Free Movement

Updates and comment on UK immigration law

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142 episodes
Updated July 2

Episodes142

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Mar 8, 2019 · 23 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 61
Welcome to the delayed January 2019 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. We start the round-up with some mixed news on appeal rights before getting into the latest on Brexit and the Settlement Scheme for EU citizens living in the UK. There is some significant new guidance on good character in the context of British citizenship applications to chew over and then some business immigration updates. Finally we fly through a few cases from the Upper Tribunal, in particular on asylum. Listen to the end to hear why the 10-year residence rule requires 10 years of lawful residence — the answer may not surprise you. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 100 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Appeal rights Government to introduce appeal rights for extended family members Home Office wins Turkish Ankara appeal rights case Brexit Government announces plan for EU immigration if no Brexit deal EU Settlement Scheme Home Office releases pilot phase report as EU Settlement Scheme opens Settled status fee for EU citizens scrapped OISC immigration law regulator launches new scheme for EU settled status applications Citizenship Official guidance on the good character citizenship test Business Why coaching your kid’s football team could breach your visa conditions Failure to submit specified documents fatal to Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) application Asylum
Jan 14, 2019 · 26 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 60
Welcome to the December 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. It’s a bumper issue, with a host of immigration announcements just before Christmas to cover, including two sets of changes to the Immigration Rules, a white paper, an Immigration Bill and announcements on EU citizens’ rights. We run through the main policy and procedural changes for lawyers to be aware of before turning to some case law on asylum and detention, as well as all the Upper Tribunal’s reported decisions for this month — all in just 25 minutes. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Points Based System New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1779 Home Office confirms chaotic U-turn on suspension of Tier 1 (Investor) visas Immigration white paper published Procedure Dedicated Home Office team to consider new evidence in pending appeals Immigration health surcharge to double from 8 January 2019 Immigration lawyers have to publish their prices by 6 December 2018 Court of Appeal guidance on costs in ETS cases Rolling review can be appropriate, Court of Appeal holds Brexit New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1849 A member of an EU national’s household can apply for settled status Government to water down EU citizens’ rights if no Brexit deal
Dec 21, 2018 · 25 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 59
Welcome to the November 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month we again take it from the top with the Supreme Court’s latest attempt to cut through the complexity of our immigration law before turning to a major High Court decision on trafficking. November also saw the Home Office roll out a new in-country application system, so we’ll discuss what we know about that so far. There’s then some Upper Tribunal case law on appeals, asylum and Article 3 to chew on, and we conclude on the now-infamous paragraph 322(5). If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Human rights Supreme Court decides meaning of “precarious immigration status” and “financially independent” Exceptional circumstances in a spouse or partner visa application under Appendix FM Trafficking Major court win for trafficking victims as subsistence payment cut is reversed Procedure The new UK in-country visa application system Family of four face removal for failing to tick box on visa application form Appeals law A “new matter” includes EU law arguments Upper Tribunal grants general permission to appeal to Afghan hijackers Asylum Immigration Rules on humanitarian protection conflict with EU law Home Office “too accepting” of dire asylum accommodation, immigration inspector finds Article 3
Nov 21, 2018 · 32 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 58
Welcome to the October 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. We posted 40 articles on the blog last month, but are realistically limited in a podcast to discussing the most important ten or so. A Supreme Court judgment obviously qualifies, so we start with that one on how the best interests of children factor into removal decisions before turning to another case involving children, this time in the Upper Tribunal. There’s also a set of changes to the Immigration Rules to mug up on. Most of the rest of this month’s update is case law, of which the most significant case may be on Surinder Singh rights. There are a couple of asylum decisions to be aware of also, albeit on reasonably niche issues, as well as some new unlawful detention cases. We round off on two reported cases from the Upper Tribunal, one on trafficking and one on Article 8. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 32-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Children Supreme Court: bad behaviour by parent irrelevant to best interests of children Upper Tribunal tackles the law on the parent/child relationship Immigration Rules New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1534 EU Courts foil Home Office attempt to hamstring Surinder Singh rights Detention Split Court of Appeal finds that asylum seekers were unlawfully detained Failure to carry out proper medical assessment makes detention unlawful Asylum Home Office CAN speak to your persecutor without asking you Court of Appeal says...
Oct 18, 2018 · 33 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 57
Welcome to the September 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. We tried something a bit different this month. CJ and I ran the podcast together in a more conversational style. To keep the length reasonable we’ve focussed in on fewer subjects but covered them in a bit more depth. Let us know if you think it is better or worse in comments, please! We’ll try again in the same style for the next couple of months and see how it goes. It was a new experience for us and we’d hope we’d improve with practice. We start by talking about deprivation of citizenship, before moving on to Brexit. There’s less case law to cover than usual, but a few interesting decisions and policy changes on asylum, deportation and human rights are worth reviewing. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 33-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Nationality Deprivation of citizenship justified by treasonous conduct finds Court of Appeal How can the Home Office tear up the British passport of a six-year-old boy born in Leeds? Brexit Brexit no deal: immigration and the status of EU and UK citizens Asylum Fellow church-goers can give “expert evidence” on an asylum seeker’s conversion to Christianity Stateless refugee family win right to have claims decided in UK Refugee children to be granted “Calais leave” Fixing refugee family reunion system not a Home Office priority, inspector says Deportation EU law can be used to challenge employment restrictions imposed during deportation proceedings
Sep 28, 2018 · 24 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 56
Welcome to the August 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I start on two subjects I’ve always been interested in, refusals of visit visa applications and the power to deprive people of their British citizenship. Both came to public attention in August due to media coverage. From there we go to the more specialist realm of procedure, including some significant new guidance on awarding costs against the Home Office. Then I mention a few developments in human rights and EU law, including Brexit, before finishing on some interesting new judgments on human trafficking. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Visit visas What’s going on with UK visit visas? Visit visa refusals: appeal or judicial review? Citizenship How is the government using its increased powers to strip British people of their citizenship? Procedure New guidance on costs awards against the Home Office could transform immigration appeals Upper Tribunal should correct its money laundering warning to immigration solicitors Upper Tribunal’s error of law reasoning can very rarely be altered when a decision is re-made Human rights When does bad immigration advice affect a human rights appeal? Migrants need the right to work while fighting immigration cases How to apply for a UK spouse or partner visa What are the financial requirements for UK spouse and partner visas? EU law
Sep 11, 2018 · 30 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 55
Welcome to the July 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I start by discussing some developments in nationality law, then cover the EU Settlement Scheme that is starting to take shape and currently being piloted. While we await Brexit, EU law still applies, so we cover a judgment on the Surinder Singh immigration route as well as changes to the EEU Regulations. Then some material on asylum and detention, before the usual procedural update. If you are a lawyer and would like to claim CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 80 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 30-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Nationality Home Office makes almost £100 million from children registering as British citizens Part of the British Nationality Act 1981 found incompatible with human rights law Home Office unlawfully nullifies British citizenship in hundreds of cases People can now be deprived of their British citizenship by email Brexit New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: CM 9675 Campaigners publish legal analysis of EU Settlement Scheme How will Brexit affect Irish citizens in the UK? What the Brexit White Paper says about immigration EU law Court of Justice finds Surinder Singh applies to extended family members Changes to the EEA Regulations come into force on 24 July 2018 Asylum
Aug 3, 2018 · 29 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 54
Welcome to the June 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. I start this month with a whistle-stop tour of some of the latest changes to the Immigration Rules before highlighting a couple of procedural changes, including the end of special deadlines for the Home Office in judicial review cases. Then to Brexit, as the government published something approaching a plan on citizens’ rights, and then to some judgments around children and families. I then note some case law on trafficking, deportation and asylum before ending on a note of alarm on immigration bail accommodation. This month we published a lot of new or updated explainers on many of these topics, which I won’t attempt to summarise in the podcast but will flag up as we go through. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Immigration Rules New statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC1154 Procedure Tribunal belatedly ends Home Office exemption from judicial review time “rules” Immigration tribunal Practice Statements re-issued almost unchanged Leave to remain application date: how to calculate it and why it is important Brexit Settled status scheme slowly taking shape as ministers reveal new details How to apply for “settled status” for EU citizens (updated) Briefing: What are the barriers to British citizenship for EU nationals? Families Same-sex spouses should benefit from free movement rights, says CJEU
Jul 6, 2018 · 32 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 53
Welcome to the May 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. It was a bumper month for immigration and asylum law updates, with 61 posts published on Free Movement in May. I can’t possibly cover everything, but the highlights include an important High Court intervention on automatic detention and new judicial guidance on immigration bail. From there I move on to the latest case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union and then return to the UK for some developments on the now infamous Windrush cases. Then there are some new cases in the rather different areas of business and asylum and the usual dry but vital procedural changes. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 30-minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Detention High Court throws spanner in the works of automatic detention policy New guidance for judges on granting immigration bail Luxembourg Entry bans don’t preclude residence card applications, says Court of Justice Can war criminals be expelled or excluded under EU law? It depends Jumping the gun in Dublin III cases Court of Justice to decide whether self-employed women have Saint Prix maternity rights Windrush New details on help for the Windrush generation An overlooked weapon in Windrush cases: judicial review Business Carriers’ liability: Ryanair challenges the Secretary of State – and loses
Jun 8, 2018 · 39 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 52
Welcome to the April 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This was the month that the Windrush scandal came to a head, so I start by focusing on the fallout from that before looking at an issue that would otherwise have led this update: more law firms in serious trouble with the regulator over their conduct of litigation. It’s not just those representing migrants who the judges took to task, though: the Home Office has been strongly criticised by the Court of Appeal for its performance in court. Finally I run through some interesting and/or significant case law (“interesting” and “significant” not always being synonymous, sadly) in the fields of deportation and asylum before finishing on the nature of human rights appeals to the tribunal. The material is all drawn from the April blog posts on Free Movement. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 40 minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Windrush fallout Legal aid would have prevented the Windrush scandal What the Home Office is (finally) doing for the Windrush generation Guest post: the fee for children to register as British is the next Windrush scandal Briefing: what is the hostile environment, where does it come from, who does it affect? Hamid cases Malik Law Chambers solicitors shut down by regulator Immigration solicitor strike-off appeal fails as more firms face misconduct investigations High Court’s denunciation of immigration lawyers will have a chilling effect Home Office litigation Court of Appeal to Home Office: go away Unlawful delays by the Home Office: a line in the sand Deportation ...
May 9, 2018 · 19 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 51
Welcome to the March 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I start on the Brexit outlook for EU citizens before turning to several immigration law issues affecting children that came to light in March. The Upper Tribunal reported a fresh batch of decisions, a couple on its jurisdiction and some more on other procedural bits and pieces. I end on a couple of cases and developments in the area of business immigration. The material is all drawn from the March 2018 blog posts on Free Movement. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 20 minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Brexit Brexit: settled status and citizens’ rights – what has been agreed? EU families to fall through Brexit cracks despite settled status agreement Children New guidance on family and private life applications: a harsher test for parents of British kids? “Powerful reasons” needed to remove a child from UK after seven years Challenging good character refusals in British citizenship applications Stateless child denied leave to remain Home Office has relapsed in treatment of refugee children, inspection finds Tribunal: jurisdiction Tribunal reclaims jurisdiction to review deprivation of citizenship discretion Tribunal slapped down on power to review trafficking decisions Tribunal: procedure
May 8, 2018 · 22 min
Interview: Giles Peaker on housing law blogging
Housing solicitor Giles Peaker was an accomplished art historian before turning to the law at the age of 40, rising to become a partner at Anthony Gold within five years of qualification. He founded the Nearly Legal blog while still a paralegal. Initially a repository for reflections on becoming a lawyer, it is now the go-to source of commentary on housing law issues, described by Inside Housing as “a must-read for housing lawyers and the wider housing sector”. A former Chair of the Housing Law Practitioners Association, Giles was recently shortlisted in the housing category of the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards. He is one of the prime movers behind a new bill on housing standards that is currently making its way through Parliament. In this podcast, Giles reflects on “the world’s dullest mid-life crisis”, his favourite posts on Nearly Legal and why so few other solicitors seem to blog compared to barristers. Press play or any of the links above to listen. This is the third in a monthly series of discussions with some of the UK’s leading legal bloggers, extracts from which are being added to the Free Movement training course Introduction to legal blogging.
Apr 10, 2018 · 29 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 50
Welcome to the February 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I look at some legal developments with Brexit and review no less than three Supreme Court decisions on immigration, nationality and detention. There have also been some case law on the Points Based System, which I look at alongside the worrying trend in Tier 2 visa applicants being turned away. There are a couple of new Court of Appeal and Upper Tribunal authorities touching on procedure that are worth being aware of, and a few other cases in a range of different areas, all important in their own way. The material is all drawn from the February 2018 blog posts on Free Movement. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 30 minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Brexit What does the EU’s draft Brexit agreement say about citizens’ rights? Blocking Brexit: Article 50 in the Scottish Court of Session In the Supreme Court Do unrecognised adoptions confer EU free movement rights? Maybe… (SM (Algeria) v Entry Clearance Officer [2018] UKSC 9) Landmark Supreme Court decision overrules historic gender discrimination in British citizenship (Advocate General for Scotland v Romein [2018] UKSC 6) Home Office could not impose bail on migrant who cannot lawfully be detained (B (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] UKSC 5) Points Based System High Court gives useful steer on the Resident Labour Market Test (R (Khan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 105 (Admin...
Apr 5, 2018 · 23 min
Interview: Lucy Reed on family law blogging
When I first started blogging I was really an oddity for being a lawyer that would effectively self-publish. People couldn’t quite work out why I was doing it and assumed that I was some sort of PR-hungry attention junkie. There were some people who thought that it was inappropriate for a lawyer to be doing this sort of thing at all. Someone in my former chambers made a complaint to the head of chambers because it was thought to be inappropriate. Rather too much like his wife’s Heat magazine. But that didn’t go very far and I’ve been blogging ever since. Lucy Reed has been writing about family law at Pink Tape (“a blog from the family bar”) since 2007. A barrister at St John’s Chambers, Lucy is one of a select few legal bloggers to come recommended by the Court of Appeal. Her work on public legal education extends beyond WordPress: she is the author of a book for litigants in person, The Family Court without a Lawyer, and has over 120,000 views on a series of accompanying YouTube videos. Lucy is also a strong advocate of transparency and openness in the family courts: along with colleagues from the Transparency Project, she has recently published another book on Transparency in the Family Courts: Publicity and Privacy in Practice. In this podcast, Lucy reflects on her experience of challenging misreporting in the media, the overlap between legal and journalistic skills and how to communicate complex ideas to different audiences. Press play or any of the links above to listen. This is the second in a monthly series of discussions with some of the UK’s leading legal bloggers, extracts from which are being added to the Free Movement training course Introduction to legal blogging. Coming up in May: Giles Peaker on housing law blogging.
Mar 5, 2018 · 25 min
Interview: Adam Wagner on human rights blogging
Barrister Adam Wagner founded the widely acclaimed UK Human Rights Blog at 1 Crown Office Row in 2010. He went on to found RightsInfo, an online platform that aims to build knowledge and support for human rights, and now practises out of Doughty Street Chambers. Both initiatives speak to his talent as a communicator of, and advocate for, human rights law in the UK. In this podcast, Adam reflects on the reasons for his online success, how Twitter is now an effective platform for blogging in its own right and why CVs are a useless guide to a lawyer’s blogging potential. Press play or any of the links above to listen. This is the first in a monthly series of discussions with some of the UK’s leading legal bloggers, extracts from which are being added to the Free Movement training course Introduction to legal blogging. Coming up in April: Lucy Reed on family law blogging.
Feb 26, 2018 · 27 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 49
Welcome to the January 2018 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I start with a follow-up to the Immigration Rules changes covered last month and discuss the commencement of the immigration bail provisions of the Immigration Act 2016. I go on to look at the application process for “settled status”, the legal situation on appeal rights against refusals of visit visas, return to the UK for those subjected to out-of-country appeals and discuss several CJEU cases including two on Dublin III processes. I round off with some domestic cases including on trafficking damages, costs and the Points Based System. The material is all drawn from the January 2018 blog posts on Free Movement. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25 minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Major changes Big changes to continuous residence rule for ILR applicants New immigration bail and detention powers in force from 15 January How to apply for “settled status” and “temporary status”: a guessing game Appeal rights Court of Appeal stomps on human rights appeals for visitors Court of Appeal gets it badly wrong on out-of-country appeals EU asylum No psychological tests on gay asylum seekers, Court of Justice rules Court of Justice clarifies Dublin III transfer procedure Unaccompanied children and Dublin III: the latest instalment Other cases Internal relocation may not be “unduly harsh” on criminals
Feb 13, 2018 · 10 min
How immigration bail really works: scenes from Hatton Cross immigration tribunal
Free Movement deputy editor Conor James McKinney has been exploring the day-to-day workings of the immigration tribunals. Above is a discussion with Emily Dugan of BuzzFeed News, a journalist with a long-standing interest in immigration and asylum issues whose latest report on the subject was published over the weekend. Below are CJ’s own impressions after a recent visit to the immigration bail list at Hatton Cross tribunal hearing centre. “I hate this place”, David says fervently. A barrister from a prestigious London chambers, his dream Thursday morning clearly does not involve pacing a charmless tribunal corridor in the middle of a west London industrial estate. But then nobody at Hatton Cross, from the judges on down, seems particularly delighted to be here. This hearing centre, hard by Heathrow airport, is one of the largest branches of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in the country. Hatton Cross — also known as Feltham — hears thousands of appeals against Home Office decisions every year. Among immigration lawyers, it is notorious for the bleakness of the setting and the harshness of its judges. Other visitors are even less complimentary. One visiting journalist wrote that the area “feels like somewhere where humans should not be. It’s like Worthing crossed with Bosnia. Grey, grotesquely scaled and administrative”. Frankly, I’m intrigued. 9.20am Perhaps because the reports led me to expect something a bit more JG Ballard, the tribunal building itself doesn’t seem all that bad. The Royal Courts of Justice it ain’t, but the bland exterior and functional interior are nothing out of the ordinary. This is, after all, a country in which the justice budget is in the process of being cut by 40% from one end of the decade to the other. I’ve decided to sit in on immigration bail hearings. These involve a tribunal judge deciding on applications for release from people locked up in what are officially called immigration removal centres, such as nearby Harmondsworth IRC. Most people seem to call them “detention” rather than “removal” centres, which is more accurate: only a minority of those released from detention are actually removed from the UK. A recent Bar Council report suggested that, as a result, “detention is an immigration control tool that is failing at considerable and unnecessary human cost”. Whatever the nomenclature, conditions in these places of imprisonment are grim. Successful bail applicants are by no means free — their substantive immigration case will grind on, and they will be subject to bail conditions designed to ensure that the Home...
Feb 8, 2018 · 14 min
Landmark Supreme Court decision overrules historic gender discrimination in British citizenship
The Supreme Court has opened up British citizenship by double descent to all children born to British women in non-Commonwealth countries between 1949 and 1983. Delivering a judgment which makes no attempt to disguise his academic interests as a historian, Lord Sumption delivered a simple solution to a question of statutory interpretation that has been described as “impenetrable” by the leading authority on nationality law (with whom the Inner House agreed) and “paradoxical” by the Supreme Court. The case is Advocate General for Scotland v Romein [2018] UKSC 6. Historical gender discrimination British nationality law was from its inception until 1983 discriminatory towards women. Prior to 1983, British citizenship could only be passed to the next generation born abroad through the male line. This was remedied prospectively, but not retrospectively, by Parliament with the enactment of the British Nationality Act 1981 which commenced on 1 January 1983. It was not until 2003 that Parliament attempted to retrospectively tackle this historic gender discrimination by opening up the possibility of an application for registration as a British citizen under the newly inserted section 4C of the BNA 1981. Such an application for British citizenship by descent through the female line must now be dealt with on the assumption that the law had always provided for citizenship by descent from the mother on the same terms as it provided for citizenship by descent from the father. Between 1949 and 1983, children born outside the UK to British citizen fathers who were also born outside the UK (i.e. fathers who were British “by descent” only) could be registered at a British consulate within one year of their birth (or later subject to the Home Secretary’s discretion) to ensure the child’s acquisition of British citizenship under 5(1)(b) of the British Nationality Act 1948. This form of citizenship, passed from a second generation to a third generation, is sometimes known as citizenship by double descent. The gender discrimination in this scenario is clear. If the father was British by descent, consular registration of the child’s birth was possible, and citizenship would be transmitted to his child. If only the mother was British by descent, consular registration of the child’s birth, even if it were possible as a matter of fact, would have been of no effect, and it seems likely that the majority of British consular staff, acting entirely properly under the law as then drafted, would simply have refused to register the birth on the basis that the mother was not able to pass her citizenship on to her child. This was the case for the respondent, Ms Romein. Ms Romein’s case Ms Romein was born in 1978 in the USA. Her mother was a British citizen by descent, having been born in South Africa to a Welsh father and a Scottish mother. Ms Romein’s father was a US citizen. Had he been a British citizen as opposed to a US one, it would have been possible for Ms Romein’s birth to be registered at a British consulate within a year of her birth, and the fact of consular registration would have had the effect of automatically conferring British citizenship on Ms Romein. But consular registration for Ms Romein was (quite properly at the time) not permitted by consular staff, despite enquires having been made by her mother with the British High Commission, and Ms Romein was unable to acquire British citizenship. She would later become the only member of her immediate family other than her father not to have done so. In 2013, an application for registration under section 4C was made on Ms Romein’s behalf. It argued that,
Feb 2, 2018 · 27 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 48
Welcome to the December 2017 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I cover some changes to the Immigration Rules, the latest Brexit developments and a trio of decisions on deportation. I then mention two cases at the Court of Justice of the European Union – one judgment and one referral – before finishing on some of the other case law we covered on the blog in December, which includes an interesting Supreme Court decision on deprivation of citizenship. The material is all drawn from the December 2017 blog posts on Free Movement. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25 minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: Immigration Rules New Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules: HC309 Brexit Settled status and citizens’ rights – what has been agreed? How many EU citizens will be criminalised by Brexit? Deportation Home Office policy on EU rough sleepers found unlawful Basic procedural fairness applies even when removal windows used Home Office EU deportation decision overturned for ignoring EU law Court of Justice Self-employed EU citizens who fall out of work retain worker status Northern Ireland appeal case on “Chen parents” referred to EU court Other cases Supreme Court boost for people stripped of their British citizenship People accused of TOEIC cheating have in-country right of challenge
Dec 20, 2017 · 25 min
Immigration update podcast, episode 47
Welcome to the November 2017 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. This month I cover a few bits of immigration news, several cases on detention and then run through some other case law. I end with a mention for some new explainer pieces we put together. The material is all drawn from the November 2017 blog posts on Free Movement. If you would like to claim CPD points for reading the material and listening to this podcast, sign up here as a Free Movement member. There are now over 40 CPD hours of training materials available to members. You can find all the available courses here. If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free via iTunes here, Stitcher here or point your podcast player to the podcast feed for Free Movement. Using a mobile device and subscribing has the advantage that each new podcast can be automatically downloaded for listening to on the go. To access previous Free Movement immigration update podcasts click here. The main content of the downloadable 25 minute audio podcast follows the (non chronological) order of content below: News The “hostile environment” seeps into criminal trials: defendants must state nationality or face prison Asylum “lottery”: some hearing centres grant twice as many appeals Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visas doubled to 2,000 per year Detention High Court: potential homelessness not a justification for detention Aggravated damages for “distressing and traumatic” detention The Home Office continues to unlawfully impose curfews The Home Office is entitled to ignore a judge’s decision to grant bail Other cases Supreme Court rejects a right to non-contributory benefits for Zambrano carers Court of Appeal re-affirms country guidance cases are not box ticking Asylum age assessments: the Court of Appeal is not a tribunal Domestic violence cases can attract a right of appeal, says High Court