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Jun 29, 2021 - Protections for EU citizens served with notice of deportation

When the Home Office want to deport an EU citizen who has committed a criminal offence it adopts a two-stage process. First it issues a Deportation Liability Notice (DLN). This lets the person know that the Home Office is considering deportation and invites representations. The second stage is issuing the deportation decision. It is only after this decision has been issued that deportation can actually take place.

Under EU law — the UK can restrict an EU citizen’s free movement rights when they have committed a criminal offence. Such decisions are taken “on grounds of public policy, public sec...

Jun 29, 2021 - House prices rise at fastest pace in 17 years

UK house prices rose 13.4% in the year to June, the fastest pace since November 2004, the Nationwide has said.

The building society said the average house price increased to £245,432 from £216,403 in June 2020.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner said prices were "close to a record high" in relation to average incomes, which he added "makes it even harder" for first-time buyers.

He told the BBC the pandemic had "stimulated" the housing market.

Mr Gardner said lots of people had "reassessed what they want from home" in terms of space and where they live as a result of the coronavirus lock...

Jun 29, 2021 - Immigration tribunal can reject expert evidence

The Court of Appeal has ruled that an immigration tribunal is not obliged to accept the conclusions of an expert witness. The case of MS (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWCA Civ 941 confirms that a tribunal is required to reach its own conclusions. In doing so, it may accept guidance from an expert, but does not have to.

The case involved a challenge against MS’s refugee status being stripped from him after he was imprisoned for eight years for robbery. He succeeded initially but the Home Office won on appeal to the Upper Tribunal. The argument at the Court of Ap...

Jun 28, 2021 - What happens to EU citizens who miss the settled status deadline?

The law

The first thing to say is that they can still apply. The Withdrawal Agreement again:

where the deadline for submitting the application… is not respected by the persons concerned, the competent authorities shall assess all the circumstances and reasons for not respecting the deadline and shall allow those persons to submit an application within a reasonable further period of time if there are reasonable grounds for the failure to respect the deadline…

There is Home Office guidance on what counts as “reasonable grounds”. For present purposes, it’s enough to know that you can still secure...

Jun 25, 2021 - Non-Europeans can be detained for longer, EU Court of Justice decides

An eight-month detention period for EU citizens is disproportionate, the Court of Justice of the European Union has decided. The case is C-718/19 Ordre des barreaux francophones and germanophone and Others.

The case originated in the Belgian courts. Legislation in Belgium designed to facilitate the removal of unauthorised non-EU nationals, as well as EU nationals deemed to be a risk to public safety or security, allows people in either category to be held in immigration detention for up to eight months. There were two main questions for the court in Luxembourg:

  1. Is it lawful to have enforc...

Jun 24, 2021 - Bank of England shrugs off inflation fears

The Bank of England has shrugged off concerns that inflation could surge as the economy returns to normal after the pandemic.

Consumer price inflation hit a two-year high of 2.1% in the year to May, exceeding the Bank's 2% target.

But in its latest statement, the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said the effect would be temporary.

The MPC voted 9-0 to keep interest rates steady at the historic low of 0.1%.

Rates have been unchanged since March last year, when they were reduced to help contain the economic shock of Covid-19.

MPC members also voted 8-1 to continue with the Bank's existing ...

Jun 23, 2021 - My passport is just my way out of here: the Brits affected by deportation

Interviewer: What do you think it means to be British?

Mary: It is a passport. To be British now, I’m sorry to say this, but it is a passport. That is it. That is what being British means to me. I have lost faith in the country which I used to call home. I have lost faith, I have lost trust. Every single bit of pride that I had to be calling myself a British citizen has gone out of the window. They have basically sucked every single bit of love for the UK out of me.

Mary, a white, British-born citizen, was interviewed as part of new research examining the impact of insecure immigration status ...

Jun 23, 2021 - Brexit: EU citizens given 28-day deadline to apply to stay in UK

Immigration enforcement officials will begin giving EU citizens who live in the UK a 28-day warning to apply to remain, the government says.

But the Home Office will allow people indefinite time to complete an application for settled status if they have a reasonable excuse for delay.

There is a week to go until the deadline for applications.

Some 5.6 million European Economic Area (EEA) citizens and their dependents have applied for settled status.

But there are around 400,000 cases outstanding, and the government's helpline is receiving thousands of calls a day.

After the 2016 Brexit referend...

Jun 23, 2021 - Open-ended overstayers can’t rely on ten-year lawful residence rule

This, in a sentence, is the conclusion reached by the Upper Tribunal in R (Waseem & Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (long residence policy – interpretation) [2021] UKUT 146 (IAC).

Background: overstaying and long residence

This is the fifth time within the last few years that the higher courts have considered the long residence rules. In particular, there has been uncertainty about whether someone can quality for settlement based on ten years’ continuous lawful residence if they have any gaps during which time they were an overstayer.

In looking at this issue, judges draw ...

Jun 22, 2021 - Criminals being deported can’t be transferred to an open prison

R (Akbar) v Secretary of State for Justice [2021] EWCA Civ 898 was a challenge to the Prison Rules 1999, one of which says that a prisoner who is being deported and has run out of appeals “must not be classified as suitable for open conditions”. The challenge was unsuccessful.

Jawad Akbar has a terrorism conviction, reportedly for planning to blow up crowded buildings, and is nearing the end of a 17-year minimum prison term. Born in Pakistan, he has Italian citizenship through his father, and it is to Italy that the Home Office intends to deport him.

In 2018, Mr Akbar asked for a transfer to a...

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