At Right to Remain’s annual gathering in Sheffield last week, we got together many of the grassroots asyum and migrants support groups we work with and shared collective learning and experiences of navigating the UK’s asylum and immigration system.

One of the topics of discussion was fresh claims.

In August, the government launched a trial (with NHS workers, university staff and students in the North West of England) of the EU Settlement Scheme.  However, we still do not know for certain the process for applying for the right to remain in the UK after Brexit.  The process could depend on the deal that the UK agrees (or otherwise) with the EU; and subsequent legislation.

What we do know is that there are likely to be groups of people who are eligible for settled status, who do not or cannot access it.

In September, the UK government announced a new form of leave to remain in the UK for children transferred to the UK to reunite with their families during the Calais camp clearance in 2016.

Thanks to a long-fought campaign by Asylum Aid and their Protection Gap advocates (which you can read about here) childcare for the asylum substantive interview is now available at all 8 hubs where substantive asylum interviews take place across the UK. Childcare is available for male and female single parents with children under 5 years old.

Much of the Right to Remain Toolkit is based on people’s direct experience of the asylum and immigration system, and the ideas and actions they have found helpful to navigate the system and survive.

That’s particularly true for the Toolkit section on Preparing in Case of Detention.

This post looks at applying to stay in the UK based on the length of time you have already spent in the UK. For young people, for people applying under the “ten year route”, and under the 20 years’ long residence rule.

Not all immigration decisions have the right of appeal in the UK.

There is currently only the right of appeal within the UK if the Home Office refuse an application based on: an “international protection” claim (asylum or Humanitarian Protection applications); a decision to revoke refugee status or humanitarian protection; a decision that you have no right to remain under European law; or a human rights claim.

And not all applications based on human rights or protection grounds have a right of appeal in the UK.

Back in April, we wrote about the changes to Indefinite Leave to Remain rules for Turkish nationals.

In the latest statement of changes to the Immigration Rules, a new appendix called “Appendix ECAA” has been introduced which provides a route to Indefinite Leave to Remain for Turkish business persons, workers and their family members.

This route applies for people seeking Indefinite Leave to Remain from 6 July 2018.

Last month, the organisation Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) released a briefing on the current situation of post-detention accommodation.

Already a problematic area, post-detention accommodation is now a crisis situation following the changes made in January 2018 (which you can read about on our blog here) which included the abolition of Section 4(1) accommodation. This accommodation was provided by the Home Office to people released from detention with nowhere else to stay, and with no other forms of support available to them.

At the end of May, the Home Office issued an amended version of their Enforcement Guidance and Instructions.

A new section was added to Chapter 60, “Judicial Review and injunctions” in response to a legal challenge by Duncan Lewis Solicitors which argues (the case is still ongoing and the amendments made reflect concessions made by the Home Office in April) that the removals policy is “ultra vires, unless it contains sufficient flexibility to cater for individual cases as well as guaranteeing the right of access to legal representation and the courts to challenge removal.” Ultra vires means going beyond the scope of its powers.