Weekly Roundup – 1 August 2025
Following the changes made to skilled worker routes on 22nd July 2025, the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Committee has issued a report addressing the actions of the Home Office regarding its reforms to skilled worker routes. The Committee characterised the Home Office’s handling as “inexplicable and inexcusable” for failing to conduct the required consultation or impact assessment ahead of changes expected to cut visa grants by 40%. This includes raising skills requirements, as well as the removal of around 180 job categories -including vital social care jobs. The Committee required a full impact assessment by 1 September 2025 and expressed concerns over the policy’s implementation without adequate parliamentary oversight.
This critique speaks to the changes among skilled workers, at a time when both England & Wales have seen their second highest population growth in over 75 years of more than 700,000 in the year ending June 2024. The Office for National Statistics indicated that almost all of the increase was a direct result of international migration of 690,100 – down from 833,700 the previous year but still a significant move in demography that highlights the relevant immigration policy.
The government’s wider way of addressing migration pressures is evident in the asylum system. Where the Home Office has announced plans to increase capacity at controversial ex-RAF MDP Wethersfield in Essex by over 50%. The site will now accommodate an additional 445 asylum seekers in addition to the previous 800 residents, while increasingly new penalties threaten to remove support if someone refuses to leave hotel accommodation.
Immigration Minister Angela Eagle stressed that the government intends to, “close hotels, restore order, and ensure that fairness and value for money are intrinsic to our asylum system.” This policy direction reflects continued frictions over asylum accommodation, recently made visible by an asylum seeker’s letter to The Guardian demanding dignity and understanding whilst recounting physical assaults he had suffered in the local community.
Recent judicial review outcomes have shown mixed outcomes which highlight systemic failure, as well as the outstanding role of the courts. In R (Manpreet Kaur & Anor) v SSHD, a student and her husband obtained a favourable ruling when they challenged the cancellation of their leave and their detention. The court found the Home Office had taken incorrect steps and had not followed its own guidance which required evidence of fraud or gross misconduct. The case is an example of the problems that result from immigration decision-making shortcuts made in reliance on the immigration system.
Conversely, in the case of Kapikanya v SSHD, the Court of Appeal confirmed a deportation order, originating from more than 17 years of litigation, notwithstanding the serious criminal convictions, and the appellant’s son, who was 17 years old at the time, remaining in the UK. The decision exemplifies the system’s ability to allow for lengthy litigation, while it is clear that where criminality exists, it results in enforcement of removal.
In a more significant case R (BEL & Ors) v FCDO a Palestinian family successfully challenged the Foreign Office’s refusal to assist them with evacuation from Gaza to attend biometric appointments. The High Court found that the refusal was irrational based on the life-or-death circumstances, but the government is still disputing the wider immigration appeal brought by the family to counter their deportation. These cases illustrate the overlapping of foreign policy and immigration processes.
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For the full list of updates on media news, reports and Home Office Guidance and Policy updates, SEE BELOW
News
Number of asylum seekers at ex-RAF base in Essex to rise by more than 50% – The Guardian
The Home Office is increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at a controversial military base by more than 50%. There are about 800 asylum seekers housed at the remote former RAF base MDP Wethersfield in Essex and the Home Office is moving in 445 more. For full report, click here
‘Every human being deserves dignity’: asylum seeker in Essex hotel calls for understanding – The Guardian
In a letter sent to the Guardian one of the men living in the hotel, Nabil, who said he had previously been attacked while out walking, called to be treated with “understanding and fairness” and for people not to resort to harmful stereotypes. Nabil’s name has been changed. For full report, click here
Two in five arrested for last summer’s UK riots had been reported for domestic abuse – The Guardian
Police data released under freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that 41% of 899 people arrested for taking part in the violent disorder last July and August had been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence. For full report, click here
Home Office to penalise asylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels – The Guardian
Asylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels to new accommodation will have their support withdrawn, the Home Office has said, before more protests at a site in Essex this weekend. 3Angela Eagle, a Home Office minister, said the government was working to “close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system”. For full report, click here
Reform voters could be lured to Labour with extra focus on NHS and cost of living – poll – The Guardian
The polling of 1,000 Reform voters found that more than half would be more likely to vote Labour if the government lowered waiting lists and gave more money to the NHS. It also found that 75% of Reform voters wanted more action to help with the cost of living. For full report, click here
Migration fuels population jump, figures suggest – BBC News
The population of England and Wales is estimated to have jumped by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024, the second largest rise in more than 75 years, figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said almost all of the increase was due to international migration, despite it being lower than the previous year at 690,100 compared with 833,700 in the 12 months to June 2023. For full report, click here
Case Law
R (Manpreet Kaur & Anor) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 1942 (Admin)
A student and her husband won their judicial review after the Home Office wrongly cancelled their leave and unlawfully detained them. The court found the Home Office used the wrong cancellation procedure, failed to follow their own guidance (which required fraud or gross misconduct for immediate cancellation), made the decision before properly interviewing the claimant, and provided no reasons for the cancellation. The court criticized the Home Office’s poor handling of the case and awarded damages for unlawful detention. For full decision, click here
Kapikanya v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWCA Civ 987
The Court of Appeal allowed the Home Office to deport a man who arrived as a 14-year-old in 1983 but has multiple convictions including conspiracy to defraud. After a 17-year legal battle with five deportation decisions, the court ruled there were no “very compelling circumstances” to prevent deportation, noting his serious criminal history outweighed family considerations (his 17-year-old son who lives primarily with his mother). The court concluded the appeals system had allowed him to remain in the UK for decades, but the 2016 deportation order should now be enforced. For full decision, click here
R (BEL & Ors) v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs [2025] EWHC 1970 (Admin)
A Palestinian family with two young children won a judicial review against the UK Foreign Office, which had refused to help them exit Gaza to complete biometric checks required for UK entry. The High Court ruled the refusal was irrational given the grave consequences – denying the family escape from daily danger of death or starvation – and criticized the Foreign Office for dismissing evidence about evacuation possibilities. However, the government has separately appealed the family’s original immigration case to restrict Article 8 “family life” rights, despite the dispute initially arising from a simple misunderstanding about application procedures. For full decision, click here
Independent Reports
Drawn to the special attention of the House: Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 997), Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, 33rd Report of Session 2024–25, House of Lords
The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has criticised the Home Office for introducing major Skilled Worker visa reforms without proper consultation or impact assessment. The changes, which raise skills requirements and remove around 180 job categories including social care, are expected to cut visa grants by 40%. The Committee called the Home Office’s failure to provide adequate information “inexplicable and inexcusable” and demanded a full impact assessment by 1 September 2025.
For full report, click here
Home Office Guidance and Documents Policy Updates
Guidance: Prove your English language abilities with a secure English language test (SELT) has been updated on 30th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: workers has been updated on 30th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Register of licensed sponsors: students has been updated on 30th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Collection: Archive: Immigration Rules has been updated on 30th July 2025. To View the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Immigration Rules archive: 22 July 2025 to 28 July 2025 has been published on 30th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Language analysis: caseworker has been updated on 30th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 leave: caseworker has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Partners, divorce and dissolution: caseworker has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Calais leave: caseworker has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Fees for citizenship applications has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Long residence: caseworker has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Common travel area (immigration staff guidance) has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Continuous residence has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Settlement – family and private life: caseworker has been updated on 29th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Hong Kong: tuberculosis test clinics for a UK visa has been updated on 28th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Form: Application to register child as British Overseas Territories citizen has been updated on 28th July 2025. To view the updated Form, click here
Guidance: Form T: has been updated on 28th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Detention case progression panels has been updated on 28th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Somalia: country policy and information notes has been updated 28th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Sponsor a Skilled Worker has been updated on 28th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Residence documents: information for financial providers has been updated on 25th July 2025. To view the up3dated Guidance, click here
Collection: Asylum support (asylum instructions) has been updated 25th July 2025. To view the updated Collection, click here
Guidance: Failure to travel to asylum accommodation: caseworker has been published on 25th July 2025. To view the updated Guidance, click here
Guidance: Permission to stay as a stateless person: caseworker has been updated on 25th July 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.