https://freemovement.org.uk Updates, commentary, training and advice on immigration and asylum law Mon, 29 Jul 2024 10:07:14 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://freemovement.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/cropped-Goose-logo-32x32.png https://freemovement.org.uk 32 32 https://freemovement.org.uk/lengthy-absences-from-the-uk-can-put-eu-pre-settled-status-at-risk/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lengthy-absences-from-the-uk-can-put-eu-pre-settled-status-at-risk https://freemovement.org.uk/lengthy-absences-from-the-uk-can-put-eu-pre-settled-status-at-risk/#comments Wed, 03 Jul 2024 07:30:03 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=123877 Excess absences remain a real risk for holders of pre-settled status, with recent changes announced to the EU Settlement Scheme likely to cause more confusion. The changes mean that some people with pre-settled status may see their status automatically upgraded to settled status by the Home Office, while others may have their pre-settled status extended […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/lengthy-absences-from-the-uk-can-put-eu-pre-settled-status-at-risk/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/withdrawal-agreement-cannot-help-woman-who-made-wrong-type-of-family-permit-application-says-court-of-appeal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=withdrawal-agreement-cannot-help-woman-who-made-wrong-type-of-family-permit-application-says-court-of-appeal Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:30:00 +0000 https://freemovement.org.uk/?p=206351 The Court of Appeal has upheld the Upper Tribunal’s decision that those who applied for the wrong type of family permit before the end of the Brexit transition period cannot benefit from the EU Settlement Scheme or the EU Withdrawal Agreement. The decision is Siddiqa v Entry Clearance Officer [2024] EWCA Civ 248. The leading […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/home-office-unaware-of-the-extent-to-which-mystery-stamp-has-been-used-to-grant-entry-to-uk-in-error/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=home-office-unaware-of-the-extent-to-which-mystery-stamp-has-been-used-to-grant-entry-to-uk-in-error https://freemovement.org.uk/home-office-unaware-of-the-extent-to-which-mystery-stamp-has-been-used-to-grant-entry-to-uk-in-error/#comments Fri, 08 Dec 2023 08:30:00 +0000 https://freemovement.org.uk/?p=198520 An Albanian national was mistakenly allowed to enter the UK by an immigration officer who used a stamp described by the Home Office Presenting Officer as “a stamp which is regularly encountered, but the use of which is shrouded in mystery”. As a result, he did not meet the requirements of Appendix EU nor fall […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/home-office-unaware-of-the-extent-to-which-mystery-stamp-has-been-used-to-grant-entry-to-uk-in-error/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/post-brexit-spouses-arent-protected-by-the-withdrawal-agreement-court-of-appeal-confirms/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=post-brexit-spouses-arent-protected-by-the-withdrawal-agreement-court-of-appeal-confirms https://freemovement.org.uk/post-brexit-spouses-arent-protected-by-the-withdrawal-agreement-court-of-appeal-confirms/#comments Tue, 01 Aug 2023 11:30:00 +0000 https://freemovement.org.uk/?p=192113 If you married an EU national in the UK after 31 December 2020, you can’t get leave to remain under the EU Settlement Scheme unless you previously had or applied for an EEA residence card or family permit as their durable partner. That remains the case even if you would have got married sooner but […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/post-brexit-spouses-arent-protected-by-the-withdrawal-agreement-court-of-appeal-confirms/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/high-court-rejects-challenge-to-eu-settlement-scheme-dependency-rules-for-children/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=high-court-rejects-challenge-to-eu-settlement-scheme-dependency-rules-for-children Fri, 07 Jul 2023 07:00:00 +0000 https://freemovement.org.uk/?p=190785 The child of an EU national is only entitled to stay in the UK after Brexit if they are under 21 or dependent on their parent, the High Court has held. In reaching this conclusion, the court in R (on the application of Ali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1615 […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/business-travel-between-the-uk-and-eu-post-brexit-schengen-eta-etias/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=business-travel-between-the-uk-and-eu-post-brexit-schengen-eta-etias Mon, 28 Mar 2022 10:00:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=164581 Before 1 January 2021, British and EU citizens did not require a visa to travel across the Channel on a business trip. This is largely still the case post-Brexit, so we’ve been left with the appearance that nothing has really changed from a legal perspective. But with the end of free movement, immigration rules between […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/santa-uk-border-brexit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=santa-uk-border-brexit https://freemovement.org.uk/santa-uk-border-brexit/#comments Fri, 03 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=161780 In the run-up to Christmas, Santa must be getting ready for his round-the-world trip on the night of 24 December. But this is the first year he will be trying to get in and out of the UK without free movement measures applying. The post-Brexit transition period, extending the application of EU law in the […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/santa-uk-border-brexit/feed/ 4 https://freemovement.org.uk/eu-law-still-applies-in-legacy-appeals-under-the-eea-regulations/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=eu-law-still-applies-in-legacy-appeals-under-the-eea-regulations Fri, 26 Nov 2021 12:45:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=161639 Geci (EEA Regs: transitional provisions, appeal rights) Albania [2021] UKUT 285 (IAC) is another appeal under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, but with “highly unusual” facts. Mr Geci had returned to the UK in breach of a deportation order (twice). Rather than seeking to enforce the deportation order, the Home Office decided to […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/british-citizenship-european-citizens-in-the-uk/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=british-citizenship-european-citizens-in-the-uk https://freemovement.org.uk/british-citizenship-european-citizens-in-the-uk/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=86448 Ever since the Brexit vote in June 2016, EU citizens in the United Kingdom have been turning their attention to applications for British citizenship. Foreign nationals who have been living in the UK for five years can apply to “naturalise” as British — but there are other requirements which can complicate things. How do you […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/british-citizenship-european-citizens-in-the-uk/feed/ 2 https://freemovement.org.uk/tour-visa-fears-are-overstated/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tour-visa-fears-are-overstated https://freemovement.org.uk/tour-visa-fears-are-overstated/#comments Thu, 28 Jan 2021 08:00:37 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=146214 No doubt you will have read about the mudslinging between the UK and EU over the lack of a visa-free deal for touring musicians and entertainers. This has been retweeted and attacked by seemingly every artist you’ve heard of, and even been debated in Parliament. The claims are that the lack of a deal means […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/tour-visa-fears-are-overstated/feed/ 2 https://freemovement.org.uk/the-row-over-post-brexit-visas-for-musicians-explained/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-row-over-post-brexit-visas-for-musicians-explained https://freemovement.org.uk/the-row-over-post-brexit-visas-for-musicians-explained/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2021 09:45:04 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=145560 Furious musicians have gathered over 260,000 signatures on a petition to the British government asking for a “Europe-wide visa-free work permit for touring professionals and artists”. In response, the government claims that “during our negotiations, we proposed measures to allow creative professionals to travel and perform in both the UK and EU, without needing work-permits. […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/the-row-over-post-brexit-visas-for-musicians-explained/feed/ 4 https://freemovement.org.uk/frontier-worker-permit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=frontier-worker-permit https://freemovement.org.uk/frontier-worker-permit/#comments Mon, 18 Jan 2021 07:30:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=136477 The end of free movement has, for better or worse, given rise to a number of new visa routes catering for workers looking to establish themselves in the UK. Joining their ranks is the frontier worker permit which opened to new applicants on 10 December 2020. Although only open to people who had previously commuted […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/frontier-worker-permit/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/how-will-brexit-affect-irish-citizens/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-will-brexit-affect-irish-citizens https://freemovement.org.uk/how-will-brexit-affect-irish-citizens/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2020 09:20:53 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=73213 The UK government’s policy is that Brexit will not affect Irish nationals at all. Other EU citizens have to apply for a new “settled status” or risk losing their right to live and work in the UK after June 2021. But the government’s position is that Irish people, whether existing residents or future migrants, have […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/how-will-brexit-affect-irish-citizens/feed/ 3 https://freemovement.org.uk/it-just-got-even-more-difficult-for-eu-nationals-to-get-british-citizenship/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=it-just-got-even-more-difficult-for-eu-nationals-to-get-british-citizenship https://freemovement.org.uk/it-just-got-even-more-difficult-for-eu-nationals-to-get-british-citizenship/#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2020 09:20:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=137246 On 30 September 2020 the Home Office updated its good character policy for naturalisation to make it even harder for EU nationals to become British citizens.  The new policy doubles the period of time, from five years to ten years, during which certain EU citizens in the UK must have held comprehensive sickness insurance (CSI) […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/it-just-got-even-more-difficult-for-eu-nationals-to-get-british-citizenship/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/eu-deportation-protections-continue-after-brexit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=eu-deportation-protections-continue-after-brexit Thu, 24 Sep 2020 14:30:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=135990 From next year there will be two categories of EEA national: Those who began their residence in the UK before 31 December 2020; and Those who began their residence in the UK after 31 December 2020. The law a person is subject to will depend on which category they fall into. Family members of EEA nationals will be similarly […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/eu-settlement-scheme-still-unknown-to-many-migrants/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=eu-settlement-scheme-still-unknown-to-many-migrants Mon, 21 Sep 2020 09:00:59 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=135621 Many eastern European migrant workers don’t know that the EU Settlement Scheme exists, new research suggests. A survey of EU citizens in Cambridgeshire by the Social Market Foundation think tank found that barely half were aware of the Settlement Scheme. Even among those intending to stay in the UK long term — which, to be […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/tens-of-thousands-of-people-wait-months-for-an-eu-settlement-scheme-decision/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tens-of-thousands-of-people-wait-months-for-an-eu-settlement-scheme-decision https://freemovement.org.uk/tens-of-thousands-of-people-wait-months-for-an-eu-settlement-scheme-decision/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2020 07:55:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=126462 The EU Settlement Scheme promised convenience and efficiency for those required to secure their immigration status in the UK after Brexit. Yet statistics retrieved from the Home Office indicate that at least 36,000 applications had faced delays of over three months by October 2019. In this post, we explore what this figure tells us about […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/tens-of-thousands-of-people-wait-months-for-an-eu-settlement-scheme-decision/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/it-just-got-more-difficult-for-europeans-to-become-british-citizens/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=it-just-got-more-difficult-for-europeans-to-become-british-citizens https://freemovement.org.uk/it-just-got-more-difficult-for-europeans-to-become-british-citizens/#comments Mon, 18 May 2020 08:24:47 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=125570 The Home Office has decided to make it more difficult for European residents to become British citizens. EU citizens with settled status who apply for naturalisation may now have to provide evidence that they have been living in the UK legally, according to an update to government nationality policy released on 15 May. One of […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/it-just-got-more-difficult-for-europeans-to-become-british-citizens/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/no-knowing-how-many-europeans-will-be-left-unlawfully-resident-by-brexit-experts-warn/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=no-knowing-how-many-europeans-will-be-left-unlawfully-resident-by-brexit-experts-warn https://freemovement.org.uk/no-knowing-how-many-europeans-will-be-left-unlawfully-resident-by-brexit-experts-warn/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2020 09:00:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=123095 There is no way of telling how many EU citizens will be left living illegally in the UK because of Brexit, a new report has concluded. The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford says that the government doesn’t collect or release the data needed to work out how many Europeans “fail to come forward” […]]]> https://freemovement.org.uk/no-knowing-how-many-europeans-will-be-left-unlawfully-resident-by-brexit-experts-warn/feed/ 1 https://freemovement.org.uk/what-happens-if-eu-citizens-refuse-to-apply-for-settled-status/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-happens-if-eu-citizens-refuse-to-apply-for-settled-status Thu, 27 Feb 2020 08:00:00 +0000 https://env-7121714.mightybox.site/?p=117806 The years since the EU referendum have been an emotional rollercoaster for European citizens in the UK.   Initial shock and disbelief were followed by months of uncertainty and tension as the British government negotiated a transitional agreement – which failed to get parliamentary approval for over a year – and began setting up the EU […]]]>