In The Press

According to new restrictions detailed in the Immigration Act 2016 regarding immigration bail, young asylum seekers have been told that they will be unable to continue their studies whilst their application for asylum is being considered. This adds to the restrictions already imposed as part of immigration bail, including reporting to the police and Home Office, not taking up a job and living/ remaining at a specific address. According to a Home Office spokesperson, specifically there are no immigration laws preventing asylum seekers from studying – it is only when their appeal rights are exhausted or they have committed an immigration offence that they are not permitted to study. Mohammed* is a client of Hannah Baynes, a Public Law solicitor at Duncan Lewis. He arrived in the UK at 15 and is currently 22, studying GCSE Maths and English as a second language. He was recently served with this notice updating his bail conditions. After Hannah secured a Court Order on his behalf, suspending the restriction on him studying, Mohammed was able to sit his ESOL exam the following day. The Home Office has since reissued his bail conditions without a condition restricting him from studying, in recognition of this wrongful restriction. Hannah warns that it is this lack of consideration for individual circumstances that makes this blanket ban so concerning. Hannah is currently involved in challenges to restrictions on studying imposed as part of bail conditions, which affect many asylum seekers. She warns that without due notice, many young asylum seekers may be unaware of what the changes mean and continue to study. Hannah states: “The Home Office are simply issuing new paperwork without explaining that changes have been made…That means that if people do not notice and keep studying then they are in danger of breaching their bail conditions.” These breaches could have adverse implications on the way that the Home Office considers their cases going forward.
*His name has been changed to protect his identity.