News

11 August 2010: UKBA accepts 37 Bhutanese refugees into UK as part of an agreement under the Gateway Protection Programme
The Gateway Protection Programme is operated by the UK Border Agency in partnership with UNHCR. The programme is a legal route for particularly vulnerable refugees to reach safety without being driven into the hands of people traffickers, and shows the UK's commitment to providing a safe haven for people escaping torture or death, with most going to the USA.
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15 August 2010: Human Rights Watch report
The report by Tom Malinowski (Washington Director for Human Rights Watch) identifies concerns that any attempts at settling with the Taliban put women at risk.
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Cases

Agyeman v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (2010) QBD [unreported] 10th August 2010
Mr Justice Dobbs held that the SSHD had not acted unreasonably in cancelling an individual's British passport and withdrawing consular services while the applicant was out of the UK and in the Netherlands given the concerns the SSHD had at the time. The Court emphasised the need to ensure and maintain the security of borders had, of recent years, become more acute a consideration for states. To that end, the Secretary of State in the instant case, in possession of all the relevant expert reports and supporting documentation, had legitimate reason to doubt that X was the person photographed in his passport. The application for judicial review was dismissed. There was no breach of Article 8 (family life) ECHR.

LD (Article 8 - best interests of child) Zimbabwe [2010] UKUT 278 (IAC) 10 August 2010
The UT identified that weighty reasons would be required to justify separating a parent from a lawfully settled minor or child from a community in which he or she had grown up and lived for most of his or her life. The situation in the relevant country of origin is relevant. In this particular case the UT specifically identified that there was no point in an entry clearance application being made from abroad. An important and useful decision.
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FH (Post-flight spouses) Iran [2010] UKUT 275 (IAC)
The UT held that there was no provision in the immigration rules for family reunion of post-flight spouses of refugees with limited leave. The UT expressed a view that the immigration rules required a change. The UT found that it would be most unlikely that it would be proportionate to refuse admission to the spouse of a refugee who fulfilled the immigration rules save for settlement. The UT had no power to make a declaration of incompatibility.
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M (Chen parents: source of rights) Ivory Coast [2010] UKUT 277 (IAC)
The UT emphasised that the rights of entry and of residence to parents of EU national children derived by the ECJ in Chen are a matter of EU free movement law. National courts are therefore obliged to recognise them, and national legislation cannot reduce them.
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MK (deportation - foreign criminal - public interest) Gambia [2010] UKUT 281 (IAC)
The UT identified that, given that Parliament has decided where the public interest lies in automatic deportation cases it is not for the appellant to argue that deportation is not conducive to the public good nor that the respondent should argue that it is. The seriousness of the offence and public interest are important balancing factors of Article 8 assessment. The seriousness of the offence is to be assessed by the length of sentence, Judge's sentencing remarks and the facts and nature of the offence.
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RG (Automatic deportation) SS 33(2)(a) exception Nepal [2010] UKUT 273 (IAC)
The UT emphasised that in automatic deportation cases (S 32(5) UK Borders Act 2007), careful consideration of Maslov v Austria was necessary. Particular care is required when evaluating Article 8 ECHR as to whether an individual was lawfully resident at the time that the offence was committed.
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Training

Judicial Review Conference
14 October 2010, Birmingham
An up-to-date overview by Garden Court barristers of all aspects of judicial review together with practical advice on how to apply the law successfully.
For full details, click here

Full four day introduction to immigration law
Four day introduction to immigration law from 6 September 2010 by HJT Training.
For full details, click here