Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 7 February 2025
The most significant highlight of the week has been the release of Labour’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. At its core, the Bill introduces counter-terrorism style powers to combat people smuggling, establishing a statutory Border Security Commander role to coordinate cross-government responses to border threats. The legislation provides enhanced powers for law enforcement, including the ability to seize electronic devices, search for small boat parts, and criminalise actions that endanger lives during Channel crossings, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison for those supplying or handling materials used in immigration crime.
A key aspect of the Bill is its repeal of recent Conservative legislation, notably the Rwanda Act 2024 and portions of the Illegal Migration Act 2023. The government will withdraw from the UK-Rwanda Treaty, effectively ending the £700 million partnership that resulted in only four volunteers being sent to Rwanda. The Bill also aims to streamline data sharing between agencies, allowing real-time access to DVLA data for tracking illegal entrants and enabling HMRC to share customs information with the Home Office to identify suspicious patterns of activity.
The Bill has received mixed reactions from refugee organisations. While the Refugee Council welcomes the commitment to restore order to the asylum system through measures like resuming asylum application processing, both they and Asylum Aid express serious concerns about provisions that could criminalise vulnerable asylum seekers.
However, the Bill is a significant shift from previous Conservative policies by easing citizenship restrictions for small boat arrivals and revoking mandatory scientific age checks for asylum seekers. Whilst the opposition has criticised these changes as making Britain a “soft touch” on this note, Labour argues the previous measures were unworkable, whilst maintaining certain strict provisions including detention powers and limitations on modern slavery protections.
The steep rise in UK visa fees and complex sponsorship requirements, coupled with increased fees costs, are increasingly deterring international talent from choosing Britain as their workplace destination. These financial and administrative barriers risk undermining the UK’s competitive position in the global race for skilled workers.
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has issued a stark warning about the UK’s immigration policies potentially undermining its ability to attract crucial STEM talent, highlighting several critical areas of concern.
The most pressing issue is the escalating cost of visas, which have surged by 58% since 2021, with some applicants now facing upfront expenses exceeding £10,000. The requirement to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge in full before entry creates particularly significant barriers for early-career researchers. Whilst other nations have been reducing their fees, the UK now stands out for having the highest visa costs among comparable countries.
Global Talent visa, though conceptually sound, faces criticism for its prohibitive costs and restrictive eligibility criteria. Early-career researchers frequently find themselves excluded from this route with few viable alternatives. The committee emphasises that as this visa accounts for less than 1% of overall immigration figures, expanding its scope would have minimal impact on the government’s net migration targets.
Universities are feeling the impact of these policies acutely, particularly through the ban on dependants for postgraduate taught courses, which disproportionately affects STEM subjects. The current model, where international student fees cross-subsidise domestic teaching and research, is under threat, potentially destabilising university funding structures.
The Committee’s recommendations are both practical and forward-looking. They advocate for a comprehensive review of visa fees to restore international competitiveness, suggest alternative payment methods for the Immigration Health Surcharge, and propose targeted exemptions from the dependants ban for strategic sectors. Additionally, they call for improved data collection on immigration impacts and expanded eligibility criteria for the Global Talent visa or new routes for early-career researchers.
This intervention flags the mounting concerns about the alignment between the UK’s immigration system and its aspirations to be a global science and technology leader. The focus on practical barriers, particularly high upfront costs, rather than just policy considerations, is especially significant. As other countries actively compete for international talent, the UK risks eroding its traditional advantages in attracting researchers and scientists unless these systemic issues are promptly addressed.
The Home Office has released version 35.0 of its Temporary Work caseworker guidance, outlining updated procedures for handling applications across six temporary work routes including Creative Worker, Charity Worker, and Seasonal Worker visas. Key changes include clarification on visa vignette issuance for seasonal workers, updated eligibility checks for UK-based representatives, and refined rules on route switching, whilst maintaining the core three-part structure of validity, suitability and eligibility requirements for all applications.
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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
Labour eases checks on illegal migrants – The Telegraph
Repeal of Tory rules branded ‘total capitulation’ as legislation on citizenship and age testing is softened.
Labour is watering down border laws designed to block illegal migrants from obtaining citizenship and to force them to submit to scientific age checks.
For full report, click here
Home Office wasted nearly £100m on plans to house asylum seekers, watchdog finds – The Guardian
The Home Office’s plans to house asylum seekers reveal a “dysfunctional culture of repeated mistakes and weak internal challenge” that wasted nearly £100m, parliament’s spending watchdog has concluded. A Public Accounts Committee report said the department had a “troubling culture that repeatedly wastes public money” after examining the acquisition of the £15.4m HMP Northeye site to house new arrivals.
For full report, click here
Group of Labour MPs urge No 10 to be tougher on migration to fend off Reform – The Guardian
Labour MPs whose seats are under threat from Reform UK have set up a pressure group that will urge Keir Starmer to take a tougher stance on migration and crime, amid growing concern about the rise of the right-wing populist party.
For full report, click here
Ukrainian refugees face losing jobs and homes due to UK visa extension uncertainty – The Guardian
Ukrainian refugees face losing their jobs and homes due to uncertainty over the Home Office’s visa extension process which will leave some with an eight-week gap in which they are unable to prove their right to live and work in the UK.
For full report, click here
Windrush grandfather at risk of deportation after almost 50 years in UK – The Guardian
A Windrush man who has lived in the UK since he was a child fears he could be deported to his home country despite spending most of his life here.
For full report, click here
‘Illegal’ among words most often linked to migrants in UK politics, report finds – The Guardian
The word “illegal” has been one of the terms most strongly associated with migrants in UK parliamentary debates over the past 25 years, research has found. Findings from the Runnymede Trust, published on Friday, examine how politicians and the media have portrayed migrants, refugees and Muslims in their discourse.
For full report, click here
Tory Chris Philp accused of ‘brass neck’ after saying UK needs better work ethic – The Guardian
One of Kemi Badenoch’s senior team has been accused of “real brass neck” after saying Britain needed a better work ethic.
For full report, click here
Ukrainians can bring children to UK as visa changes reversed – BBC News UK
Ukrainians can again bring their children to join them in the UK, after the government reversed changes to visa rules.
For full report, click here
Asylum seeker barge seen leaving port – BBC News UK
Asylum seeker barge Bibby Stockholm has been pictured leaving port, 18 months after it arrived.
For full report, click here
New crime of endangering lives to target small boat crossings – BBC News UK
Endangering lives at sea is to be a new criminal offence carrying a jail term of up to five years as part of plans to tackle people smuggling, the Home Office says. Border officials will also get powers to seize migrants’ phones in the search for intelligence about who helped them cross the Channel.
For full report, click here
How many people cross the Channel in small boats and how many claim asylum? – BBC News UK
Almost 37,000 people crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2024. The government has announced measures to tackle people smuggling, including a new criminal offence of endangering the lives of others at sea.
For full report, click here
UK partnership with Tunisia to target root causes of irregular migration – UKVI News
Efforts to tackle the root causes of migration upstream are being bolstered as the Foreign Secretary announces new funding for programmes in Tunisia to strengthen work with international partners, smash the people smuggling gangs, secure the UK’s borders and support those vulnerable to exploitation by criminals.
For full report, click here
Case Law
D8 v Secretary of the State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 33
The Court of Appeal’s decision in D8 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 33 establishes that the Home Secretary can revoke refugee status through a single-stage test, once they have rationally concluded that an individual poses a danger to national security. The ruling overturns SIAC’s previous requirement for a two-stage test, which would have required the Home Secretary to consider less intrusive measures before revocation. The Court found no basis for such a two-stage approach in the Refugee Convention, Qualification Directive, or Immigration Rules, emphasising that whilst refoulement remains subject to other international obligations (such as the ECHR), the Home Secretary’s national security decision can only be challenged through judicial review. The judgement also provides significant commentary on retained EU law post-Brexit, particularly regarding the status of the Qualification Directive in UK law, though questions remain about the precise status of relevant Immigration Rules.
For full decision, click here
Secretary of State for the Home Department v Almas [2025] EWHC 212 (KB)
The High Court dismissed the Home Office’s appeal, upholding substantial damages awarded to a Pakistani asylum seeker who was unlawfully detained and subjected to a 2-year, 9-month delay in processing her fresh claim. The Court found that multiple breaches of Home Office policy made the detention unlawful, including failure to consider alternatives to detention, inadequate risk assessment, and lack of proper authorisation. The Court confirmed that the delay and restrictive conditions imposed during this period constituted a disproportionate breach of Article 8 ECHR rights, particularly given the Home Office’s failure to provide any evidence justifying the delay.
Notably, the Court upheld both the award of exemplary damages (finding “outrageous” conduct warranting punishment) and aggravated damages, as well as the costs order. The judgment emphasises that the Home Office must justify lengthy delays and detention decisions with proper evidence and cannot rely on generalised arguments about resources without specific proof.
For full decision, click here
R (BLZ) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 153 (Admin) and R (BLZ) v Leeds City Council[2025] EWHC 154 (Admin)
The High Court judgments in BLZ (2025) establish significant guidance on the duties owed to disabled individuals on immigration bail. In BLZ No. 1, Fordham J found that the Home Secretary had breached multiple duties by failing to consider the claimant’s disabilities when arranging Schedule 10 accommodation, including breaches of the public sector equality duty and reasonable adjustments duty. The court notably resolved factual disputes using documentary evidence rather than live testimony and drew adverse inferences from the Home Secretary’s failure to provide direct evidence from caseworkers.
In BLZ No. 2, whilst the court found that local authorities could rely on Schedule 10 accommodation to avoid Care Act duties, permission to appeal was granted on this point. The judgments highlight a critical ‘policy gap’ in the system, where procedures for identifying care needs and making Care Act referrals for asylum seekers were not replicated for those in Schedule 10 accommodation, though the court declined to find any systemic ECHR breaches.
For full decision, click here and here
independent Report
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill
Labour’s Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, introduces counter-terrorism style powers to tackle people smuggling, establishes a statutory Border Security Commander role, and creates new offences related to Channel crossings. The Bill repeals the Rwanda Act 2024 and parts of the Illegal Migration Act 2023, whilst expanding powers to seize electronic devices, share data between agencies, and regulate immigration advisers. The Bill has received mixed reactions, with refugee charities expressing concerns about its potential criminalisation of asylum seekers, though welcoming the repeal of previous legislation. The proposed measures focus on disrupting criminal gangs rather than pursuing asylum seekers themselves.
For full draft, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 05th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 05th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Archive: Immigration Rules has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Collection, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 2 January 2025 to 3 February 2025 has been published on 04th February 2025. To view the Guidance, click here
Guidance: Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and leaving care: funding instructions has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Apply for a visa under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme has been updated 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Apply for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Ukrainian nationals in the UK: visa support has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Form: Apply for the migrant victims of domestic abuse concession has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Algeria: country policy and information notes has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: UK visas on a Temporary Work route: caseworker has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Sudan: country policy and information notes has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Overview: Apply as a child to join or stay with a close relative in the UK has been uploaded. To view overview, click here
Guidance: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme has been updated 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Form: Apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme: parental consent form has been published on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Ukraine Permission Extension scheme: caseworker has been published on 04th February 2025. To view Guidance, click here
Guidance: Victims of domestic violence: caseworker has been updated 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Family of people settled or coming to settle (immigration staff guidance) has been updated 04th February 2025. To view the updated Collection, click here
Guidance: Bangladesh: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Applications from overstayers: caseworker has been updated on 04th February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 03rd February 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Offender management: caseworker has been updated on 31st January 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Overview: Indefinite leave to remain (permission to stay as a refugee, humanitarian protection, Discretionary or Section 67 Leave) has been uploaded. To view overview, click here
Written by Shareen Khan
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