervision of legal staff, ...

General grounds for refusal: understanding mandatory refusal periods

General grounds for refusal: understanding mandatory refusal periods The Home Office can impose a mandatory refusal period, also known as a re-entry ban, on people who have previously breached immigration law or used deception in their application for leave. Refusal periods can last one year, two years, five ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #85

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #85 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Personally I feel that Grant Shapps’ record as the best Home Secretary we have had in the past 15+ years remains intact. What a legacy though – in her last week in the ...

What amendments are being made to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill?

What amendments are being made to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill? The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill is at committee stage in the House of Lords. The Bill as first introduced has several government amendments made as it completes its passage through Parliament, and so I have detailed those below. ...

Yvette Cooper and Home Office immigration ministers cleared out in reshuffle

Yvette Cooper and Home Office immigration ministers cleared out in reshuffle Last weekend’s reshuffle saw Yvette Cooper replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood, who was previously the Lord Chancellor. In addition, Angela Eagle, previously the Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, and Seema Malhotra, previously the Parliamentary Under-Secretary ...

Immigration roundup podcast: August 2025

Immigration roundup podcast: August 2025 Let’s face it, August was a rough one and hopefully most of you managed to escape it for a summer holiday at some point, in which case you definitely need Sonia and Barry to help catch you up! The UK ...

Exceptional circumstances in a spouse or partner visa application under Appendix FM

Exceptional circumstances in a spouse or partner visa application under Appendix FM Below we take a look at what can be done where a sponsor wants to bring their spouse or partner to the UK but is unable to meet the financial or other requirements of Appendix FM. It will also be ...

Refugee family reunion route closed in statement of changes: HC 1298

Refugee family reunion route closed in statement of changes: HC 1298 As trailed earlier in the week, the refugee family reunion route will be “suspended” as of 3pm today as set out in the statement of changes just published. The explanatory memorandum describes this as “introducing a temporary pause to Appendix ...

Explainer: navigating the Shortage Occupation List, Immigration Salary List and Temporary Shortage List

Explainer: navigating the Shortage Occupation List, Immigration Salary List and Temporary Shortage List If you’ve been trying to keep up with the UK’s ever-shifting work visa landscape, you’re not alone. Over the years, the government’s method of defining which jobs are in shortage has gone through quite the transformation—from the original Shortage Occupation ...

Refugee family reunion: a user’s guide

Refugee family reunion: a user’s guide Update: this route is currently suspended and new applications cannot be made. Family reunion applications submitted before 3pm tomorrow, including those currently under appeal, will continue to be assessed under these rules. This post is intended for refugees (including those ...

National Audit Office publishes report on Afghanistan Response Route

National Audit Office publishes report on Afghanistan Response Route The National Audit Office has published a report on the Afghanistan Response Route which was set up following the government’s data leak (for background you can read our initial write up as well as this newsletter). The report looks at ...

Interim relief in Epping hotel case overturned by Court of Appeal

Interim relief in Epping hotel case overturned by Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal has overturned the grant of interim relief in the case of the hotel in Epping where the council sought, and at first obtained, an order for the people being accommodated in the hotel to be moved ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #84

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #84 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Would it even be a music festival without at least one Home Office related line up change? Anyway, this newsletter was written on Wednesday last week because I am currently making my way home ...

What are the immigration rules for settled returning residents of the United Kingdom?

What are the immigration rules for settled returning residents of the United Kingdom? A “returning resident” is a resident of the United Kingdom with settled status who returns to the country after a lengthy absence abroad. Ordinarily, when a person refers to “returning residents” they might be talking about a temporary resident who ...

Home Office must provide accommodation to man still detained 15 weeks after bail grant

Home Office must provide accommodation to man still detained 15 weeks after bail grant The Home Secretary has been ordered to provide asylum accommodation to a man with mental health needs who has continued to be held in immigration detention for 15 weeks after he was first granted conditional bail by the First-tier Tribunal. ...

What safe and legal routes are available for refugees to come to the United Kingdom?

What safe and legal routes are available for refugees to come to the United Kingdom? The mantra of “safe and legal routes” is regularly repeated by the government when justifying increasingly draconian legislation in an attempt to prevent refugees from travelling to the UK under their own steam. The argument is that refugees should use ...

Do foreign gamers need a visa to play competitive Esports in the UK?

Do foreign gamers need a visa to play competitive Esports in the UK? In this article we look at how foreign Esports (competitive video gaming) competitors can use the visitor route to participate in UK competitions and what the rules say about earning prize money. We also look at options for gamers looking ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #83

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #83 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! A lot has happened in the last week. I am going to focus on statistics because there are some important omissions which are really key to everything else that is going on. In 2022/23 72% of Home ...

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