Blog

The Home Office has updated its guidance for endorsing bodies under the Start-up and Innovator routes in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. • endorsing bodies can continue to issue endorsements. However, it should be frank with applicants and check if they are able to travel to the UK. Consideration should also be given as to whether the applicant will […]Read More »

Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will increase from £400 to £624. International students and those entering on the Tier 5 (Youth Mobility Scheme) will also see their contributions increase from £300 to £470. The government will also introduce a discounted rate of £470 for children ‘in recognition of the increased financial impact of family groups’. These increases aim to ensure ‘that […]Read More »

The ongoing restrictions on travel to/from China have affected Chinese nationals who are currently in the UK. The Home Office has therefore taken a pragmatic approach in the guidance and announced measures to try to minimise the impact on them, including: Chinese nationals currently in the UK whose leave to remain expires between 24 January 2020 and 30 March 2020 […]Read More »

The Immigration Bill will be introduced to the House of Commons on Thursday 5 March 2020 ending the European Union’s rules on free movement. It represents an important milestone in paving the way for the new UK points-based immigration system. It will be introduced by the Minister for Future Borders and Immigration, Kevin Foster, and marks an historic moment in […]Read More »

Home Office fees has published new proposed fees for 2020. A new, updated table is available below   Enabling Provision (Fees Order) Method of Calculation In-Country / Overseas Fee Category  Current Fee  2020/21 Proposed Fee % Increase Entry clearance as a Visitor for a period of six months or less. Fixed Amount Overseas Visit visa – short up to 6 […]Read More »

MM v NA (declaration of marital status: unrecognised state) Marriage – Validity. A valid marriage performed in, and in accordance with the law of, Somaliland could still be recognised under English law, even though Somaliland might not be officially recognised by the UK Government as a sovereign state in its own right. The Family Division so ruled in granting a […]Read More »

The Windrush Compensation Scheme has been extended to give people more time to make a claim for compensation, the Home Secretary announced on  6 February. Extending the scheme by another two years is one of several measures the Home Secretary is bringing forward as part of the ongoing work to right the wrongs experienced by the Windrush generation. To make […]Read More »

  The Court of Appeal has given judgment in R (AC (Algeria)) v SSHD [2020] EWCA Civ 36. The case is about “grace periods” in unlawful detention claims.  A grace period, as described by Lord Justice Irwin in his judgment, is that period of time allowed to the Secretary of State, once detention has ceased to comply with the Hardial Singh principles, […]Read More »

Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA) has prepared a new report concerning EU citizens and their EU free movement rights in post-Brexit United Kingdom.  Following the UK general election on 12/12/2019, which returned a significant majority for the Conservative Party led by Boris Johnson, ILPA assumes that the October 2019 version of the Withdrawal Agreement will be ratified by both parties, […]Read More »

The Home Office has issued guidance on false representations relating to earnings in Tier 1 (General) applications, aimed at caseworkers considering settlement applications by migrants who have previously held Tier 1 (General) leave. This includes Tier 1 (General) settlement applications under paragraph 245CD of the Immigration Rules and Long Residence settlement applications under paragraph 276B of the Immigration Rules. This […]Read More »

Are you an employer looking for help with employment and immigration law in the UK? Employer Support offers help solely to employers covering all aspects of employment law, discrimination, unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal as well as immigration law. Given that a civil penalty for one undocumented worker can now reach £20.000 we would strongly suggest that you carefully check all […]Read More »

The Law Commission has published its final report into Simplifying the Immigration Rules, on 14/01/2020. This project was initially commissioned when Amber Rudd was Home Secretary, further to extensive criticism by stakeholders (including the judiciary) as to the complexity of the Rules, which are a primary source of law in UK immigration law. Underlying immigration policy is outside scope of […]Read More »

London City Associates Director, Alexandra Zernova to pay £5,500 after pleading guilty to providing unlawful immigration advice. Alexandra Zernova, sole Director of London City Associates and former employee of charity Solicitors International Human Rights Group, (SIHRG), appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday 13 January for sentencing following a successful prosecution brought by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner […]Read More »

A new report by Mayor of London outlines an updated estimate of the numbers of young Londoners who are foreign-born, or foreign nationals, and disaggregates the likely numbers who are undocumented and who are nationals of EEA+ countries. The report outlines which London boroughs have particular concentrations of children and young people from a migrant backgound and concludes with a […]Read More »

The Appellant applied for leave to remain in the UK as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant. In order to succeed as Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) , the Appellant had to score 75 points for Attributes under paragraphs 35 to 53 of Appendix A. In order to reach the required number of points, the Appellant had to provide evidence that he had […]Read More »

The Upper Tribunal considered the test set out in Regulation 9 of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/1052 which seeks to implement R v Immigration Appeal Tribunal and Surinder Singh Case and subsequent judgments. The Upper Tribunal found that the: ‘requirement to have transferred the centre of one’s life to the host member state is not a […]Read More »

An Albanian national applied to the SSHD for a derivative residence card as the primary carer of her EU citizen (Irish) self-sufficient child. The family were reliant on the unlawful income of Mr Bajratari in the UK. The question before the CJEU was whether income from employment that is unlawful under national law establishes, in whole or in part, the […]Read More »

R (on the application of Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department The proceedings concerned the rights and best interests of children in the context of the acquisition of British citizenship by registration. Children born in the UK who had a parent who was either a British citizen, […]Read More »

The government has given the Adjudicators Office responsibility over conducting independent reviews of Windrush Compensation decisions and examine how complaints about the handling of Windrush Compensation Scheme claims have been managed. From 30 December 2019, the adjudicator can consider a request for review or an escalation of a complaint from a claimant, or an authorised representative, including the authorised representative […]Read More »

An applicant cannot rely on a period of temporary admission granted under the Immigration Act 1971 or immigration bail as lawful residence. This is even if their leave is subsequently regularised, held Court of Appeal in CI (Nigeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 2027 Being lawfully resident in the UK pending the determination of a claim […]Read More »