Asylum

A government decision to suspend the visa exemption for refugees travelling to Ireland from other European countries has been slammed as "shameful". Ministers yesterday agreed to suspend the operation of the European Agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Refugees from today for at least 12 months.

The High Court has upheld a decision by the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) which rejected a man’s claim that he was in fear for his life for refusing to become a fetish priest in Ghana. The man claimed to have been kidnapped and beaten by his family members and would have bee

Legal bodies have hit back at UK prime minister Boris Johnson's claim that lawyers representing refugees were “abetting the work of criminal gangs” amid attempts to prevent asylum seekers from being removed to Rwanda. The plan to send a man to Rwanda was last night interrupted by a rulin

The European Court of Human Rights has granted an urgent interim measure in the case of K.N. v. the United Kingdom, an asylum-seeker facing imminent removal to Rwanda. The court received a request yesterday to indicate an urgent interim measure to the UK government, under Rule 39 of the Rules of Cou

The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal in a challenge to the Rwanda asylum plan. The appellant originally applied to the High Court for permission to bring an application for judicial review of Home Secretary Priti Patel's decision that certain people who have made claims for asylum in t

A last-ditch legal attempt to block the first deportations of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda will be heard by the Court of Appeal in London today. On Friday, the High Court refused to grant an injunction preventing the removal of asylum seekers on a flight to Rwandan capital Kigali tomorrow.

Plans to scrap the direct provision system of accommodation for asylum seekers have been delayed because of the war in Ukraine, the government has admitted. Roderic O'Gorman, whose portfolio includes the direct provision system, told the Dáil today that the war "had an unavoidable impact on t

DLA Piper has announced a new partnership with Deloitte to offer asylum seekers and refugees paid employment opportunities in Ireland. Three refugees and asylum seekers who have participated in DLA Piper's "Know Your Rights" programme, supported by the Irish Refugee Council, will secure a six-month

A new civil society coalition has been launched to hold the government to its commitment to ending direct provision by 2024 and replacing it with an alternative that is fully compliant with human rights standards. The eight founding members of the Standing Against Direct Provision (STAD) coalition a

Priti Patel's proposed new UK border laws would breach the UK's obligations under international law, UN experts have said. In a joint statement, five UN special rapporteurs said the Nationality and Borders Bill would "seriously undermine the protection of the human rights of trafficked persons, incl

Northern Ireland's High Court has overturned a decision to revoke the British passport of an Iraqi Kurd where his reasons for using an alias in his citizenship application were ignored. The applicant, TS, was an Iraqi Kurd and a British citizen who resides in Belfast. He sought to challenge by way o

The High Court has quashed a decision of the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) after it failed to give reasons for refusing to give the case an oral hearing under section 43(b) of the International Protection Act 2015. The IPAT decided that the applicant was not entitled to refugee st

Asylum seekers are now able to apply for driving licenses and learner permits in Ireland following a High Court ruling last month. In his judgment, Mr Justice Mark Heslin said international protection applicants should be considered "lawfully resident" in the State for the purposes of the Road Traff

The Home Office’s so-called ‘turn around’ tactics in the English Channel have not been shown to have a clear legal basis, according to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee. In a letter to the Home Secretary, published today, the committee expresses concerns around

Asylum seekers who have been waiting more than two years to have their applications processed will be granted permission to stay in Ireland under a new scheme. Ministers have approved a scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living in Ireland, justice mini