Immigration Solicitors

Naim Hasani, immigration and public law consultant solicitor with Duncan Lewis Solicitors, participated at a conference on Albanian asylum seekers on Tuesday 6 June 2017. The conference, ‘Walking a tightrope’: Exploring hidden issues, challenges and complexities surrounding the protection needs of unaccompanied minors from Albania living in the United Kingdom, took place at University College London. The event sought to increase understanding of the lives, circumstances and fundamental issues of culture that young Albanian people face, whilst also dispelling myths that perpetuate and act as a barrier to achieving durable solutions for Albanian people seeking safety and support. The conference brought together practitioners, legal specialists, policy makers and academics working in the field together with young Albanian people in order to explore these issues in depth by sharing knowledge and expertise, to provide Albanian people seeking safety in the UK with a voice, and to develop a research, action and policy agenda towards achieving durable solutions for unaccompanied minors from Albania. Naim gave an introductory presentation at the “Religion and Radicalisation?” workshop, discussing Asylum seekers and radicalisation in Albania. Read his account below: The turbulent economic and political climate of Albania is evidenced by the high number of Albanian people that seek asylum in the UK. It is widely reported that Albanian people are forced to seek asylum due to the overwhelming presence of trafficking, blood feuds, domestic violence, forced marriages, LGBT+ issues and religion and radicalisation in their country. Albanian people commonly cite radicalisation as their reason to seek asylum in the UK, but a trend has been identified between an increase in cases of people seeking asylum for this reason, and an increase of applicants being refused. We must now question whether the Albanian government is able to protect Albanian nationals who are at risk of falling prey to radicalisation, as there currently appears to be no means of protection in place, leaving a number of people in danger. The University College of London (UCL) and their School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) should carry our research in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia in order to demonstrate the extent of radicalisation as a problem in Albania, so that Asylum claims based on radicalisation can be judged reasonably. There also ought to be an investigation as to whether the judicial and legal systems in place are working effectively. A broader study of the country and robust evidence is needed in order for an efficient judgement to be made about the asylum claims based on radicalisation. Without powerful evidence, it may not be possible to demonstrate that these asylum claims are justified, so I propose that this research is needed in order for justice to be achieved. Naim Hasani, a consultant solicitor with Duncan Lewis, is an Immigration and Judicial Review Claimant specialist. Naim operates an extremely specialised practice in judicial review claimant matters, challenging the lawfulness of the decisions of the Secretary of State for the Home Department on asylum and immigration matters and unlawful detention. He represents clients on all Asylum, Immigration and Human Rights applications and appeals. He has a significant practice in British nationality deprivation, appeals and deportation matters. Duncan Lewis Immigration Solicitors Duncan Lewis operates the largest immigration team in the UK with a broad practice representing business and individual vulnerable clients at all levels in all aspects of personal immigration, asylum/human rights and nationality matters and is the dominant legal firm in the UK for the provision of publicly funded immigration legal services for asylum, immigration detention, bail, deportation appeals and EC law issues. The firm’s Immigration practice was recommended by Legal 500 UK 2016 as a Top Tier Immigration Practice in London and Wales and as a Leading Immigration Practice in the Midlands area respectively. With more than 200 specialised staff providing assistance in more than 70 different languages, all of Duncan Lewis’ Immigration lawyers are specialists in their respective fields under the Law Society's Immigration & Asylum Accreditation Scheme. Duncan Lewis Immigration lawyers provide specialist immigration services from offices throughout London and across the UK.