The European Court of Justice ruled last week that unaccompanied child refugees who arrive in Europe have the right to apply for family members to join them. Refugee minors also retain the right to family reunification even if they become adults during the asylum process. The full court ruling can be found here. The case […]
The government announced that a new team has been set up to deal with so-called “Windrush cases” today, as news that the Home Office destroyed thousands of landing cards recording Windrush citizens’ arrival in the UK came to light. According to the Guardian, the Home Office decided to destroy disembarkation cards – dated back to the
European citizens rights group, The 3 Million, lodged 128 questions to the Home Office regarding the status of European Union citizens in the United Kingdom after Brexit. Previous reports have flagged that issues surrounding the EU citizens’ residency and settled status remain unresolved, with children – whose status is dependent on their parents’ – being
According to the Guardian: Campaigners are claiming victory amid reports that the government is to back down on a controversial requirement that schools must collect data on their pupils’ nationality and country of birth. The campaign group Against Borders for Children (ABC), which has fought against the policy since its introduction in September 2016, welcomed
March 2018 The Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN) was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to implement the Route to your Rights (RTYR) project, a qualitative research and advocacy project, which was conducted from August 2017 until March 2018. The project explored issues that push migrants into a more vulnerable state, like labour exploitation and homelessness
Violet Dickenson and John Grayson, who have worked with the South Yorkshire Migration & Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG), wrote two articles – here and here – for the Open Democracy website providing details about the lives of homeless refugee families forced to live in unsafe hostels. The families are placed in hostels because they have “no
Asylum seekers who are awaiting a Home Office decisions cannot work, must often reside as a fixed address, and report regularly to a Home Office outpost. In addition, it appears that new guidance introduced since January 2018 is also preventing young asylum seekers from studying, the Observer reports. “Significant numbers” of young refugees have been
The case of Paul Tate, reported on my the Guardian, exemplifies the Kafka-esque proportions that immigration detention decisions can take. Paul Tate says he was born in Wales (Bangor) and has never left the UK in his life. Yet following his release from prison, he has been in immigration detention in Morton Hall for 4
Last week, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) released a report following inspection of the Home Office’s treatment of unaccompanied asylum seeking minors. At issue is the extent to which the Home Office considers the child’s “best interests” in its practices, procedures and decisions. The report shows that past improvements on the
The Independent ran a story last week about the length of time that people who appeal Home Office immigration decisions have to wait. Average waiting times, data shows, have increased dramatically – by 45% – over the last year. In 2016, an appeal took on average 31 weeks. The process now takes a year (52
