Today, the Nationality and Borders Bill will return to the House of Commons, where MPs will vote yes or no on amendments added in the House of Lords.
One of these amendments was tabled by me and supported by peers across the Lords. If passed, it will give people seeking asylum the right to work after they have waited six months or more for a decision on their claim.
It’s a common-sense change. It would be a boost for the Treasury, recruiters and not least asylum seekers themselves, who often wait years for a decision on their claim while battling poverty, isolation and mental ill health.
This `pull factor` argument is simply not supported by the facts
The government maintains a ban on employment for asylum seekers â€` introduced by Tony Blair’s Labour government in 2002 â€` because it says that giving people the right to work will encourage more people to come to the UK.
But this “pull factor” argument is simply not supported by the facts.
Evidence for it remains unclear, unshared or â€` as many suspect â€` non-existent. A challenge to minsters from the government’s own Migration Advisory Committee to show proof of a link between the employment ban and a pull factor has so far gone unanswered.
Publicly available and up-to-date figures show no correlation. If there was, asylum migration would look very different to how it does.
Certainly, 28,300 refugees wouldn’t have risked their lives crossing the Channel in boats in 2021 to come to the UK where they cannot work. They would have headed to Sweden, which received just 10,000 applications for refugee status, where they can work after one day.
The 62,000 people who claimed asylum in Spain last year, where they must wait six months to work, would have simply hopped across the border to Portugal, whose 1,350 asylum applicants can get a job after one week.
And the people who applied for asylum in France (103,000) where they must wait six months to work, could have just stopped in â€` or headed to â€` Italy (44,000), where they can work after two months.
That some countries with stricter labour access often receive more asylum seekers â€` while in many cases fewer

refugees go to countries with more relaxed rules around work â€` shows the lack of any link between application numbers and employment rules.
What the overwhelming evidence does point to as “pull factors” are those things that make almost all of us feel safe: our families, our friends, our communities, language, a sense of shared history, a country with a stable government and a respect for human rights.
The government’s argument, however unfounded, is powerful. At a time when Channel crossings dominate headlines, the “pull factor” plays on fears that any perceived loosening of policy around asylum will lead to all the world’s refugees arriving in the UK.
We have an environment in which ministers are so nervous of appearing soft that even a widely beneficial, evidence-based, common-sense policy such as the right to work is rejected because it might make Britain a magnet. Politically, the government feels it’s far less risky to be wrong.
But this is wrong â€` and while the negative and costly effects of this ban may not seem obvious, they are real.
The ban costs the taxpayer an estimated £210m a year, it leaves asylum seekers in poverty and institutionally dependent, it leaves businesses up and down the country without extra hands at a time of record job vacancies, it takes a terrible toll on people’s mental health and hobbles any attempt at integration and future employment success.
To alleviate ministers’ fears around increased numbers of asylum seekers arriving in the UK, baked in to the amendment is a clause that after three years the government can investigate whether the right to work has encouraged more applications.
Good policy making must be based on robust evidence and be transparent so it can be properly and comprehensively scrutinised.
I hope MPs voting on the right to work amendment are guided by the evidence to bring into law a common-sense change that will benefit not only refugees, but our economy and society
www.samigration.com V.4114

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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