UK judge halts Home Office flight to remove asylum seekers – The Guardian

Posted September 17th, 2020 in aircraft, asylum, deportation, EC law, news, regulations by michael

‘A senior high court judge has halted a charter flight hours before up to 20 asylum seekers who crossed the Channel to the UK in small boats were due to be forcibly removed to Spain, a country they had previously passed through.’

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The Guardian, 16th September 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Passports: Foreign law must be proved by expert evidence – EIN Blog

‘Hussein and Another (Status of passports: foreign law) [2020] UKUT 250 (IAC): CMG Ockelton VP has explained that (i) a person who holds a genuine passport, apparently issued to him, and not falsified or altered, has to be regarded as a national of the State that issued the passport, (ii) the burden of proving the contrary lies on the claimant in an asylum case, and (iii) foreign law (including nationality law) is a matter of evidence, to be proved by expert evidence directed specifically to the point in issue. The appellant Mr Hussein, who had permission to appeal, and the applicant Mr Abdulrasool, who was seeking permission to appeal, were father and son who made asylum claims, which were refused. The applicant, who was born in 2000, additionally claimed that he was so dependent on his parents that it would be disproportionate to remove him from the UK. Mr Hussein’s wife and two minor children were included in the appellant’s claim as his dependents. Both men gave their oral evidence in a hearing before FTTJ McAll in January 2020 as did Mr Hussein’s brother. The SSHD was not present and FTTJ McAll considered Mr Hussein’s claimed history in detail. He decided that he was untruthful and concluded that he had fabricated important parts of his account supporting his asylum claim. He decided that Mr Hussein was a national of Tanzania and could be returned there. He disbelieved the asylum claim and concluded that there was no good article 8 reason why he should not leave the UK and return to his country of nationality. Both appeals were dismissed.’

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EIN Blog, 7th September 2020

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Asylum seekers: Delays in processing applications rise – BBC News

Posted September 1st, 2020 in asylum, delay, news, statistics by sally

‘Delays in processing UK asylum applications increased significantly last year, official figures suggest.’

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BBC News, 31st August 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Home Office wrong to refer to ‘activist lawyers’, top official admits – The Guardian

‘The most senior civil servant at the Home Office has conceded that officials should not have used the phrase “activist lawyers” in a promotional video posted on Twitter, although the tweet remains online.’

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The Guardian, 27th August 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum seekers in last-minute UK legal bid to prevent removal – The Guardian

Posted August 26th, 2020 in asylum, deportation, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘Dozens of asylum seekers who arrived in the UK on small boats are due to be put on charter flights over the next two days, while lawyers have launched last-minute high court challenges to prevent their removal.’

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The Guardian, 25th August 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council warns of potential breach of statutory duty in relation to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Leader of Kent County Council has warned that the local authority “cannot safely meet our statutory duty” when it comes to its capacity to care for new arrivals of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th August 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Lord Chancellor accepts unlawfulness of new Legal Aid scheme for immigration and asylum appeals – Garden Court Chambers

‘On 8 June 2020 the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (the Amendment Regulations) came into force. The Amendment Regulations established a new fee regime for the remuneration of legal aid providers for appellants whose asylum and immigration appeals are being dealt with under a new Online Procedure which had previously been in pilot phase, but was rolled out widely by the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) in mid-March 2020.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 12th August 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Asylum seekers launch legal challenge against their removal from UK – The Guardian

Posted August 11th, 2020 in asylum, deportation, judicial review, news, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘A group of asylum seekers due to be flown out of the UK this week in a Home Office operation targeting people who arrived on small boats have launched a mass legal challenge to their removal, the Guardian has learned.’

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The Guardian, 11th August 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum seeker to sue Home Office after falling ill with Covid-19 – The Guardian

‘An asylum seeker who became infected with Covid-19 after an outbreak in his accommodation – despite assurances from the Home Office that he would not be at risk from the virus there – is taking legal action against the government.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum seeker at centre of landmark case over UK’s ‘unfair’ fast-track system – The Guardian

Posted July 16th, 2020 in asylum, deportation, news, rape by tracey

‘An asylum seeker who was deported under a “procedurally unfair” fast-track system is at the centre of a new battle with the Home Office to stay in the UK, in a case which could have repercussions for thousands of people whose applications to stay in Britain were rejected.’

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The Guardian, 15th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Pressure mounts on Priti Patel over case of 11-year-old at risk of FGM – The Guardian

‘Barristers, former judges, politicians and campaigners are among 300 people who have signed an open letter to the home secretary, Priti Patel, urging her to grant asylum to an 11-year-old girl at high risk of female genital mutilation if taken abroad.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

LGBT asylum seekers routinely see claims rejected in Europe and UK – The Guardian

Posted July 9th, 2020 in asylum, burden of proof, gender, homosexuality, news, transgender persons by sally

‘People seeking asylum in the UK and Europe on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity are routinely seeing their claims rejected because of a widespread “culture of disbelief” and an “impossible burden of proof”, researchers have said.’

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The Guardian, 9th July 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office increases support for trafficking victims after lawyers argue rates are ‘discriminatory’ – The Independent

‘The Home Office has increased support for suspected modern slavery victims after facing a legal challenge claimed the current levels were discriminatory and left vulnerable mothers unable to afford basic essentials.’

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The Independent, 1st July 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Supreme Court Rejects Appeal in Serco Lock Change Evictions Case – But What Effect Has the Human Rights Challenge Already Had? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Serco is a private company that was contracted by the UK Home Office between 2012 and 2019 to provide accommodation to asylum seekers living in Glasgow. In July 2018, Serco began to implement the “move on protocol” – a new policy of changing locks and evicting asylum seekers without a court order if they were no longer eligible for asylum support. This put around 300 asylum seekers – who had no right to work or who had no right to homeless assistance – at risk of eviction and homelessness in Glasgow without any court process.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 8th April 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Home Office to hold on evicting asylum seekers during lockdown – The Guardian

‘The Home Office will stop evicting asylum seekers from government accommodation for the next three months while the UK remains in coronavirus lockdown, the British Red Cross has said.’

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The Guardian, 28th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Article 8: Test for Family Life arising out of Foster Care is no different to that of “Birth Families” – UK Human Rights Blog

‘On 12 March 2020 a unanimous Court of Appeal led by Sir Ernest Ryder (Senior President of the Tribunals), together with Lord Justice Bean and Lady Justice King, allowed the Appellant’s appeal against the First tier Tribunal (“FtT”) and Upper Tribunal (“UT”)’s decisions upholding the refusal of his application for leave to remain.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 24th March 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

New Judgment: MS (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 9 – UKSC Blog

‘MS’ application for asylum was rejected in August 2013 and the Secretary of State decided to remove MS from the UK. Appealing this decision to the FTT, on human rights grounds, the FTT had found that MS had been under compulsion and control but nonetheless dismissed the appeal. The UT then re-made the decision in view of errors of law by the FTT, finding in favour of MS. The UT observed that the decision of the National Referral Mechanism could only be challenged by judicial review proceedings, not through the immigration appeals system. However, the UT also held that if an NRM decision was perverse or otherwise contrary to some public law ground, the UT could make its own decision as to whether an individual was a victim of trafficking. Otherwise, the decision to remove him would be contrary to the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (‘ECAT’) and the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’).’

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UKSC Blog, 18th March 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Asylum, Iran and “genuine conversion”: PS (Christianity – risk) – Law & Religion UK

Posted February 27th, 2020 in asylum, Christianity, Iran, Islam, news, religious discrimination by tracey

‘What is “genuine conversion” to Christianity for the purposes of an asylum claim by a fugitive from Iran? In PS (Christianity – risk) Iran CG [2020] UKUT 46 (IAC), the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal considered the current Country Guidance on asylum-seekers from Iran in the light of two questions: whether the situation in Iran for “ordinary” converts to Christianity had changed since the decision in SZ and JM (Christians – FS confirmed) Iran CG [2008] UKAIT 00082; and whether there was a real risk of persecution for persons who had engaged in Christian activities abroad, regardless of whether or not they held a genuine religious belief in Christianity.’

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Law & Religion UK, 27th February 2020

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Potential modern slavery victims among dozens facing imminent removal on charter flight to Pakistan – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2020 in asylum, deportation, news, torture, trafficking in human beings by tracey

‘Asylum seekers thought to be victims of torture are set to be forcibly removed to Pakistan on the third charter flight to leave the UK in three weeks, The Independent can reveal.’

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The Independent, 26th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘How do I convince the Home Office I’m a lesbian?’ – BBC News

‘More than 1,500 people seek asylum in the UK on sexuality grounds every year.

The Home Office’s decision on whether to grant or refuse it depends on whether the interviewer finds the asylum-seeker’s account authentic and believable – but each interviewer may have his or her own assumptions about what an authentic and believable account should look like.’

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BBC News, 26th February 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk