Eva Doerr

Year of Call: 2019

"We are overwhelmed with relief at the result. Without Eva's help, guidance and advice, we are sure we would not have had this result. We are now going to get on with our lives at long last. We are extremely grateful for the whole manner in which you guided us through this process – from appeal to result... we fully intend to use your services again."

Public Access Client, 2023

Eva specialises in all areas of public and human rights law, with a focus on immigration and asylum law and challenges based on the Equality Act.

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If you would like to get in touch with Eva please contact the clerking team:

Or you can contact the relevant​ Practice Team Clerks directly and they will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

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For solicitors & organisations | For individuals

Immigration & EU Law

Eva is a specialist in all areas of immigration law including family, asylum, deportation, detention, nationality and trafficking.

She has expertise in EU free movement law, the impact of Brexit on EEA nationals and their family members, and asylum inadmissibility provisions. Eva regularly delivers training on these topics on behalf of ILPA (her trainer profile can be accessed here), HJT and solicitors in-house. She has also drafted Practice Notes and case analyses for Lexis Nexis and Thompson Reuters Practical Law and is a Free Movement blog author.

Prior to joining the Bar, Eva worked for over four years, on a wide range of immigration and public law matters at Laura Devine Immigration Solicitors and as an assistant to Mark Symes. 

Notable Cases

R (otao AA) v SSHD (Rwanda) [2023] EWCA Civ 745 (on appeal: [2022] EWHC 3230 (Admin) (19 Dec 2022))
Alongside Sonali Naik KC, Adrian Berry, Mark Symes and Isaac Ricca-Richardson, Eva represented one of the Claimants (AS) in the Divisional Court and Court of Appeal proceedings concerning the UK Government’s policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda for their refugee claims to be processed there rather than in the UK. As part of this litigation, Eva was also involved in the interim relief proceedings which were heard by the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal on 14 June 2022.

This litigation has been widely reported in both international and national media including by Sky NewsBBC NewsCNNThe Guardian and many more. 

Singh v SSHD [2022] EWCA Civ 1054; [2022] 7 WLUK 328 
Eva was instructed alongside Gordon Lee in this matter before the Court of Appeal. The Appellant, an extended family member of an EEA national, appealed the SSHD’s refusal to issue him with a residence card under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016. The case turned on the First-tier Tribunal’s approach to the financial support the sponsor (the EEA national) had provided towards the Appellant’s education. The case provided important guidance in relation to the question of dependency under EU law and the Withdrawal Agreement.

R (otao JGK) v SSHD JR-2022-LON-001559
Judicial review claim challenging delays in considering an application by an Afghan national for relocation to the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (APAP) scheme. The case settled following a grant of permission by the Upper Tribunal.

ED (Albania) v SSHD UI-2021-001322
Eva successfully represented an Albanian male victim of trafficking before the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) against a decision by the First-tier Tribunal to dismiss his protection and human rights claim.

R (otao AA) v SSHD JR/482/2021
Judicial review claim against refusal of AA’s application for family reunion with his brother in the UK under the Dublin III Regulations. Eva was instructed alongside Rebecca Chapman of Garden Court Chambers. This case has been covered by The Independent.

R (otao AD) v SSHD CO/2688/2021
This is the first of a number of Judicial Review claims challenging the SSHD’s policy not to issue family permits to extended family members of EEA nationals who succeed in their applications or appeal after 30 June 2021. Eva was instructed alongside Emma Daykin at One Pump Court chambers. Both ILPA and Here for Good have been involved in this litigation. This has been covered by Politico and The Independent.

Eva was instructed by an international organisation to conduct a high-level risk assessment of secondary legislation aimed at implementing the immigration changes following Brexit, and how this will affect those exempt from immigration control. Her work fed into submissions made to the Government which eventually led to legislative amendments in this area.

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Notable Cases & News

Court of Appeal finds refusal to grant pre-settled status under EUSS a breach of rights under Withdrawal Agreement

Irena Sabic KC and Eva Doerr of Garden Court Chambers acted for the Respondent, Mr Vasa. Bojana Asanovic and David Sellwood of Garden Court Chambers acted for The AIRE Centre who intervened in the proceedings.

16 July 2024

Immigration Blog: Garden Court barristers secure clean sweep of Rwanda removals bail victories

Blog post by Georgie Rea of the Garden Court Immigration Law Team.

24 June 2024

Secretary of State for the Home Department’s Discretionary leave policy for trafficking victims declared unlawful: Upper Tribunal decision in VTL (Vietnam)

The Applicant was represented by Gráinne Mellon, Eva Doerr & Hannah Lynes of Garden Court Chambers. Counsel instructed by Ben Goldberg of Turpin Miller Solicitors.

8 February 2024

Immigration Blog: Section 2 of the Illegal Migration Act - Duty to Remove

Blog by Eva Doerr and Isaac Ricca-Richardson of the Garden Court Immigration Team.

3 January 2024

Rwanda Judgment: Supreme Court unanimously rules Rwanda policy is unlawful

Sonali Naik KC, Adrian Berry, Mark Symes, Eva Doerr and Isaac Ricca-Richardson, of Garden Court Chambers, represent AS (Iran). David Sellwood, of Garden Court Chambers, is part of the team representing RM (Iran).

15 November 2023

Rwanda Plan in Supreme Court: Garden Court representing asylum seekers

Sonali Naik KC, Adrian Berry, Mark Symes, Eva Doerr and Isaac Ricca-Richardson, of Garden Court Chambers, represent AS (Iran). David Sellwood, of Garden Court Chambers, is part of the team representing RM (Iran).

9 October 2023

Rwanda Judgment: Court of Appeal rules government plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful

Sonali Naik KC, Adrian Berry, Mark Symes, Eva Doerr and Isaac Ricca-Richardson represent AS (Iran). David Sellwood is part of the team representing RM (Iran).

29 June 2023

Permission to appeal on additional grounds granted in challenge to Home Secretary decision to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda

Sonali Naik KC, Amanda Weston KC, Mark Symes and Isaac Ricca-Richardson of Garden Court Chambers represented AS (Iran) instructed by Paul Turner and Iain Palmer of Barnes Harrild and Dyer Solicitors.

14 March 2023

Rwanda judgment: Permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal granted

Sonali Naik KC, Amanda Weston KC, Mark Symes, Eva Doerr, Isaac Ricca-Richardson, Alex Grigg, David Sellwood, Raza Halim and Ali Bandegani of Garden Court Chambers instructed for the claimants.

18 January 2023

Rwanda judgment: Home Secretary failed to properly consider if asylum seekers should not be relocated to Rwanda

Garden Court Chambers (with others) represented a number of claimants.

19 December 2022

Damages claims in immigration law - Part 1: European Union law and its legacy

In the first of three blogs on Damages claims in immigration law, Mark Symes and Eva Doerr, members of the Garden Court Immigration Team, and David Neale, our legal researcher, outline European Union law and its legacy.

18 July 2022

Garden Court Barristers secure injunctions from the Court of Appeal for last few asylum seekers on Rwanda Flight

The Garden Court team who secured consisted of Sonali Naik QC, Adrian Berry, Grace Brown, Mark Symes, Alex Grigg, Maha Sardar, Ella Gunn, Eva Doer, and Stephen Clark.

15 June 2022

Garden Court Chambers welcomes Eva Doerr as a new tenant

Eva specialises in all areas of public and human rights law, with a focus on immigration and asylum law and challenges based on the Equality Act.

22 October 2021

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Background

Prior to coming to the Bar, Eva worked in international disaster relief and development mainly in South Asia and the Middle East. She also spent time for a small grassroots collective in Northern India where she supported caseworkers in representing individuals at panchayat hearings (local assemblies where disputes between individuals are settled).

Awards

Middle Temple, Jules Thorn Scholarship
University of Law, BPTC Prize for Excellent Results – Immigration and Asylum
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Scholarship

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