Yesterday I helped give a presentation on immigration law options to a room full of people trapped by the Health and Care Visa. Promised work, paid £££, unable to work and can't find new sponsors. This crisis i wrote a thread on 5 months ago isn't going away.

This should be good. HASC questioning Migration Advisory Committee on UK immigration challenges. committees.parliament.uk/event/24901/...

We are delighted to welcome @mdiasabey.bsky.social to our board of trustees🎉 Manoj's long-standing interest in labour rights, and his support for a collaborative Fair Work Agency that values civil society input, makes him an ideal collaborator in our work. www.workrightscentre.org/about-us/our...

🚨NEWS🚨 Next week marks report stage of the Borders Bill. We're briefing to 2 urgent amendments: Amendment 43 calls on the right to work for survivors of modern slavery in the NRM & Amendment 44 calls on changes to the ODW visa Briefings available to read here: www.kalayaan.org.uk/resources/br...

Makes me wince seeing this because of how hard it now is for people to switch into the Skilled Worker route. Lots of people on graduate visas facing cliff edges after spending thousands££ on visas/study.

The majority of the casework I do involves people in similar situations to Kavin. Trapped in limbo unable to work and move on to new sponsors. The government's toughening up of rules and increase in costs has made the situation worse. www.opendemocracy.net/en/migrants-...

New - how people arriving into the UK on visas become trapped in modern slavery www.opendemocracy.net/en/migrants-... Kavin came here to work. He did everything “right”. But the way we design visas contributed to his exploitation @opendemocracy.net

Fine but the damage has been done. There are more harmful/hateful policies to come and the UK is already relatively unattractive to the world. High salary thresholds/harsh rules/high fees has seen numbers already plummet. Can this be turned around?

The Government's consultation on the Right to Work scheme is narrowly focused on developing the code of practice that will implement what is in the bill. I've not seen much debate on the changes that were snuck in at the end the commons stage. /1 www.gov.uk/government/c...

The LAA's PowerBI data map linked to in this piece is VERY interesting.

New from Free Movement: Job ad: Work Rights Centre are recruiting a Trainee Solicitor | Free Movement

I can think of some not very nice things the Home Office could do with this approach...

We're recruiting a trainee solicitor with a strong sense of justice, who is looking to build a career in a legal profession. After two years, you will gain the required practical experience to fully qualify as a solicitor. Apply or send to a friend🤝 www.workrightscentre.org/publications...

I am no ardent defender of the Home Office. But effective reform will not come if they are to face / rely on reports like this. It is not a credible piece of work. These glimpses into how the Home Office was examined by the previous administration are instructive.

A report Nick Timothy MP produced in March 23' (when he was not an MP) has featured heavily in the media and has been used by the Home.Sec. to attack the Home Office. I had the chance to read it... /1

The select committee report on the asylum hotel shambles highlights a point I made repeatedly - the absurd gimicks pursued by the last govt like Rwanda took resources away from running the actual system properly.

For those amongst us who don't get to go to the Old Bailey, these tours are fantastic value. www.eventbrite.com/e/guided-tou...

A friend and I spent a rainy day looking at this and there are some changes that essentially means that an "exceptional circumstances" test will be applied to those in this situation. Superior analysis here @alexinlaw.bsky.social : freemovement.org.uk/new-suitabil...

As part of our EU-funded Inform, Connect, Empower project on the implementation of the #WithdrawalAgreement and EU Charter of Fundamental rights for UK citizens in the EU we have drafted a comprehensive legal report on implementation. bit.ly/49kAwYr

Once again we find ourselves responding to attacks on fundamental rights and basic decency from UK political parties. Once again we are stunned at how far-right racist policies and arguments are now being mainstreamed in the UK. Read our statement bit.ly/48K3TmK

Similar things have been repeatedly said in the 15+ years I've been working in this area. Shabana Mahmood says damning report shows Home Office ‘not fit for purpose’ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

A bill, presented by the Shadow Home Secretary no less, doesn't appear to have been read/understood by the official team of the Tories.

Some important guidance yesterday from the Competition Appeal Tribunal for crowdfunded litigation and - many BlueSky users will want to note - for those who donate to such litigation. www.catribunal.org.uk/sites/cat/fi...

Brian Bell, chair of the migration Advisory Committee, says "the government would be in breach, very clear breach, of its manifesto commitment to reduce net migration" if it signed up to an uncapped EU youth mobility scheme. I don't think that's true. 1/n www.politico.eu/article/brus...

The draft legislation is crackers. It would fail immediately if we stayed in the ECHR but it disappears the human rights act. if passed after that it would involve mandatory loss of ILR for up to 400,000 people + refusal of 2-3 million others, though without no credible means to identify or remove

I don't think Sunder is being flippant drawing comparisons with what Idi Amin did in the early 70s. Go watch news reports from that time, Amin's own statements, and you will see the parallels are very real.

Excited to announce we are recruiting a trainee! Thanks to our partnership with the Legal Education Foundation Fellowship Programme. Please share!!

"give more than they take ... not be automatic ... play their part" is foreboding. Sounds like the prism through which they will assess what changes to settlement qualification will be desired. How do you achieve this through immigration policy? You can't IME.

committees.parliament.uk/event/22931/... SLSC will hold an oral evidence session on 28 October 2025.

NEW REPORT: adult social care is putting immense pressure on local authorities' budgets, but there's no real evidence of improved access Since 2016/17, spending on long-term care: ⬆️25% People receiving LT care: ⬆️1% What's going on? Findings from our new report on adult social care🧵👇

'Staying at Gail’s and hoping for a promotion is, for Sanjana, the only option. Like thousands of other workers in Britain’s ever-deepening hostile environment, her life is bound to her employer.' www.vittlesmagazine.com/p/at-gails-w...

This piece says the UK has an AUS style PBS system when exploring poor immigration policy info in public domain. The UK's system is more sponsor focused, limited points / visa options and tougher salary thresholds. Similarities between UK / AUS are limited really. www.politico.eu/article/labo...

gosh there is more here than they said (shock)! www.gov.uk/government/p... Changes to Part 9 (suitability) look pretty harsh. Basically anyone married to a British citizen with a custodial sentence of 12 months+ has a permanent ban to the UK? proportionate? Am I missing something?

A warm welcome to Matthew Taylor, who will chair the Fair Work Agency when it launches next April. In 2021, Matthew was kind enough to support our #NaughtyList campaign to challenge bad behavior at work. With Matthew at the helm, we hope to see the FWA crack down on lawbreaking employers.

More rules changes coming today, include: Botswana visa free travel stopped from 15:00 today. Graduate route reduced to 18 months for most. English language requirements for several work routes will be increased to B2 level from Jan 2026. questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...

‘Frightened to get out of their cars’: Britain’s toxic race debates threaten overseas care workers

New from Free Movement: Job Ad: The Work Rights Centre is recruiting a Policy Manager | Free Movement

"With no sign of war in Ukraine slowing down, it’s time ministers reconsidered routes to settlement for Ukrainians who have sought to rebuild their lives in Britain.” - @lukepiper.bsky.social www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

New monthly visa data: ➤ Skilled worker visa applications fell following July restrictions on care workers & mid-skilled jobs ➤Student visa applications similar to last year ➤Family visa applications ticking back upwards after the peak & decline that followed MIR increase

Note the significant number of construction roles being recommended and the concerns about the existing sponsorship model not being a good fit when it comes to protecting people from exploitation. This aligns with our own analysis published a few weeks ago: www.workrightscentre.org/publications...

Climbing down from a position that would make the situation worse back to a place where it is already terrible, is not the flex I think the deputy PM thinks it is.

I'm glad the government will not introduce employment tribunal fees, but it's not true that "everyone, no matter their income" can get "access to justice" under the current system. The barriers are endless & if you overcome them & win, you still might not even get the money you are owed

Come and join us! It's a great place to work, learn, have fun and make a difference.

🚨We're hiring a Policy Manager Do you have substantial public affairs experience, a deep understanding of how immigration and employment laws can perpetuate exploitation, and a genuine passion for social justice? Yes? ➡️ Apply now! No? ➡️Send to a friend 😉 www.workrightscentre.org/publications...

John Tuckett appointed as new ICIBI www.gov.uk/government/n...

Important nods in this piece to how the UK's common law did not prevent children subject to corporal punishment or gay people facing discrimination and how it was the ECtHR that had to step in. There is also a link in the piece to the court's impact webpage, worth a look: www.coe.int/en/web/impac...

The Times finds it "unacceptable" that people who came here legally in 2021 and have been living and working here since should allowed to stay. The sad decline of a once great newspaper into ignorant xenophobia and casual racism archive.ph/TFZY9

Happy 25th Birthday Human Rights Act 1998!! Not exactly the birthday present you wanted but hey!

I'm sorry to say this is pretty difficult watching. It's a real representation of what is going wrong at the heart of Labour's approach to immigration policy.