Q&As

Q&As

These Q&As seek to briefly address common questions faced when dealing with immigration law and policy matters.

The Q&As supplement and link to other more detailed content within Lexis+® UK, but are intentionally short. It is anticipated that a brief Q&A will be most helpful when you need a quick overview of an issue and its likely impact. This might arise, for example, for advisers needing to provide advice, business development materials or training at short notice. Our Q&A content is date-stamped. This date is the publish date and states the law

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Immigration News

Immigration weekly highlights—28 August 2025

Welcome to the 28 August 2025 highlights from the Immigration team, which provides links to key news stories from the last week, as well as a round-up of new and updated content in Immigration.

Cancer Research UK report highlights impact of immigration costs on research

Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has published a report revealing the significant impact of UK immigration costs on research. The report details that CRUK institutes spent £870,000 on visa fees and the Immigration Health Surcharge during 2024–25. These additional costs have diverted money away from critical cancer research. This is evident from the increased budgets to absorb the rising immigration expenses which are cost equivalent to either two three-year cancer research projects, 22 postdoctoral research salaries, training of 40 new PhD students each year or three catalyst awards to accelerate translation of discoveries into cancer drugs. CRUK also reports that a substantial 96% of cancer researchers are experiencing difficulties in recruiting international talent, which is causing delays in cancer research projects and leading to a decline in international applications.

Home Office awards £400,000 to ten organisations supporting Windrush compensation applicants organisations

The Home Office has announced that £400,000 has been awarded to ten community organisations under the Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund (WCASF) to assist victims of the Windrush scandal in navigating the compensation application process. The WCASF, totalling £1.5 million over the next three years with £400,000 available in the first year, aims to provide additional support to affected communities and forms part of the wider Plan for Change, which seeks to deliver justice for victims. The ten successful organisations span England, Wales and Scotland, ensuring nationwide support. Advocates from these organisations will help applicants gather evidence, access services and share experiences in culturally sensitive environments. The successful organisations for year 1 funding are:

UKICE explains legal pathways for UK exit from ECHR and Refugee Convention

UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) has published a blog by Professor Catherine Barnard examining the legal feasibility and consequences of the UK withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the 1951 Refugee Convention. Professor Barnard confirms that legal provisions exist for withdrawal from both treaties, the ECHR permits denunciation after five years of membership with six months’ notice, while the Refugee Convention allows withdrawal via notification to the UN Secretary-General, effective after one year. However, she emphasises that such actions would carry significant legal and political ramifications. Exiting the ECHR would isolate the UK internationally, remove external oversight of human rights protections, undermine the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and risk breaching the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which is contingent on continued adherence to human rights standards. Exiting the Refugee Convention may also breach the TCA.