
NEWS
Smoother travel for families through the UK border this summer – Home Office
From Monday 24 July, children aged 10 or over will be able to enter the UK using e-Gates across 15 air and rail ports, helping families travel more easily.
Following successful trials across major ports including Gatwick, Stansted and Heathrow Airports this spring, from Monday 24 July 2023, more families returning and eligible visitors to the UK over the school summer holiday will now benefit from the use of e-Gates as a faster way to travel through the UK border, with a recent YouGov poll showing that 42% of the UK public plan to jet abroad over the summer.
For full report, click here
‘Routine’ use of hotels for lone child asylum seekers is unlawful, UK court rules. The Guardian
The Home Office’s “routine” housing of unaccompanied child asylum seekers in hotels is unlawful, the high court has ruled. The charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (Ecpat) brought legal action against the government department over the practice of housing unaccompanied youngsters in hotels, claiming the arrangements were not fit for purpose.
In a ruling on Thursday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children had become unlawful, as the power to place the children in hotels “may be used on very short periods in true emergency situations”. He told the court in London: “It cannot be used systematically or routinely in circumstances where it is intended, or functions in practice, as a substitute for local authority care.”
For full report, click here
Ethical fund to sell shares in Australian firm CTM over concerns it profits from asylum seeker detentions in UK – The Guardian
An ethical fund manager will sell its stake in Corporate Travel Management over concerns the burgeoning Brisbane-headquartered company is profiting from the mandatory detention of asylum seekers in the UK.
CTM gained recent prominence after securing a A$3bn (£1.6bn) contract overseeing the UK’s new asylum accommodation ships, including a 222-cabin barge moored in the port of Portland, Dorset.
For full report, click here
Home Office ordered to change rules that restrict help for trafficking victims – The Guardian
A High Court judge has ordered the Home Secretary to change a key part of a trafficking policy introduced just months ago. In an urgent hearing on Wednesday, lawyers representing trafficking victims said they were at risk of human rights violations such as slavery, servitude and forced labour if the policy continued.
In January the government introduced new rules restricting protection and support for victims of modern slavery. One of the changes is that potential trafficking victims who have a criminal conviction are no longer automatically assessed for the support trafficking victims can access. This support may include accommodation, counseling and financial assistance.
To read the full report, click here
Call for refugee visas to tackle Channel small boat crossings – The Guardian
The UK’s leading refugee charity has called for the introduction of a new refugee visa which it says would help stop dangerous Channel crossings in small boats facilitated by people smugglers.
The National Refugee Strategy, published on Wednesday by the Refugee Council, claims that new legislation just passed into law – the Illegal Migration Act – which bars people who arrive by “irregular means” from claiming asylum and aims to send many to Rwanda to have their claims processed there instead – will not work.
To read the full report, click here
Suella Braverman broke law by denying asylum seekers £3 a week, judge rules – The Guardian
The Home Secretary acted unlawfully in failing to provide basic support to asylum seekers, including young children and pregnant women, a judge has ruled.
Suella Braverman must introduce changes that will benefit thousands of asylum seekers after five successfully challenged the Home Secretary in the High Court. In his ruling, Mr. Justice Swift found that the home secretary broke the law in withholding payments of £3 a week to provide healthy food for children aged one to three and to pregnant women.
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To read the full decision, click here
Female Afghan judge wins legal battle to come to UK – The Guardian
A female Afghan judge who was in hiding in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban has won a landmark right to sanctuary in the UK.
The 53-year-old judge, whose true identity cannot be disclosed due to security concerns but is referred to as Yosra, was granted the right to come to the UK after a long legal battle with the Home Office.
To read the full report, click here
Lawyers ask Indians seeking asylum in UK to pretend as ‘tortured’ Khalistanis, gays: Economic Times
Immigration lawyers in the UK are briefing clients on how to lie to the authorities to win the right to stay in Britain and are charging 10,000 pounds to make false asylum claims, according to a Daily Mail investigation.
According to the report, up to 40 solicitors’ firms are being monitored by the authorities amid suspected asylum claim “abuses” and allegations of “carbon copy” applications from different people represented by the same firms.
To read the full report, click here
Lord Chancellor urges Solicitors Regulation Authority to undertake urgent follow up to 2022 review into immigration and asylum sector – EIN Report
Alex Chalk KC, the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, wrote to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) yesterday following a widely reported investigation by the Daily Mail, which alleged two immigration firms, had encouraged an undercover reporter to submit false asylum and human rights claims.
The Lord Chancellor noted in his letter: “Solicitors are critical to the operation of a fair and robust immigration system. I know that the overwhelming majority takes their professional duties and obligations extremely seriously. However, any examples of practices which fall short of the high ethical standards we expect of solicitors risk serious disruption to the immigration system, tarnishing the reputation of those working in this area, and critically undermining public confidence.”
To read the full report, click here
CASE LAWS
Ahmed v SSHD [2023] UKUT 00165 (IAC)
The Upper Tribunal recently provided guidance on the meaning of “historical injustice” in the immigration case of Ahmed v SSHD [2023]. The term refers to situations where an individual has suffered due to the Secretary of State’s wrongful operation (or lack of operation) of immigration functions. However, the Tribunal dismissed Ahmed’s appeal, finding no historical injustice occurred because he failed to show: (a) wrongful operation by the Secretary of State, and (b) that he suffered as a result. The Tribunal based its analysis on previous principles outlined in Patel (2020) regarding when historical injustice exists. Overall, the Tribunal emphasized that both wrongful government action and resultant individual suffering are required to prove historical injustice.
To read the full decision, click here
Lata (principal controversial issues) [2023] UKUT 00163 (IAC) & TC (PS compliance – “issues-based reasoning”) Zimbabwe [2023] UKUT 00164 (IAC)
Two recent Upper Tribunal decisions emphasised the importance of the parties in immigration appeals clearly identifying and addressing all disputed issues. The cases, which involved stern warnings from the Tribunal and the participation of the First-tier Tribunal President, may lead to more robust compliance going forward.
To read the full decisions, click here and here
HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE AND POLICY DOCUMENT UPDATES
- Guidance: Streamlined asylum processing has been updated on 27th July 2023. To download the updated document, click here
- Ukraine Visa Schemes: visa data has been updated on 27th July 2023. To view the data, click here
- Policy paper: Afghanistan resettlement and immigration policy statement has been updated on 26th July 2023. To view the statement, click here
- Guidance: Afghan schemes: pre-matching households to settled accommodation has been updated on 26th July 2023. To view the statement, click here
- Collection Support for Afghans to find settled accommodation has been updated on 26th July 2023. To view the full Collection, click here
- Guidance: Afghan citizens resettlement scheme has been updated on 24th July 2023. To download the Guidance, click here
- Transparency data: Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats has been updated on 26th July 2023. To download the data, click here
- Guidance: EU Settlement Scheme: community support for vulnerable citizens has been updated on 25th July 2023. To view the Guidance, click here
- Immigration Rules Appendix Relationship with Partner has been updated on 25th July 2023. To view the Appendix, click here
- Full Collection Immigration Rules has been updated on 25th July 2023. These include updates to the following:
- Appendix Temporary Work – Creative Worker
- Appendix T2 Minister of Religion
- Appendix International Sportsperson
- Appendix Global Business Mobility routes
- Appendix Start-up
- Appendix Scale-up
- Appendix Skilled Worker
- Appendix Graduate
- Appendix Student
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