Immigration and Migration

High Court warns Home Office against imposing unrealistic evidence standards in trafficking cases

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 ...

Applications for costs in immigration cases: what practitioners need to know

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 ...

Confusing changes to sponsor right to work checks: what has changed and what is still...

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’ ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #115

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 ...

European Court rules return of Hazara Afghan national would breach Article 3

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 ...

Immigration roundup podcast: March 2026

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 ...

High Court finds Afghan relocation refusal unlawful and unpublished guidance is withdrawn

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 ...

Final Diego Garcia migrant moved from the military base to the Maldives

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 ...

Book review: What is immigration policy for? By Madeleine Sumption

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 ...

Members podcast: What is immigration policy for? With Madeleine Sumption

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 ...

The importance of early clarification of grounds of appeal

The importance of early clarification of grounds of appeal The Court of Appeal has held that appellants in protection and human rights cases cannot recast their arguments on appeal by relying on grounds not properly raised at first instance. The First-tier Tribunal is required to determine only the principal ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #114

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #114 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Hope you’re feeling refreshed after the long weekend! Research by the Humans for Rights Network has found that 76 young people whose ages have been disputed by the Home Office have been held in ...

Earned settlement: retrospective change is wrong but prospective change is even worse

Earned settlement: retrospective change is wrong but prospective change is even worse Applying the new earned settlement rules retrospectively to migrants already here is wrong. People came to the UK under a specific set of rules and made life-altering decisions on that basis. Moving the goalposts midway through their journey is a ...

Adoption and surrogacy: when is a child born overseas British?

Adoption and surrogacy: when is a child born overseas British? Those who adopt a child abroad or have a child through surrogacy often assume that their child will automatically be born British if one of the parents is British. This is often not the case. The difficulty is that British ...

Job ad: Legal Adviser and Service Coordinator, PERN PERN are looking for someone sharp and determined to lead our Carlisle-based PERN Legal and Info service, skilfully navigating the current hostile environment for asylum seekers and refugees. Ideally qualified to or working towards IAA Level 3 (or equivalent) in ...

Asylum hotel accommodation unlawful where it fails basic standards of adequacy

Asylum hotel accommodation unlawful where it fails basic standards of adequacy The High Court has held that the Home Secretary breached her duty to provide ‘adequate’ accommodation to asylum-seeking families housed in hotels for prolonged periods. In R (SH) & BWO v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC ...

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #113

Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #113 Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! An investigation published last week has found that ‘stop the boats’ policies have contributed to an increase in deaths in the Channel. Researchers from Border Forensics and the University of Bristol found that 197 people ...

What lawyers need to know about DNA testing in immigration cases

What lawyers need to know about DNA testing in immigration cases DNA testing can provide powerful evidence of a claimed family relationship in immigration cases. The Home Office cannot require applicants to take a DNA test, but it can suggest one as a voluntary way of providing scientific evidence of a ...

Job Ad: D J Webb & Co. Solicitors are Recruiting a Solicitor and Paralegal

Job Ad: D J Webb & Co. Solicitors are Recruiting a Solicitor and Paralegal D J Webb & Co. is a solicitors firm in London that has specialised in UK immigration and British nationality law for nearly 30 years. We are seeking a solicitor to join our practice on a permanent and full-time basis. The ...

EVisa judicial review dismissed but court acknowledges real hardship from digital-only status

EVisa judicial review dismissed but court acknowledges real hardship from digital-only status The High Court has dismissed the judicial review challenge to the Home Office’s eVisa policy in BSC & Anor v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 705 (Admin). We have covered this case previously on Free ...

Load More