Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! It was a turbulent week in government last week. Another Prime Minister has resigned, and Shabana Mahmood’s earned settlement proposals were under fire again. The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s new report reiterates everything said already: that any retrospective application of the proposed changes to migrants already in […]
Read updateInformation about what it means to have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK, also known as settlement.
Read updateThese full terms and conditions explain the applicant’s obligations and what they can expect when booking and taking the Life in the UK Test.
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The UK’s work visa sponsorship system gives employers significant control over their workers. This has led to concerning levels of exploitation, particularly in the care sector. In this episode, Jasmine speaks to Luke Piper, Head of Immigration at the Work Rights Centre, about what exploitation of sponsored workers looks like, why displaced care workers struggle […]
Read updateImmigration staff guidance on considering applications under the Skilled Worker route.
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Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Nearly 150 children’s charities, social workers and legal organisations have written to the Prime Minister warning that the Home Secretary’s changes to the immigration system amount to a sustained attack on children’s rights. Proposals across several areas – including earned settlement, temporary protection status and changes to support for care […]
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When navigating the UK immigration system, people will naturally aim for the best status they can obtain. For victims of domestic abuse, that usually means an application under Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse of the Immigration Rules, which – if successful – leads straight to indefinite leave to remain. It is one of the very […]
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In this episode, Jasmine is joined by Madeleine Sumption. Madeleine is the director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford and has recently been appointed interim chair of the Migration Advisory Committee. Drawing on decades of research, her new book ‘What is immigration policy for?‘ explores what governments are actually trying to achieve, […]
Read updateYou may be able to apply for indefinite leave to remain if you are a representative of an overseas business or a representative of an overseas newspaper, news agency or broadcasting organisation.
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Applying the new earned settlement rules retrospectively to migrants already here is wrong. People came to the UK under a specific set of rules and made life-altering decisions on that basis. Moving the goalposts midway through their journey is a breach of faith, and the government should not do it. But the bigger problem is […]
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Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The Home Office announced new immigration and nationality fees last week which come into effect from 8 April. Most fees seem to be increasing by 6 or 7%. For expensive applications like indefinite leave to remain, this means an increase of almost £200, taking the fee from £3,029 to £3,226. In […]
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If the Home Office accidentally grants someone indefinite leave to remain, can they keep it? The court in R (YC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 285 held no, sorry. At least, in cases where the grant was a simple clerical error and it is withdrawn promptly. Background We previously […]
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The government has published the new immigration and nationality fees which will come into effect from 8 April 2026. There are increases across the board, with most fees increasing by 6 or 7%. The application fee for indefinite leave to remain is going up by £197, from £3,029 to £3,226. That’s per person, so a […]
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The government’s Migration Advisory Committee is looking at how well or otherwise the current visa routes for unsponsored highly skilled individuals work. Many immigration specialists say they basically don’t work. We’ve seen repeated amendments over the last few years and the effect has been to make it harder to get these types of visas. Is […]
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The government’s Migration Advisory Committee is looking at how well or otherwise the current visa routes for unsponsored highly skilled individuals work. Many immigration specialists say they basically don’t work. We’ve seen repeated amendments over the last few years and the effect has been to make it harder to get these types of visas. Is […]
Read updateForm to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK if you were granted limited leave under the Grenfell immigration policy for survivors.
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Sohail Tasib, a 31-year-old Pakistani national who held indefinite leave to remain in the UK from the age of five, walked out of prison in 2020 following a 52-month sentence for serious drugs offences. Due to an administrative error, the Home Office was not notified that Mr Tasib met the criteria for deportation as a […]
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In response to concerns about high levels of immigration, the Labour government has announced plans to increase the normal minimum period it takes for a migrant to be eligible for settled status from five years to ten years or longer. The earned settlement proposals, when implemented, will have a disastrous impact on migrant integration into […]
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We are hurtling towards the deadline for the government’s “earned settlement” consultation, ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement‘, which closes on 12 February 2026. Whilst there are many elements of the proposals which certainly cannot be considered “fair” to migrants living and providing meaningful contributions to the UK, there is one group that will certainly be […]
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Given the enormous changes to the settlement framework planned for later this year — potentially as early as April — many people who expect to be negatively affected by the proposed changes in the government’s “earned settlement” policy are looking at the possibility of applying for indefinite leave to remain (also known as settlement) early. […]
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That’s officially a wrap on 2025, as Sonia and Barry run through December’s various happenings, including the final statement of changes for the year and our latest resources on the earned settlement proposals. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act is now in force and the latest tribunal statistics show that the Home Office’s insistence […]
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The Migration Advisory Committee is clearing its desk ahead of the holiday break, publishing not one but two reports today. The first is the review of the salary requirements for work visas, where the committee has recommended keeping the general threshold at £41,700 and that a single new entrant rate is set at £33,400. The […]
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Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! The best question that someone put to us at last week’s webinar on earned settlement was along the lines of how will the Home Office communicate to people that all of a sudden the rules have been changed on them and they are now on a much longer […]
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The High Court has ordered the Home Secretary to grant indefinite leave to remain to a man who has held discretionary leave to remain for 15 years, first granted under the pre-July 2012 policy. The Home Secretary had tried to rely on a conviction that pre-dated the first grant of discretionary leave in justifying the […]
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It seems it’s currently the Labour government’s turn to fervently and endlessly push the “fixing immigration once and for all” boulder up the very tall hill of British politics, as it inevitably rolls back down when it encounters reality. We’ve now had a few weeks to digest the “earned settlement” policy document, which outlines the […]
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What a month. Sonia kicked off the podcast with a run through of the major policy proposals which came out in November, including the changes to refugee settlement periods and a look at the earned settlement proposals (though not in too much detail as she is doing a full webinar with Colin on the topic […]
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Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter! Some earned settlement updates from the past week. First of all, the Home Secretary tweeted that the illegal entry penalty will not be applied to people who have been recognised as refugees. Thanks to Jon Featonby for spotting and flagging up that one. I personally feel this information would have […]
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An applicant has successfully challenged a refusal to grant him indefinite leave to remain on the grounds that he did not meet the continuous residence requirement, after his leave was wrongly cancelled in 2014 when the Home Office alleged that he had obtained an English language test by deception. It is an unreported judicial review […]
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