5 October 2023
All change – the EU Settlement Scheme becomes increasingly unsettled
In the last few months there have been a number of significant changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and the changes will carry on into next year as well.
Here we take a look over a timeline of EUSS changes this year in July, August, September and October as well as the plans for next year.
4 August 2023
Why EU citizens should make a late application to the EU Settlement Scheme now
In its recent statement of changes to the Immigration Rules, the Home Office announced various changes to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS).
One change coming into effect on 9 August 2023 should catch the eye of any EU (and EEA and Swiss) citizens who have been putting off applying for their UK residence status under the EUSS. Others may simply be unaware they can apply.
From 9 August 2023 it is likely the Home Office will enforce a stricter approach to what is a “reasonable ground” for a late application. Anyone considering an application to the EUSS should therefore apply as soon as possible and before 9 August.
24 July 2023
An absence of evidence – nationality applications based on historic residence
Under UK immigration and nationality law, there are numerous routes under which individuals can apply for settlement and/or British citizenship, and which require an individual to evidence their or their parent’s residence in the UK from many decades ago. These include Settled Status applications (under the EU Settlement Scheme), as well as various routes for British passports and citizenship, all based on a person’s historic residence in the UK. The focus of this blog is on the latter, and will look at a new(ish) legal provision which may help those struggling to find evidence that they (or their parents) lived in the UK many tens of years ago…
12 July 2023
Criminality and Part 9 of the Immigration Rules: so-called “mandatory” refusal grounds will not always mandatorily result in refusal
On 1 December 2020, the Grounds for Refusal in Part 9 of the Immigration Rules were amended, providing the Home Office with wider scope to refuse permission applications and cancel existing permission. The grounds include stricter mandatory grounds of refusal which, when applicable, require that applications for permission “must be refused” or existing permission “must be cancelled.” But just how mandatory are they? A recent case of ours indicates the presence of a hidden discretion that was once explicit.
6 July 2023
Why the Illegal Migration Bill?
On 29 June the Court of Appeal found that the Government’s Rwanda policy to send some people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda for the processing of their claims to be unlawful. The reason for this decision was that the Court was not satisfied that asylum procedures in Rwanda are sufficiently robust for it to be considered a safe country to which to send asylum seekers. The Government has until 6 July to decide whether to appeal against the decision to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, the Illegal Migration Bill, which has been designed, among other purposes, to limit or prevent access to justice for asylum seekers on a fast track to Rwanda is nearing the end of its Parliamentary journey. With four ouster clauses in the Bill which seek to prevent judicial consideration of these kinds of asylum cases, questions still remain about access to justice more generally beyond the lawfulness of the Rwanda policy.
