This week the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) increased by 100% to £400 per year, despite concerns from Coram Children’s Legal Centre and others that this will have a severe negative impact on children and young people who have grown up in the UK but do not yet have settled status. What is the Immigration Health Surcharge…
Let Us Learn and Coram Children’s Legal Centre, working together on the ‘We Belong’ campaign, welcome today’s pledge from Labour to end the current ‘rip off’ of immigration application fees by reducing them to closer reflect the actual cost price of processing applications. As noted in the speech by Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, many…
There are over half a million European national children living in the UK, 38% of whom were born here. Non-EU children currently struggle to regularise their immigration status in a system which is complex, expensive and for which there is no free legal advice. For the past year, Coram Children’s Legal Centre has been calling…
The government has issued guidance for legal aid caseworkers confirming that those representing unaccompanied and separated children should apply for legal aid via the exceptional case funding scheme, prior to LASPO amendment. This was confirmed following the Ministry of Justice announcement to reinstate legal aid for unaccompanied and separated children with immigration matters last month,…
CCLC immigration solicitor Sophie Freeman has been named Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year in the social and welfare law category.
UK government confirms legal aid available for victims of trafficking following court challenge Legal aid is vital for children and young people to realise their rights. However, legal aid was cut for a number of areas of law – the negative impact of which is explored in our recent report. One area where it was still available was for victims…
We have published an information page on studying, ‘no study’ conditions and immigration bail. In January 2018, changes were made to the law regarding immigration bail. Anyone without leave to remain to enter will be subject to immigration bail. This includes asylum seekers, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, undocumented children and young people and care leavers without…
CCLC welcomes the Mayor of London’s strategy for social integration and the Mayor’s commitment to working towards a shorter, more affordable route to citizenship. The strategy, published today, recognises that: thousands of young Londoners have grown up here but cannot fulfil their potential because of insecure immigration status. Despite London being their home, these young people…
The Supreme Court has published its judgment on an important case about international adoption in which CCLC intervened to emphasise the importance of considering the best interests of children. The case, SM (Algeria), was about a young Algerian, abandoned by her parents, who was adopted by way of a Kefalah adoption by a French couple.…
The Migrant Children’s Project is looking to recruit Youth Rights Trainers to co-deliver our existing training courses and to develop new training courses. Youth Rights Trainers will be individuals who want to make a difference and who bring the expertise of life experience (in particular, experience of the UK immigration / asylum system OR experience…
CCLC acted for a young person (AB) in an appeal before the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). CCLC were instructed to represent AB in the case of Mr C (on behalf of AB) v X Council. AB appealed against the sections of her Education, Health and Care Plan issues by her local authority relating to…
The Justice First Fellowship Scheme was established by the Legal Education Foundation and is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, City Bridge Trust and a number of law firms.