Immigration roundup podcast: March 2026 - Free Movement If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Using a mobile device and subscribing

New from Free Movement: Immigration roundup podcast: March 2026 | Jasmine Quiller-Doust

Here’s the post holiday weekend newsletter. Fuelled by Easter eggs

Home Office plan to make it harder for migrants to settle in UK is backed by voters The Home Secretary plans to extend the default period to qualify for indefinite leave to remain in the UK from five to 10 years

Entirely pointless poll: I’d suggest that not only do most of those polled have no grasp of the competing issues, almost none (0) of them will have been demanding a change in policy until it was suggested to them that there was a problem. You might just as well base policy on drawing lots

How UK government’s migration policy will shatter lives Behind the headlines and rhetoric, what do Labour’s immigration plans mean for those affected?

I spoke to a range of migrant people, experts, campaigners and MPs to learn how the proposed changes to immigration rules - and the recent change to asylum rules - would impact their lives.

www.opendemocracy.net/en/labour-im...

Why the latest attempt to deter asylum seekers won't work - Free Movement From 2 March 2026 refugee status in the UK became temporary rather than permanent. This dramatic change is the Home Secretary’s attempt to deter asylum

"From 2 March 2026 refugee status in the UK became temporary rather than permanent. This dramatic change is the Home Secretary’s attempt to deter asylum seekers. Denmark adopted a similar policy in 2015 and has seen a fall in applications. It worked for them so why shouldn’t it…"

— Free Movement

Here we are: my first episode hosting the podcast and very sadly @barryoleary.bsky.social’s last!

Hi! Immigration lawyer here! Mahmood's view of the Refugee Convention as providing temporary protection just isn’t correct & AFAIK isn’t one anyone has ever adopted.

On the contrary, the Convention is clearly predicated on a long-term need for protection.
1/🧵

Shabana Mahmood to announce asylum system changes to take effect From Monday, asylum seekers granted refugee status in the UK will be offered only temporary protection.

Major changes to asylum system set to come into force www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How many UK migrants get settlement, also known as Indefinite Leave to Remain?

We answer that question, and more, in our updated settlement briefing.

Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament Information from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.

UPE extended by 24 months (max 3.5 years). Window to apply extended from a month to 90 days. Same rights as before. But still no route to settlement. Plus a final few ominous statements about helping support people with rebuilding their lives. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...

Anti-migrant politicians love to claim they want "integration" - then do things like this.

Helping newcomers learn English benefits us all. It helps people find work, make friends, become part of communities. You'd only stop it if you don't want that.

There's only one reason to cut ESOL - racism.

‘One in, one out’: what has happened to asylum seekers forced to return to France? In rare interviews, some of those sent back across the Channel after arriving in the UK on small boats describe what happened next – and the risks of a system organised to get rid of them

Yet more evidence of not only how inhumane Labour's "one in one out" policy is, but also how counterproductive.

It is never a good start when you have to undermine modern slavery protections and threaten to remove basic human rights to implement a policy.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Given the increases in Home Office enforcement, the regulatory squeeze on Skilled Workers and the general market, this webinar will explore key legal and practical issues impacting this big and (increasingly) complex group.

300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR Thinktank analysis says proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes could trap families in prolonged insecurity

Good to see some Labour MPs showing a backbone, but the problems with these proposals on settlement aren't limited to being applied retrospectively: they also favour the well-off, discriminate vs disabled people, women & people with caring responsibilities and are probably unworkable

First post from me for a while on my occasional Substack, about Labour's earned settlement proposals and the damage they will do. open.substack.com/pub/wewanted...

This week's #ECREPressReview:

🔗http://eepurl.com/jytIC-/

Sad to say that I come across these sorts of schemes regularly and, what is neglected in the Times piece, they are used as vehicles for modern slavery.

I have clients who have been lured into schemes (some do include 'jobs' ) and ended up Home Office recognised victims.

Step 5 is the big 🚩

Briefing: AI and immigration law - what guidance is there for lawyers? - Free Movement Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the complexity of immigration law combined with the ongoing legal aid advice crisis mean that many people

Latest post from us: Briefing: AI and immigration law – what guidance is there for lawyers? | Sonia Lenegan

ATLEU’s Changemakers are calling on the government to allow people still waiting for a decision the right to work, which will reduce the risk of re-trafficking and help survivors begin to rebuild their lives. Learn more about our lived experience work on our website www.atleu.org.uk/about#annual...

!!!

~ some personal news ~

I’ll do my best - Sonia has been an absolute force!

Briefing: Article 1D of the Refugee Convention and Palestinian refugees - Free Movement Immigration lawyers tend to have a good grasp of the definition of a refugee. We can confidently recite the “well-founded fear” definition at Article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 UN Convention on the Statu...

We have updated this briefing on Palestinian refugees to take into account UNRWA's declaration that it is unable to fulfil its mission in the region

freemovement.org.uk/briefing-wha...