Home Office sued by family of Windrush man refused UK citizenship – The Guardian

‘The family of a Windrush man denied British citizenship on the grounds that he failed a good character requirement are suing the Home Office to try to change legislation, arguing the rules are racially discriminatory.’

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The Guardian, 10th December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office wrongly charged 69 Albanians with entering Britain illegally – despite fact they did not reach UK – The Independent

Posted December 10th, 2020 in government departments, immigration, mistake, news by tracey

‘Home Office officials wrongly charged 69 people with entering the UK illegally when they had not reached the country, it has emerged.’

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The Independent, 9th December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office urged to ensure better access to legal advice after Jamaicans taken off flight in eleventh hour – The Independent

Posted December 3rd, 2020 in deportation, immigration, Jamaica, legal representation, news by tracey

‘The Home Office is being urged to ensure people facing deportation have adequate access to legal advice prior to their removal after tens of Jamaican nationals were taken off a charter flight following a last-minute legal intervention.’

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The Independent, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office faces legal challenge over asylum seeker payments during Covid – The Guardian

Posted December 2nd, 2020 in asylum, benefits, government departments, immigration, news by tracey

‘The Home Office is still failing to provide thousands of asylum seekers in emergency hotel accommodation with basic cash support and essentials more than a month after being instructed by the high court to fulfil their legal requirements to do so.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Jamaican nationals taken off charter flight in eleventh hour over trafficking concerns – The Independent

‘A number of Jamaican nationals who were due to be deported have been granted last minute reprieve after the Home Office acknowledged they may be victims of modern slavery. Thirteen people were forcibly removed from the UK to Jamaica in the early hours of Wednesday. At least 10 of those who had been due to fly were taken off the flight hours before it was due to leave following legal intervention.’

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The Independent, 2nd December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office broke equalities law with hostile environment measures – The Guardian

‘The Home Office broke equalities law when it introduced its hostile environment immigration measures, a critical report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 25th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Racism within the Windrush compensation scheme – The Guardian

‘The Guardian’s Amelia Gentleman wrote her first story on the Windrush scandal almost three years ago – yet she is still hearing from people facing injustice. Alexandra Ankrah, the most senior black Home Office employee in the team responsible for the Windrush compensation scheme, discusses why she resigned this year, describing the scheme as systemically racist and unfit for purpose while Samantha Cooper describes her frustrations with trying to access financial help.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK’s ‘no notice’ immigration policy unlawfully interfered with the right to access to justice, holds Court of Appeal – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted November 20th, 2020 in appeals, deportation, government departments, immigration, news, notification by sally

‘Until March 2019, the UK operated an immigration policy – set out in Chapter 60 of the General Instructions to Home Office caseworkers – that worked like this: if a migrant did not have leave to enter or remain in the UK (that is, if they were an “irregular migrant”), the Secretary of State for the Home Department could serve a “notice of removal window”. After a short notice period (usually just 72 hours), the “removal window” (usually 3 months) would open. During the removal window, the migrant could forcibly be removed at any time, without further warning.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 16th November 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Overstaying Does Not Break Lawful Residence For 10 Years Long Residence ILR – Richmond Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2020 in domicile, immigration, interpretation, news, regulations by sally

‘This post provides an update on the current landscape of case law addressing the continuous lawful residence requirement for 10 year long residence ILR in light of the case of Hoque & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 1357. Specifically, the Court considered the construction of paragraph 276B(v) regarding disregarding of current and previous overstaying.’

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Richmond Chambers, 10th November 2020

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Windrush: two years on, victims describe long waits and ‘abysmal’ payouts – The Guardian

‘Applicants to the Windrush compensation scheme have spoken about the difficulties they have experienced in securing payouts. Some are concerned by the long delays between applying and being awarded damages, others have expressed unhappiness about the amount they have been offered.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Skilled Worker Route – What’s Changing? – Richmond Chambers

Posted November 17th, 2020 in employment, immigration, news, remuneration, visas by sally

‘The Skilled Worker Route will open to new applications on 1 December 2020, replacing the Tier 2 (General) route which will close on the same day.’

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Richmond Chambers, 9th November 2020

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Home Office ‘failed to discuss restart of asylum evictions with local authorities’ – The Guardian

‘The Home Office did not discuss the decision to restart asylum evictions with local authorities, it has been revealed, despite concerns about the immediate impact on homelessness and heightened risks of coronavirus transmission.’

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The Guardian, 14th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum seekers crossing Channel face ‘inhumane treatment’, observers say – The Guardian

Posted November 13th, 2020 in asylum, detention, government departments, health, immigration, news, standards by tracey

‘Independent monitors say migrants arriving at Dover are moved with untreated injuries amid serious documentation errors.’

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The Guardian, 13th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Immigration Act receives Royal Assent: free movement to end on 31 December 2020 – Home Office

Posted November 12th, 2020 in brexit, EC law, freedom of movement, immigration, legislation, press releases by tracey

‘The Immigration Act has today (Wednesday 11 November 2020) received Royal Assent and been signed into law. This means free movement will end around seven weeks from now, at 11pm on 31 December 2020.’

Full press release

Home Office, 11th November 2020

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Home Office ‘missed chance to stop rise in migrant boats’ – BBC News

‘The Home Office failed to stop a rise in migrant boats crossing the English Channel before it was too late, an independent inspector has said.’

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BBC News, 11th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Virus backlogs must not become “new normal”, says Lord Chief – Legal Futures

‘The Lord Chief Justice told MPs yesterday that he is “extremely concerned” that the backlogs that have grown across the justice system since March should not be “viewed by anybody as the new normal”.’

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Legal Futures, 11th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Illegality Defence in the Supreme Court again – Littleton Chambers

‘The common law defence of illegality was considered by the Supreme Court in Patel v Mirza [2016] UKSC 42. The Court rejected the reliance principle as applied in Tinsley v Milligan [1994] 1 AC 340, according to which relief was refused to parties who had to rely on their own illegality to establish their case. In its place, the majority adopted a more flexible approach which openly addressed the underlying policy considerations involved and invited Courts to reach a balanced judgment in each case, permitting account to be taken of the proportionality of the outcome.’

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Littleton Chambers, 4th November 2020

Source: littletonchambers.com

All you need to know about domestic abuse and ILR – EIN Blog

‘Anyone in an abusive relationship is in a dangerous and terrifying situation. But if you are in the UK on a Spouse Visa, Civil Partnership Visa, or Unmarried Partner Visa, the situation is especially frightening. But you are not alone. And you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which will allow you to stay permanently in the UK if your relationship breaks down because of domestic violence/abuse.’

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EIN Blog, 9th November 2020

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Disputed burial and the Senior Courts Act 1981: Ganoun – Law & Religion UK

Posted November 2nd, 2020 in bereavement, burials and cremation, families, immigration, injunctions, news, visas by tracey

‘The issue in Ganoun v Joshi & Anor [2020] EWHC 2743 (Ch) was the disposal of the remains of a man who died in September 2020 as a result of a road traffic accident leaving a widow, Ms Joshi [1 & 3].’

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Law & Religion UK, 30th October 2020

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Children: Public Law Update (October) – Family Law Week

“John Tughan QC of 4PB considers the latest judgments that Public law child lawyers need to know about.”

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Family Law Week, 28th October 2020

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk