Barriers and Threats to Access to Justice in the Immigration and Asylum System

In 2018, JUSTICE published “Immigration and Asylum Appeals – a Fresh Look”. It made 49 practical recommendations aimed at reforming the considerable challenges faced by the UK immigration and asylum appeals system at a time of digitisation. Our recommendations have been incorporated into the new online service for immigration and asylum appeals, which has seen an increase in Home Office withdrawals, as well as having wider impact on the regulatory sector and Home Office processes. Three years after the report’s publication, the system has faced unprecedented strains and challenges through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, the Home Office’s New Plan for Immigration, the Nationality and Borders Bill, and the Judicial Review and Courts Bill all promise fundamental changes to the way immigration and asylum decisions are made and challenged within our system. Chaired by Sonali Naik QC, this event will discuss challenges and uncertainties in the future of access to justice within immigration and asylum.