Category Archives: Detention

The UK Government’s single power of immigration bail: Keeping immigrants on a tight leash

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On 15 January 2018,  the Immigration Act 2016 (Commencement No. 7 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2017 No. 1241,  commenced Sections 61(1) and (2) and 66 of the 2016 Act and the majority of the immigration bail provisions set out in Schedule 10 to the 2016 Act.

 

Schedule 10  replaced the various pre-existing alternatives to detention (temporary admission, temporary release on bail and release on restrictions) by a single power to grant immigration bail.

 

Following commencement of the provisions in Schedule 10, any person at liberty in the community on the basis of one of the previous alternatives to detention provisions is now to be treated as having been granted immigration bail, subject to the same conditions, under the single bail power.  Accompanying the  new provisions is  new Guidance, Immigration bail.

 

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Open letter to IAC Yarl’swood Bail Section: Why the unreasonable delays in listing bail hearings?

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I am sure your Bail Section received several bail applications on 20 September 2017…….and before that.   In light of how events have unfolded these last few days, I might not be in error in drawing a conclusion that some bail applicants  might be in a predicament- terribly distressed and frustrated having  pending  bail applications  submitted  over a week  ago yet without  any hearing notice in sight.

 

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Winning the battle but losing the war: ECHR concludes Zimbabwean claimant unlawfully detained but refuses to award damages

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In SMM v. THE UNITED KINGDOM – 77450/12 (Judgment : Violation of Article 5 – Right to liberty and security (Article 5-1 – Lawful arrest or detention)) [2017] ECHR 582 (22 June 2017), a Zimbabwean national residing in the UK, complained to the ECHR that his detention from 28 November 2008 to 15 September 2011 was in violation of Article 5  1 (f) of the Convention, was lawful under domestic law and was unreasonable, arbitrary and disproportionate.

 

Even though S.M.M, had been detained for a period of two and half years and  was  considered vulnerable as someone suffering from serious mental health problems, nothing much turned upon  the issues  of the  stay on forced removals to Zimbabwe  that was in place during his period of detention but most importantly,  because of his conduct during the period of detention, the ECHR refused to  afford the applicant any financial compensation  for the  period during which he was found to have been  unlawfully detained.

 

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A NEW MANUAL ON WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN ENCOUNTERED BY THE HOME OFFICE

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A  readily accessible and detailed  Manual which  manoeuvres  through the processes  in relation to how and when  certain persons  may be encountered by the Home Office via  home office  enforcement visits, raids, through to absconder processes, search and seizure powers of the Home office, arrest and restraint  powers of the Home Office,  the types of Home Office interviews conducted upon  encounter, encountering of adults at risk, how the  Home Office  gather information and much more.  A simple click on each heading within the Manual will take you to the  relevant section of interest.

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Unlawful detention: Court grapples with the problem of Zimbabwe’s refusal to accept enforced removals from the UK

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robert_mugabe_1154591cUndeniably, there  are long standing  “problems”  between the  Zimbabwean  and UK  authorities but  these  are spilling  over and affecting   whether and how soon the  UK authorities can  deport or remove  affected  Zimbabwean nationals to Zimbabwe.

 

The case of JM (Zimbabwe), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] EWHC 1773, dealt  with several issues,  ranging from discussion on the  demise  of President Mugabe; whether the Home Office   could   lawfully require the  Claimant, under section 35 of the 2004 Act, to tell Zimbabwean officials that he agreed  to return voluntarily; whether the claimant’s refusal  to  sign  a disclaimer that he would return to Zimbabwe could be seen as deliberate obstruction  rather that a refusal to return voluntarily; whether the Secretary of State  can use section 35 serially, “for as many times as it takes”;  whether  the pursuit of a section 35 prosecution amounted to improper pressure and/or an uncovenanted exercise of the power to detain and whether section 35 can be legitimately used by the Secretary of State both to secure compliance and to justify detention.

 

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Getting Ready To Make A Bail application: Random Top Tips For Immigration Detainees

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Without it needing to be prolonged, the fact itself of being held in immigration detention  can be quite distressing. Once a person finds themselves detained under immigration powers, it is very most likely with a view to deportation or removal. In such circumstances, the immediate question then becomes when and how best to submit a bail application.

Some several matters set out below may be worth considering  when preparing an application for bail.

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