Gulf and Jordanian visitors to pay £10 for an ETA – Home Office
Nationals from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Jordan will soon be only required to pay £10 to apply for an ETA, which will allow them to visit the UK multiple times over a two-year period. This is compared to Gulf nationals currently paying £30 per visit to the UK under the current Electronic Visa Wavier (EVW) scheme and Jordanian nationals £100 for a visit visa. To read the full article, click here
Thousands of asylum seekers to be moved out of hotels – Home Office
The announcement is the latest step in the government’s ongoing work to slash the number of hotels being used for asylum seekers, which currently costs the UK taxpayer £6million a day. The new sites include the opening of large sites at Wethersfield and Scampton, with the first migrants moving in from this summer. Numbers on site will rise to around 3,000 this autumn. In total, the sites will accommodate up to 3,700 asylum seekers.
To read the full article, click here
Immigration can help push down UK inflation, says IMF deputy – BBC News
Immigration that fills gaps in the domestic jobs market can help push down UK inflation, the deputy head of the International Monetary Fund has said. The Prime Minister has said rates of legal immigration are “too high”. Yet the IMF’s Deputy Gita Gopinath told BBC Newsnight that “with inflation as high as it is… there are benefits to having workers come in”. The government said the immigration system could “flex to the needs of the economy”.
To read the full article, click here
Rishi Sunak says immigration plan ‘is working’ – SKY News
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, at a press conference, said that “our plan is starting to work” but there is still a “long way to go”.
To view the news clip, click here
Sunak seeks to regain migration initiative during Dover visit – The Guardian
Rishi Sunak will travel to Dover on Monday in a bid to regain the initiative on Tory migration pledges amid pressure from his own backbenches, as flagship legislation returns to parliament. The Prime Minister is expected to outline his views on progress made in the six months since introducing the illegal migration bill, intended to change the law, so those who arrive in the UK by irregular means can be removed to a third country such as Rwanda.
To view the full article, click here
Foreigners might have to wait longer to become British Citizens under plans to make the UK seem less of a ‘soft touch’ on immigration – Daily Mail
Home Office officials are considering bringing the UK closer in line with other countries by extending the criterion of ‘continuous residence’ from five years to eight years before they grant an indefinite leave to remain – the first step towards Citizenship.
To read the full article, click here
UK provided £3m to Turkish border forces to stop migrants, FOI reveals – The Guardian
The Home Office has provided more than £3m in funding to Turkish border forces in the last year to prevent migrants reaching the UK, an investigation for the Guardian has found. Funding to Turkey’s border force operations has increased substantially from 2019, when £14,000 was given to Turkish police and coastguard for maritime border security training, according to documents obtained through freedom of information (FOI) requests. That figure rose to £425,000 in 2021-22 for training and equipment and up to £3m this year for “return and reintegration assistance”, training and personnel.
To read the full article, click here
Home Office faces legal claims over seizure of asylum seekers’ phones – The Guardian
In a notice published this week, the IPCO said its investigation into the phone seizures, which occurred during 2020, found immigration officials made serious errors in complying with investigatory powers rules. The organisation, which oversees public authorities’ use of intrusive surveillance powers, found that “significant harm and prejudice was suffered because of [immigration] officers’ actions”.
To read the full article, click here
Suella Braverman urged to clarify why refugees were left on London street- The Guardian
Westminster Council leader says about 40 asylum seekers were placed in Borough ‘without appropriate accommodation.’ Suella Braverman has been asked to urgently clarify why a large group of asylum seekers were left on the street in Westminster for two nights. The leader of Westminster City Council wrote to the home secretary to express his “deep concern” that about 40 refugees had been placed in the Borough on Wednesday night “without appropriate accommodation or support available … and no prior communication with the local authority”.
To read the full article, click here
Non-EU workers outnumber EU ones in various UK sectors in post-Brexit shift – The Guardian
There are now more non-EU than EU workers in a number of sectors that were previously reliant on European citizens, demonstrating the Brexit effect and the impact of international events on immigration patterns. Guardian analysis shows that the number of non-EU workers surpassed their EU counterparts for the first time in 2022, at an average of 2.7 million against 2.5 million workers last year.
To read the full article, click here
Laura Kuenssberg: Former home secretaries on why it’s so hard to cut migration
A personal analysis based on the recent facts and figures by Laura Kuenssberg, Presenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that gives an interesting thought on why cutting migration may be a wishful thinking.
To read the full article, click here
INDEPENDENT REPORTS
Illegal Migration Volume 733: debated on Monday 5 June 2023
During a debate on the arrival of asylum seekers in the UK through small boats, referred to by the government as ‘illegal migration’, the Home Secretary expressed optimism regarding the progress made in addressing the initial decision backlog. However, Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary for the Labour Party, countered by highlighting a decline in decision-making and a reduction in Home Office caseworker numbers. Cooper emphasized that despite the Home Secretary’s claims of reducing the backlog, it has reached a record high of 170,000, increasing since December. She pointed out an 18% decrease in asylum decisions in the last quarter and emphasized the need to address the growing backlog of 60,000 individuals who have arrived in the past year. Cooper criticized the government’s attempts to downplay the issue, asserting that a backlog remains a backlog, and the only legacy is the failure of the Conservative Party to tackle the problem effectively.
To read the full debate, access the Hansard record here
Country Report: United Kingdom by European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), 2nd June 2023
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) recently released the latest annual update of the Asylum Information Database (AIDA) report, focusing on the asylum system in the UK. The report offers both a comprehensive summary of asylum-related developments in the past year and a detailed analysis of various aspects, including asylum procedures, reception conditions, the detention of asylum seekers, and international protection. It serves as a valuable resource, providing useful insights into the UK’s asylum landscape.
To download the full report, click here
Detainees under escort: Inspection of escort and removals to Albania, by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons 22–23 February 2023
The inspection report by the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMI Prisons) focuses on the deportation of Albanian nationals from immigration removal centers (IRCs) in the UK to Tirana. In late February, HMI Prisons inspectors witnessed the transfer of twenty-six Albanian detainees from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Overall, the report is positive, as Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor commends the smooth operation and detainees’ compliance. Taylor finds it encouraging to see improvements in the removal process compared to previous instances, although the inspectors did not identify any noteworthy positive practices.
To download the full report, click here
HOME OFFICE GUIDANCE & POLICY DOUCMENTS UPDATE
- Guidance Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) has been updated on 7th June 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
- Transparency data on Migrants detected crossing the English Channel in small boats has been updated on 7th June 2023. To view click here
- Guidance on Immigration Rules archive: 13 April 2023 to 31 May 2023 has been published on 6th June 2023. To view the Guidance, click here
- Collection on Migration statistics has been updated on 5th June 2023. To view the full article, click here . This is in line with the Migration Research and Analysis that has been updated on 5th June 2023, which can be viewed here
- Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Bill have been updated on 5th June 2023. To view the updated data, click here
- Guidance: Afghan citizens resettlement scheme has been updated on 1st June 2023. To view the updated Guidance, click here
