Call for evidence: An inspection of asylum casework 2023

In my 2023-24 Inspection Plan, I indicated that I would be carrying out a further inspection of ‘asylum casework’. Work on this has now begun and I am inviting anyone with relevant knowledge and experience to write to me with their evidence and views of how the system...

Driver who smuggled children bolted inside hidden van hatch jailed

A man who smuggled 4 Vietnamese migrants in a single ‘coffin-like’ hide inside the roof of a van has been sentenced today (11 May) to 3 years in prison. Nicolai Bogdan Lungan, a 32-year-old Romanian, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court for assisting unlawful...

UK visa payment changes for Sierra Leone applications

From 16 May 2023, all applications made in Sierra Leone for a UK visa will need to be paid via an online payment process. Currently, customers have the choice to pay cash into the British High Commission Freetown account at EcoBank Sierra Leone Limited or to use the...

Illegal Migration Bill in Lords for second reading

The government’s Illegal Migration Bill to stop the boats is continuing its progress through Parliament and returning to the Lords for its second reading today, Wednesday 10 May. The new legislation will break the business model of the people smuggling gangs, restore...