500 Windrush victims waiting more than a year for compensation – The Independent

Posted May 4th, 2021 in citizenship, colonies, compensation, delay, immigration, news by tracey

‘The government is being urged to remove the Windrush compensation scheme from the Home Office after new data showed 214 applicants have been waiting more than 18 months and five people more than two years.’

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The Independent, 2nd May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘A hugely retrograde step’: Cross-party MPs attack Home Office plans to lock up more trafficking survivors – The Independent

‘Cross-party MPs have attacked Home Office plans that will see more trafficking survivors locked up in immigration detention and threatened with removal, warning that it is a “hugely retrograde step”.’

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The Independent, 29th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Boy wins case against Home Office policy of no recourse to public funds – The Guardian

Posted April 30th, 2021 in benefits, children, government departments, immigration, news by tracey

‘A five-year-old boy has won a case against the Home Office as high court judges declared the government’s “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) policy unlawful for the second time in a year because it drives some families into destitution and breaches the duty to safeguard child welfare. Thousands of children living in poverty are likely to benefit from the ruling.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Windrush scandal victim Richard Black to return to UK after 38-year exile – The Independent

Posted April 30th, 2021 in citizenship, colonies, holidays, immigration, news, passports, visas by tracey

‘A Windrush man who has been stranded in Trinidad and Tobago for almost 40 years after his UK citizenship was withdrawn is set to return to Britain.’

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The Independent, 29th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Sham’: 200 groups criticise UK government consultation on refugee policy – The Guardian

‘Almost 200 organisations have branded a government consultation on fundamental changes to refugee policy “a sham”. A total of 192 refugee, human rights, legal and faith groups have signed a public statement condemning the six-week consultation on the government’s New Plan for Immigration as “vague, unworkable, cruel and potentially unlawful”.’

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The Guardian, 30th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office Windrush decision was irrational, holds High Court – EIN Blog

Posted April 27th, 2021 in citizenship, colonies, government departments, immigration, news by sally

‘Hubert Howard was born in 1956 and came to the United Kingdom in 1960, aged almost 4 from Jamaica. He was part of the Windrush Generation. No doubt like all West Indians of that time, including my parents, he thought he was a British Citizen.’

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EIN Blog, 27th April 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Home Office unlawfully refused Windrush citizens status over minor criminal records, High Court rules – The Independent

‘Windrush victims have been unlawfully denied British citizenship on the grounds of minor criminal records, the High Court has ruled. In a judgement handed down on Friday, the Home Office was found to have wrongly imposed the “good character” requirement on Windrush cases, which led to people who have been in Britain for decades being refused citizenship on the basis of minor convictions.’

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The Independent, 24th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

EU countries rule out bilateral asylum deals in blow to Priti Patel’s immigration plans – The Independent

Posted April 26th, 2021 in asylum, brexit, deportation, EC law, government departments, immigration, news, refugees by tracey

‘n a major blow to Priti Patel’s immigration plans, EU countries have said they will not strike bilateral agreements with Britain to facilitate the deportation of refugees to Europe.’

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The Independent, 26th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Report condemns Home Office failures at barracks used to house asylum seekers – The Guardian

‘The full scale of Home Office failures in managing former military sites as makeshift accommodation for asylum seekers is laid bare in a raft of damning documents seen by the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 23rd April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Woman jailed for providing unqualified immigration advice – Legal Futures

‘A woman has been jailed for fraud and providing unqualified immigration advice and services, with her husband sentenced to community service.’

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Legal Futures, 19th April 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Wife of British wrestling champion refused UK visa – The Independent

‘The wife of a British wrestling champion who has won gold medals for the country has hit out at the UK’s “cruel” immigration rules after his wife was refused a visa.’

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The Independent, 17th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office breaching human rights law by failing to investigate detainee deaths, court rules – The Independent

‘The Home Office’s policy for investigating deaths in immigration detention has been found to breach human rights law.’

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The Independent, 15th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office faces inquiry into use of barracks to house asylum seekers – The Guardian

Posted April 14th, 2021 in asylum, detention, government departments, housing, immigration, inquiries, news by sally

‘MPs and peers from the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on immigration detention agreed to proceed with the inquiry at a private meeting on 17 March. The cross-party group is due to publish its initial findings before the summer recess and hopes its findings can inform parliamentary discussions about the Home Office’s new plans for asylum seekers.’

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The Guardian, 13th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rough Sleeping Immigration Rule Must Be Repealed – EIN Blog

Posted April 13th, 2021 in charities, deportation, homelessness, immigration, news by sally

‘The UK government has recently, and quietly, reintroduced a scheme that works with councils and homelessness charities to obtain personal data on migrant rough sleepers that may result in their deportation.’

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EIN Blog, 12th April 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Dozens of asylum seekers moved to Napier Barracks despite warnings of ‘unsuitable’ accommodation – The Independent

Posted April 12th, 2021 in asylum, government departments, housing, immigration, mental health, news by tracey

‘Dozens of asylum seekers have been moved to Napier Barracks despite concerns from health officials and government watchdogs about its suitability and an ongoing court case into the legality of such housing. Charities and lawyers are concerned that vulnerable people are being wrongly placed in the army camp in Kent, after it emerged one man with severe mental health problems was almost moved to the site “in error”.’

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The Independent, 10th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Procedural fairness: ECO must put suspicions of dishonesty to applicant before refusal says Court of Appeal – EIN Blog

Posted April 8th, 2021 in guilty pleas, immigration, judicial review, news, road traffic offences by sally

‘Following the approach in Balajigari v SSHD [2019] EWCA Civ 673 (discussed here), the Court of Appeal has held that it is arguable that procedural fairness required the entry clearance officer (ECO) to put suspicions of dishonesty to the entry clearance applicant, one Mr Wahid an advocate of the High Court of Sindh, and that UTJ Frances got it badly wrong by thinking that permission should be refused. In 2009, then 21 years old, Mr Wahid was convicted on his guilty plea entered at the first opportunity to a driving offence. He had permitted a friend to drive his car without a licence or insurance. He received a short driving ban and a fine and penalty, both of which were duly paid. He completed his LLB that year and then made an in-time application for further leave to remain as a student. He studied and completed his LLM in March 2011. He was then granted further leave as a student and was then granted a Tier 1 (PSW) migrant until 4 January 2014. While he was travelling from London to Pakistan in July 2012, security officers at Heathrow Airport found a blunt Spanish butterfly knife on a keychain in his bags which was a prohibited item. Security staff apologised when explaining to Mr Wahid that the police needed to be called as a matter of protocol. He was taken to a police station and interviewed. He was not charged. He said that he was informed that no further action would be taken.’

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EIN Blog, 7th April 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

UK’s ‘headlong rush into abandoning human rights’ rebuked by Amnesty – The Guardian

‘Amnesty International has published a stark rebuke of the UK government’s stance on human rights, saying that it is “speeding towards the cliff edge” in its policies on housing and immigration, and criticising its seeming determination to end the legal right for the public to challenge government decisions in court.’

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The Guardian, 7th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office ‘presenting opinion as fact’ on immigration issues, lawyers warn – The Independent

‘Prominent barristers have accused the Home Office of misleading the public on immigration issues in the UK in breach of the civil service code and equating “child rapists” with “failed asylum seekers”.’

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The Independent, 29th March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Thousands of EU children face ‘cliff edge’ as still without post-Brexit status three months before deadline – The Independent

Posted March 30th, 2021 in brexit, children, families, immigration, news, visas by tracey

‘Thousands of European children living in care in the UK face becoming undocumented within months as only one in four has been granted post-Brexit immigration status, data reveals.’

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The Independent, 30th March 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Case Preview: BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – EIN Blog

‘On 16 March 2021 the Supreme Court heard the Secretary of State’s appeal in BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department.’

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EIN Blog, 29th March 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk