Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 31 October 2025
The week brought substantial developments across UK immigration, specific to enforcement actions against illegal workers and asylum accommodation sectors.
The Government has launched a six-week consultation on extending right-to-work checking obligations to gig economy and zero-hours contract workers. Currently, employers must verify employee status, but casual workers, labour intermediaries, and self-employed individuals fall outside this requirement. The consultation, closing on 10 December 2025, proposes closing this gap across construction, food delivery, beauty services, courier operations, and warehousing sectors.
The Government’s rationale centres on preventing unscrupulous employers from circumventing immigration compliance by engaging undocumented workers. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill will implement these changes. Non-compliance penalties are severe: fines up to £60,000 per unlawfully employed worker, company closures, director disqualifications, and custodial sentences up to five years.
Simultaneously, the Government has signed a migration partnership agreement with Vietnam aimed at accelerating deportations of Vietnamese nationals arriving irregularly. This follows a substantial surge in clandestine arrivals, with Vietnamese nationals representing the largest cohort of small boat arrivals in early 2024 and the fourth largest across the whole year.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary to Lam signed the agreement, described as Vietnam’s most comprehensive migration cooperation framework with any nation. The arrangement aims to reduce deportation documentation processing times by 75 per cent in cases with supporting evidence, potentially reaching 90 per cent reduction eventually. The Government claims this could facilitate four times as many returns. The agreement incorporates enhanced biometric data sharing, expedited document issuance, and collaborative efforts dismantling trafficking networks.
Contextually, Home Office data reveals 599 Vietnamese nationals were referred to the national referral mechanism as potential modern slavery victims between April and June 2025, the second-largest foreign nationality cohort after Eritreans.
The issues regarding asylum accommodation remain a news highlight. A cross-party Home Affairs Committee report published on 27 October 2025 determined that the Home Office has squandered billions, through prolonged mismanagement of asylum accommodation provision. The committee identified failures in overseeing hotel contracts, financial management, and performance penalties with private service providers. Contracts with Clearsprings, Mears, and Serco, commencing in 2019, escalated from £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion with inadequate oversight permitting uncorrected poor performance.
Despite hotels accounting for over 75 per cent of spending, no performance penalties were applied. The Committee raised particular concern regarding safeguarding failures, specifically children subjected to incorrect age assessments and inappropriate adult placement. The committee chair emphasised the Home Office has failed to develop coherent long-term strategy, instead adopting reactive short-term approaches.
In response, Ministers have initiated plans utilising military facilities for asylum seeker housing. Approximately 900 individuals are proposed for accommodation across Cameron Barracks in Inverness and Crowborough army training camp in East Sussex by November’s end. The Prime Minister has directed officials to accelerate identification of suitable military installations and expand alternative accommodation options.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard characterised the military sites as adequate provision, though concerns have emerged regarding appropriateness. The National Audit Office previously concluded large military installations would incur costs comparable to hotels. Two existing facilities, MDP Wethersfield in Essex and Napier Barracks in Kent, already accommodate single adult males. However, the Napier Barracks attracted 2021 High Court criticism describing conditions as squalid and overcrowded with filthy facilities.
The news reflects the Government’s planned policy changes outlined in the Statement of Changes HC1333.
The Government’s Statement sets a timeline for ongoing reforms with major amendments starting in November 2025 and continuing through the first quarter of 2026. Immigration advisors must quickly learn and understand these changes affecting visa national lists, English requirements, graduate routes, and refusal processes.
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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
Largest crackdown on illegal workers since records began – UKVI News
Arrests for illegal working have soared to their highest levels since records began, following an uplift in enforcement action. Under Operation Sterling, the Government invested £5 million into Immigration Enforcement, to target, arrest, detain, deport and return illegal workers in takeaways, fast food drivers, beauty salons and car washes. For full report, click here
Loophole closed to keep terrorists and extremists out of the UK – UKVI News
British people are now better protected from terrorists, extremists, and criminals involved in serious organised crime with the passing of a new law which prevents British citizenship being automatically reinstated to such individuals following a successful initial appeal. Receiving Royal Assent last night (27 October), the Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Act 2025 will mean British citizenship is not automatically reinstated after a successful appeal until all further appeals are exhausted ensuring the UK’s national security is not compromised during legal proceedings. For full report, click here
Vietnamese arrivals in UK by irregular means will be fast-tracked for deportation, says No 10 – The Guardian
Vietnamese people who arrive in the UK by irregular means will be fast-tracked for deportation under a new agreement, Downing Street has said. After a surge in clandestine arrivals from the south-east Asian country last year via small boats and in the back of lorries, the deal is supposed to cut red tape and make it faster and easier to return those with no right to be in the UK. For full report, click here
Inquiry into conditions at Manston asylum centre has stalled, critics say – The Guardian
An inquiry into what went wrong at an asylum seeker processing centre three years ago is at a standstill, critics have said. A commitment to hold an inquiry into conditions at Manston in Kent in the second half of 2022 was first made by the former home secretary James Cleverly in March 2024 after 18,000 people were unlawfully detained in horrific conditions there. For full report, click here
Epping sex offender given £500 after threatening to challenge deportation – The Guardian
A convicted child sex offender mistakenly released from prison after arriving in the UK in a small boat was given £500 of public money, as he was deported back to Ethiopia. Hadush Kebatu was flown back to his home country on Tuesday night with the discretionary payment after raising the possibility of challenging his removal shortly before he was due to be placed on a plane. For full report, click here
Share your views on a Tory MP’s proposal to deport large numbers of legally settled UK immigrants – The Guardian
A Conservative MP tipped as a future party leader has proposed that large numbers of legally settled UK immigrants must be deported, in order to ensure the country is mostly “culturally coherent”. The Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, has been urged to condemn the comments by Katie Lam, a Home Office shadow minister and a whip for the party. For full report, click here
Quelling public disquiet is worth extra cost of barracks asylum housing, says No 10 – The Guardian
Downing Street has defended the prospect of paying more to house asylum seekers in disused barracks instead of hotels, arguing that quelling public disquiet was worth any extra cost. As refugee organisations and local politicians described plans to house tens of thousands of people in ex-military sites as “fanciful” and “too expensive”, No 10 said that “communities don’t want asylum seekers housed in hotels, and neither does the Government”. For full report, click here
Plans to house UK asylum seekers in barracks are costly and complicated – The Guardian
Refugee organisations have described plans to house thousands of asylum seekers in two disused military sites as fanciful and too expensive as local discontent grows. The Home Office has confirmed that two barracks: Cameron in Inverness and Crowborough training camp in East Sussex, will be used to house about 900 men temporarily. Officials are working to identify more sites. For full report, click here
Hundreds of asylum seekers to be moved to two UK military sites – The Guardian
Hundreds of people seeking asylum in the UK will be moved to military sites as the Government aims to end the use of hotels to house them. The Home Office confirmed that two barracks – Cameron barracks in Inverness and Crowborough training camp in East Sussex – would be used to house about 900 men temporarily. Officials are working to identify more sites. For full report, click here
Teenager from Gaza ‘stuck in hell’ after being prevented from joining mother in UK – The Guardian
A teenager from Gaza who has been denied an opportunity to attend school in Britain and be reunited with her mother has said she is “stuck in hell”, despite other European countries making exceptions for students from the region. For full report, click here
Home Office squandered billions on ‘failed and chaotic’ asylum accommodation –The Guardian
The Home Office has squandered billions of pounds on asylum accommodation due to long-term mismanagement of a “failed, chaotic and expensive” system, according to a report published by a powerful parliamentary committee. The report highlights the previous and current governments’ failures to manage the mix of hotels, large sites such as the Wethersfield former military base in Essex, and shared housing. For full report, click here
High court halts eviction of refugee under Home Office 28-day policy – The Guardian
A High Court judge has overruled the Government by halting the eviction of a refugee from his asylum accommodation in an emergency case in the early hours of the morning. Mr Justice Johnson made an order in the out-of-hours case, disapplying a Home Office policy that requires new refugees to move on from their asylum accommodation within 28 days. For full report, click here
Windrush victims to get 75% of compensation up front in scheme overhaul – The Guardian
Victims of the Windrush scandal will be paid as much as 75% of their compensation in advance under an overhaul of the scheme designed to deliver faster justice. Victims will also be compensated for the first time for lost contributions to work or personal pensions, something campaigners have long fought for. For full report, click here
Home Office arrests more than 200 people for ‘working illegally’ in NI – BBC News UK
More than 200 arrests of people suspected of working illegally have been made in Northern Ireland over the past year, the Home Office has said. The arrests were made by Immigration Enforcement between October 2024 and September 2025. For full report, click here
Councillor who attended asylum protest cleared – BBC News UK
A councillor who attended a protest against the use of a hotel to house asylum seekers has been cleared of accusations against her including bullying, harassment and bringing the council into disrepute. Alison Sheridan, a Conservative member of Exeter City Council, wore her council lanyard to a protest outside a hotel in Exeter. For full report, click here
Illegal immigration and smuggling blitz sees 50 arrests – BBC News UK
Three Romanians with previous immigration offences were returned after trying to enter through Holyhead Port last week. A three-day operation targeting the UK’s Common Travel Area, external (CTA) – through which British and Irish citizens can pass freely – led to 51 arrests of suspected immigration offenders and smugglers, said the Home Office. For full report, click here
Case Law
ANPV and SAPV v Secretary of State for the Home Department UI-2025-003373 & UI-2025-003374
The Upper Tribunal judge concluded that counsel had overwhelmingly likely used generative artificial intelligence to draft grounds of appeal containing fictitious case citations and authorities that bore no relation to the arguments advanced. Finding the grounds fundamentally misleading and a waste of tribunal time, the judge announced his intention to refer the counsel’s conduct to the Bar Standards Board, potentially triggering disciplinary proceedings for professional misconduct. To view the judge’s comments, visit the case decision here
AFA & Ors, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2025] EWCA Civ 825
The Court of Appeal has dismissed Afghan nationals’ challenges to the government’s relocation policy following a Ministry of Defence data breach exposing around 80,000–100,000 people to Taliban risk. The Government prioritises “high-profile” roles such as judges and journalists for UK relocation, excluding other Afghan helpers like vehicle drivers and aid workers. The court rejected arguments that the policy was irrational, finding it rationally justified given the practical impossibility and prohibitive cost of relocating everyone affected. For full decision, click here
Independent Reports
Open consultation: Extending the Right to Work Scheme
The Government has launched a six-week consultation (closing 10 December 2025) on extending right to work checks beyond traditional employment to cover gig, casual, subcontracted and temporary work. Employers failing to conduct these checks face up to five years’ imprisonment, fines of £60,000 per illegal worker, and business closure. The Government frames illegal working as a “pull factor” and “driver of irregular migration,” though the article flags that Home Office research provides no evidence for this assertion. For full report, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Guidance: Immigration status checks: guidance for banks and building societies has been updated on 29th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 29th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 29th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Form: Apply for asylum support: form ASF1 has been updated on 28th October 2025. To view the updated Form, click here
Guidance: Information booklet for asylum applications has been updated on 28th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Form AN has been updated on 28th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Home Office Gaza process: caseworker has been updated on 27th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Language analysis: caseworker has been updated on 27th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Family life and exceptional circumstances: caseworker has been updated on 27th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Cambodia: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 24th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Administrative review: caseworker has been updated on 24th October 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Written by Shareen Khan – Legal Content Writer, HJT Training
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Disclaimer: This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration advisors should consult the full decisions and official policy documents when advising clients on specific cases.
