Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 13 December 2024
There has been a series of significant developments in UK’s asylum system this week, as the Home Office has unveiled plans to overhaul asylum accommodation whilst grappling mounting challenges in decision-making quality and refugee support.
The Home Office has announced plans to house asylum seekers in disused care homes and student accommodation as part of an ambitious strategy to establish 800 new accommodation sites. This initiative aims to reduce the current £5.5 million daily expenditure on hotel accommodation, marking a fundamental shift in the approach to housing asylum seekers.
Amidst these changes, the government’s handling of Syrian asylum claims has come under scrutiny. Immigration Minister Angela Eagle revealed that approximately 6,500 asylum claims have been suspended pending assessment of the situation following the Assad regime’s end. This announcement has prompted the UNHCR and the Refugee Council to urge European nations not to abandon Syrian asylum seekers during this critical period.
In a positive development, the Home Office has launched a trial extending the ‘move-on’ period for refugees, effectively doubling the time they have to secure housing before facing eviction from asylum accommodation. This change comes in response to growing concerns about refugee homelessness and has been welcomed by charities and political figures alike.
However, serious concerns have emerged regarding the quality of asylum decisions. Recent data reveals that only half of the Home Office’s asylum decisions meet its internal quality standards, a significant decline coinciding with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s push to clear the case backlog. Anonymous civil servants have highlighted how abbreviated training periods, increased targets, and shortened interview times have compromised decision quality.
The situation has been further complicated by the introduction of a two-hour limit for asylum interviews and simplified refusal templates, which officials claim have made it challenging to gather sufficient information for sustainable decisions. These changes have reportedly contributed to a surge in legal challenges, with over 9,300 appeals filed between April and June alone.
Despite Sunak declaring the legacy backlog “cleared” in January, these processing changes have persisted, raising questions about the long-term implications for the UK’s asylum system and its ability to make fair and sustainable decisions.
In a significant Court of Appeal judgment (S v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1482), the court has provided important clarification on what constitutes persecution in asylum claims, particularly regarding sur place activities. The court upheld that opportunistic political activities in the UK, including demonstrations and social media posts, would not amount to persecution risk if they were not genuinely held beliefs. This ruling notably differentiates between authentic political expression requiring protection and opportunistic activities designed merely to manufacture an asylum claim.
This judgment comes at a critical time when the Home Office is undertaking substantial reforms to the UK’s asylum system.
This week also unfolded a landmark ruling with the Court of Appeal’s determined in (Ali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1546 that dependent family members’ right to work under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement takes precedence over their dependency status. The case of R (Ali) challenged the Home Office’s refusal of indefinite leave to remain for a formerly dependent child over 21 who had become financially independent through employment. The Court held that dependency should only be assessed at the point of joining the sponsor in the UK, with subsequent financial independence through work not affecting their rights. The Home Office is now seeking to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.
As witnessed through the weekly updates, the UK’s immigration sector continues to evolve, presenting ongoing challenges and debates for policymakers, legal professionals, and those navigating the system.
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For the full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Guidance and Policy updates, see below
Immigration News
Arrests for illegal working up after Home Office crackdown – Home Office
New data shows illegal working arrests have increased by 25% since the election.
From 5 July to 31 October 2024, operational colleagues targeting unscrupulous employers carried out 3,188 visits with 2,299 arrests. This is compared to 2,371 visits from 5 July to 31 October 2023 with 1,836 arrests. Action to stop people suspected of working illegally has focused on nail bars, supermarkets and other relevant industries including car washes and construction.
For full report, click here
Asylum seekers to be housed in disused care homes and student digs – The Guardian
Asylum seekers will be housed in disused care homes and student digs under a Home Office plan to find 800 new accommodation sites and cut a bill that has risen to £5.5m a day. Home Office sources have confirmed to the Guardian that the fundamental changes to asylum accommodation are under way in a bid to save millions spent every day on hotel accommodation.
For full report, click here
European countries urged not to abandon Syrians applying for asylum – The Guardian
The UN’s refugee agency and the UK’s biggest refugee charity have urged European countries not to turn their backs on the Syrians who are applying for asylum. Interventions from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Refugee Council follow the UK government’s suspension of 6,500 asylum claims from Syrian nationals after the collapse of the Assad regime.
For full report, click here
UK would like to facilitate return of refugees to Syria, says minister – The Guardian
The Home Office would like to facilitate the return of refugees to Syria, a minister has said, saying about 6,500 asylum claims had been suspended as the government waited to assess the fallout from the end of the Assad regime. The immigration minister Angela Eagle said many refugees had been fleeing from the persecution and torture inflicted by Bashar al-Assad’s regime and said that if people wished to return to Syria from the UK “we’d certainly like to facilitate that”.
For full report, click here
Home Office says only half of UK asylum decisions meet its quality standards – The Guardian
Only half of the Home Office’s recent asylum decisions have met its own internal quality checks, significantly fewer than before Rishi Sunak’s push to clear a backlog of old claims. Civil servants and lawyers say errors and omissions are also driving a huge increase in costly legal challenges, with more than 9,300 appeals lodged between this April and June.
For full report, click here
Agency that brought heavily indebted Indonesian workers to UK loses licence – The Guardian
A British recruitment agency that brought Indonesian farmworkers to the UK owing debts of thousands of pounds to foreign brokers has had its licence revoked by the labour exploitation watchdog.
AG Recruitment was once the largest supplier of international labour to British agriculture, bringing more than 1,450 Indonesians to pick fruit to supply British supermarkets in 2022.
For full report, click here
Home Office trial doubles time refugees have to find home before eviction – The Guardian
Charities and politicians have welcomed a Home Office trial that will double the number of days refugees have to find a home before being evicted from asylum accommodation. The government has faced persistent calls to increase the move-on period, the amount of time people granted the right to remain in the UK are given to find a home and an income before being kicked out of hotels and other forms of asylum accommodation, after soaring rates of refugee homelessness.
For full report, click here
Germany to tighten people-smuggling law in UK deal – BBC News UK
Germany will tighten its law to make it easier to prosecute those helping to smuggle migrants to the UK, as part of a new plan agreed between the two countries. Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany currently, if it is to a third country outside the EU – which, following Brexit, includes the UK.
For full report, click here
Case Law
(Ali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1546
In a landmark ruling, the Court of Appeal determined that dependent family members’ right to work under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement takes precedence over their dependency status. The case of R (Ali) challenged the Home Office’s refusal of indefinite leave to remain for a formerly dependent child over 21 who had become financially independent through employment. The Court held that dependency should only be assessed at the point of joining the sponsor in the UK, with subsequent financial independence through work not affecting their rights. The Home Office is now seeking to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.
For full decision, click here
S v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWCA Civ 1482
The Court of Appeal dismissed an asylum appeal from an Iranian Kurdish national whose claim was based on alleged political activities both in Iran and the UK. The Court upheld the Upper Tribunal’s findings that the appellant’s political activities in the UK (including demonstrations outside the Iranian Embassy and Facebook posts) were opportunistic rather than genuine, and that he could reasonably be expected to close his social media accounts before returning to Iran without facing persecution. Crucially, the Court determined that as a failed asylum seeker of Kurdish ethnicity who left Iran illegally, these factors alone would not create a risk of persecution, particularly given that his UK activities were deemed not to have come to the attention of Iranian authorities.
For full decision, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Transparency data: Visa fees transparency data has been updated on 11th December 2024. To view the updated Transparency data, click here
Policy paper: UK visa fees has been updated on 11th December 2024. To view the updated Policy Paper, click here
Collection: Responses to reports by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has been updated on 11th December 2024. To view the updated Collection, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 11th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 11th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Overview: Checking your tenant’s right to rent has been uploaded. To view, click here
Overview: Use the Employer Checking Service has been uploaded. To view, click here
Overview: Indefinite leave to remain if you have a Scale-up Worker visa has been uploaded. To view, click here
Guidance: EU Settlement Scheme: looked-after children and care leavers has been uploaded. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Ukrainian nationals in the UK: visa support has been updated on 10th March 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: T2 Minister of Religion: caseworker has been updated on 09th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: UK visas on a Temporary Work route caseworker has been updated on 09th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Hong Kong: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 09th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Information booklet for asylum applications has been updated on 09th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 06th December 2024. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Written by Shareen Khan
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