Immigration News Weekly Roundup – 8 August 2025
This week saw major changes in UK immigration policy, representing the government’s strongest response so far to the Channel crossing crisis.
The most notable development came when the UK-France returns agreement officially entered into force, enabling the return of asylum seekers who cross the Channel by small boat under a “one in, one out” arrangement. The treaty, which will run as a pilot scheme until June 2026, allows France to take back asylum seekers who cannot prove family connections to the UK, whilst the UK accepts one asylum seeker from France with genuine family links for each person returned.
Early reports suggest the scheme may initially handle up to 50 asylum seekers per week, though Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declined to specify exact numbers, stating that figures would “start lower and then build” as the programme develops. The European Commission and EU Member States provided necessary approval for the arrangement, which required both legislative ratification and operational preparation including space allocation at Immigration Removal Centres.
The agreement has already attracted significant criticism from various quarters. The Conservative opposition dismissed it as a “gimmick” that would affect only six per cent of arrivals, arguing it provides no meaningful deterrent. Independent migration researchers have questioned the scheme’s fundamental logic, noting that it depends on continued Channel crossings to create safe routes for others. Legal challenges are expected, as the refugee charity Care4Calais has stated it is considering court action due to concerns about the potential impact on people’s safety and the treatment of individuals involved.
The government has announced an extra £100 million for border security, funding up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers and new intelligence technology against people-smuggling. This announcement came amid growing protests outside asylum seeker accommodation, with demonstrations occurring in locations including Islington, Canary Wharf, and Epping, resulting in several arrests.
In a parallel development, ministers are preparing to outlaw social media advertisements promoting small boat crossings through amendments to the Border Security Bill currently progressing through the House of Lords. The new criminal offence will carry penalties of up to five years imprisonment and substantial fines for those creating online content that promotes illegal immigration services, including small boat crossings, fake documentation, and illegal employment opportunities.
Home Office data reveals that approximately 80 per cent of migrants arriving by small boat used social media during their journey, often to communicate with smuggling networks. The National Crime Agency has reported multiple instances in which organised crime groups have utilised social media platforms to promote their services. These include £12,000 “package deals” that offer transportation to the UK along with accommodation and employment.
The government plans to introduce a fast-track asylum scheme to reduce the backlog, aiming for decisions within weeks instead of prolonged delays. More than 70 per cent of asylum applications are ultimately granted, yet tens of thousands of refugees have waited over a year for initial decisions. The new approach will also tighten interpretation of “exceptional circumstances” and the application of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
These developments come as Channel crossings set a record, with over 25,000 arrivals so far in 2025—the highest ever for this time of year. Oxford research indicates £20 billion has been spent on migrant-welcoming schemes over the past decade, including a £10 billion overspend on asylum accommodation, while little has gone toward integration or community cohesion.
The UNHCR cautiously supports the returns agreement, noting it may improve asylum seeker protections if aligned with international law. Legal experts, however, question its compatibility with current immigration laws and foresee possible implementation challenges.
Recent changes mean immigration practitioners face new inadmissibility rules, added compliance requirements due to social media ad bans, and potentially shorter timelines if fast-track processing is introduced.
The upcoming months will be important in assessing whether these measures meet their goals of reducing Channel crossings and upholding the UK’s international legal responsibilities towards asylum seekers.
Government efforts to address illegal migration now include broader measures beyond coastal enforcement, with authorities conducting detailed workplace investigations to identify and remove workers without authorisation. After reports emerged of individuals without work permission employed by delivery companies, there has been a notable increase in enforcement actions at businesses. These operations have occurred alongside updates to sponsor licence rules and policies, resulting in increased oversight of businesses holding such licences.
The current enforcement climate poses significant challenges for UK employers in all sectors. The Home Office has intensified compliance checks, with more audits and licence revocations than ever. While sectors like takeaway food, hospitality, and construction face heightened scrutiny, all businesses holding a sponsor licence are now subject to these regulations.
As compliance risks continue to increase, immigration practitioners require timely access to specialised guidance. HJT offers a live online course, Sponsor Licences: Home Office Compliance Enforcement Audits & Licence Revocation, presented by Sacha Wooldridge and Mark Symes, which provides a comprehensive overview of the current UKVI policies and regime. The session reviews the new compliance framework, audit triggers, preparation strategies, relevant case law, and how to handle post-audit outcomes. This course provides essential guidance for immigration advisers supporting sponsor licence holders facing increased enforcement. Limited places available, to book your spot visit here
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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
UK-France treaty targeting illegal crossings comes into force – UKVI News
The latest step towards dismantling the criminal trade in small boat crossings was taken by the ratification of a treaty between the UK and France to help prevent dangerous journeys at sea. The agreement means that anyone entering the UK on a small boat can be detained immediately on arrival and returned to France by the UK government – with detentions expected to begin within days. Under the ‘one-in, one-out’ scheme, an equal number of migrants will be eligible to come to the UK through a new route if they have not attempted an illegal crossing before – subject to full documentation and security and eligibility checks.
For full report, click here
UK to bear transport costs of ‘one in, one out’ asylum seeker deal with France – The Guardian
The UK will pay the costs of transporting asylum seekers to and from France under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal with Emmanuel Macron, it has emerged. The deal will have to be renewed by 11 June next year and can be ended at a month’s notice by either side, documents made public by the government indicate.
For full report, click here
Tory and Reform politicians endanger trials with immigration ‘hysteria’, say former ministers – The Guardian
Conservative and Reform UK politicians are fuelling “hysteria and anger” over immigration, with criminal trials put at risk of collapse, former ministers and police have warned. Protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers have spread across the country in recent weeks, while debate about immigration – including instances of misinformation – has intensified.
For full report, click here
Guidance on police disclosing suspects’ ethnicity should change, Cooper says – The Guardian
Official guidance should change to permit police to release the ethnicity or immigration status of criminal suspects, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said.
For full report, click here
Napier barracks to continue housing asylum seekers after small boat influx – The Guardian
Napier barracks, one of the first mass accommodation sites opened to house asylum seekers, will not be closing as planned in the coming weeks, as the government attempts to deal with an influx of small boats arrivals. Officials informed parliament in a Home Office document uploaded to parliament’s cross-party home affairs committee in March 2025 that “the Home Office intend to occupy and deliver services at Napier until September 2025, at which point the site will be handed back to the Ministry of Defence”.
For full report, click here
Ministers to spend extra £100m on stopping small boat crossings to UK – The Guardian
Ministers will spend an extra £100m on measures to deter Channel crossings, including on the planned “one in, one out” returns agreement with France, the Home Office has said. In a third immigration policy pledge within 24 hours, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the money would pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers, as well as new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on people-smuggling gangs.
For full report, click here
Social media ads promoting small boat crossings to UK to be banned – The Guardian
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers. The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
For full report, click here
Pro- and anti-migrant protesters face off at London hotel housing asylum seekers – The Guardian
Anti-racism demonstrators turned out in large numbers on Saturday outside a London hotel where asylum seekers are being housed to counter-protest against those opposed to it being used as Home Office accommodation. Both groups of protesters gathered near the Thistle City Barbican hotel in Islington, north London.
For full report, click here
‘At last I have peace’: Windrush-era grandmother has right to remain reinstated after 50 years – The Guardian
“It will be nice to have a rest at last,” said Comfort Olufunmilayo Olawo, who has spent the last 50 years commuting between the UK and Nigeria. After racking up around 300,000 air miles and spending thousands of pounds on flights and visa fees, the 82-year-old Windrush-generation grandmother who originally settled in the UK almost 60 years ago has finally been granted permission to stay here.
For full report, click here
Language on immigration in UK news and politics found to have ‘shaped backlash against antiracism’ – The Guardian
A pattern of “hostile language” in news reports and UK parliamentary debates is more likely to describe people of colour as immigrants, or with less sympathy, researchers have found. The race equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust analysed more than 63m words from 52,990 news articles and 317 House of Commons debates on immigration between 2019 and the general election in July 2024
For full report, click here
How many people cross the Channel in small boats? – BBC News UK
More than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since the start of the year. Under a new scheme, some people arriving in the UK on small boats will be detained and sent back to France.
For full report, click here
‘Frustration still there a year on from the riots’ – BBC News UK
A year on from the UK riots and people in Hull, where a hotel housing asylum seeker was targeted, believe frustration and tension still continue in the city. When violence erupted on 3 August – fuelled by misinformation – following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport, fear and vexation gripped communities.
For full report, click here
Restaurant with illegal workers loses alcohol licence – BBC News UK
A restaurant fined £90,000 for employing illegal workers has had its alcohol licence revoked. Immigration officers found the three workers at Exotic Karahi in Farnham Road, Slough, during a visit in September 2024.
For full report, click here
UK MPs demand visa waiver for Gaza students – Arab News
LONDON: At least 70 British MPs have signed a letter demanding that the government delay biometric requirements for 80 Palestinian students in Gaza, Sky News reported on Wednesday. The war in the enclave has prevented the students from fulfilling the mandatory biometric checks, and a government waiver would let them take their university spots in Britain.
For full report, click here
Universities to lose cash if students claim asylum – The Times
The Government will announce new rules next month regarding the use of student visas by foreign nationals. This follows Home Office figures released in March indicating that approximately 16,000 individuals who applied for asylum in 2024 had first entered the UK on a study visa.
For full report, click here
More clashes and arrests at UK immigration protests – Arab News
Further scuffles broke out at anti-immigration protests in the UK with police making several arrests. Demonstrators calling for mass “remigration” gathered in central Manchester, northwest England, for a march organized by the far-right “Britain First” group, which was confronted by anti-racism groups.
For full report, click here
Case Law
Fertre v Vale of White Horse District Council [2025] EWCA Civ 1057
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a French national with pre-settled status who challenged the refusal of homelessness assistance, ruling that she was not residing in the UK “on the basis of” the Withdrawal Agreement and therefore not entitled to equal treatment protection under Article 23. The court held that pre-settled status is merely a domestic law right that provides a “gateway” to other rights rather than conferring EU law residence rights, and that the Withdrawal Agreement was intended only to preserve existing EU law rights rather than expand eligibility for social benefits beyond the pre-Brexit status quo.
For full decision, click here
R (Secretary of State for the Home Department) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission [2025] EWHC 2019 (Admin)
The High Court ruled that SIAC has no jurisdiction to award costs in review proceedings, finding that costs powers must be expressly conferred by the Lord Chancellor through procedural rules rather than implied from the broad statutory language, and that when the Secretary of State withdraws a decision, proceedings automatically end without SIAC having any discretion to make costs orders.
For full decision, click here
R (D1914 & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1853 (Admin)
The High Court dismissed a judicial review against the Home Secretary over Brook House inquiry recommendations, finding the government had adequately considered and substantially implemented most recommendations with no legal obligation to comply fully. The case notably established that parliamentary privilege prevents reliance on most parliamentary material as evidence in judicial reviews, including National Audit Office reports.
For full decision, click here
Independent Reports
Agreement Between the Government Of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of The French Republic on The Prevention of Dangerous Journeys
The Government has announced that a new agreement with France is now in effect, allowing the UK to return asylum seekers who cross the Channel by small boat. After approval from the European Commission and EU Member States, the treaty was ratified yesterday. A pilot phase will start tomorrow to evaluate the scheme’s effectiveness before full implementation.
For full link, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Guidance: Language analysis: caseworker has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Licensing authority guide to right to work checks has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 29 May 2025 to 30 June 2025 has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 1 July 2025 to 15 July 2025 has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 16 July 2025 to 21 July 2025 has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 22 July 2025 to 28 July 2025 has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 16 July 2025 to 16 July 2025 has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 9 April 2025 to 28 May 2025 has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Offender management: caseworker has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 06th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Archive: Immigration Rules has been updated on 05th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 4 August 2025 to 4 August 2025 has been published on 05th August 2025. To view the Guidance, click here
Guidance: Hong Kong: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 05th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Immigration Rules: statement of changes has been updated on 05th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Residence documents: information for financial providers has been updated on 05th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Leave outside the Immigration Rules: caseworker has been updated on 05th August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Apply for a Ukraine Family Scheme visa has been updated on 01st August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Ukrainian nationals in the UK: visa support has been updated on 01st August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Apply for a visa under the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme has been updated on 01st August 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: UK visa support for Ukrainian nationals has been updated on 01st August 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.
