Bindmans LLP

This is the second in a three-part series by Bindmans considering legal issues in the context of international surrogacy. In this episode, immigration solicitor Karma Hickman discusses citizenship and passport matters with colleague Shanaz Ali. The third episode will focus on UK visas for children born overseas through surrogacy. *At 14:22, when Karma stated that “the old certificates of entitleme...

Bindmans immigration lawyer Vincent Palfi is joined by Diana Kirsch, Director of the LSE Legal Advice Centre, to announce the launch of a new immigration clinic at the Legal Advice Centre, working in partnership with the Bindmans immigration team. You can visit the Legal Advice Centre's website here - https://www.lse.ac.uk/law/legal-advice-centre

This is the first in a three-part series by Bindmans considering legal issues in the context of international surrogacy. In this episode, immigration lawyer Karma Hickman meets with Poppy Harber from the firm’s Family Team to learn more about parental orders. The next surrogacy episode in a few weeks’ time will look at citizenship and passport issues, with a discussion of visas at a later date.

Bindmans immigration lawyers, Shanaz Ali and Karma Hickman, discuss the surprisingly complicated rules around whether people are allowed to travel abroad between the time of making an application and the date they receive a decision.

The Immigration and Asylum Bill before parliament would scrap the Immigration & Asylum Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal, replacing it with the Independent Immigration Appeals Authority. The new system, designed to speed up waiting times, will see judges replaced by adjudicators who won’t need any legal expertise to do the job. Vincent Palfi and Karma Hickman, immigration lawyers at Bindmans, tak...

In this episode of Immigration Unpacked, Tanya Goldfarb, Head of Business Immigration, is joined by Natalie Loader, Partner in Bindmans’ Immigration team. They discuss changes to right to work check guidance and the impact this has on sponsor licence holders. Tanya and Natalie provide a clear explanation of what these changes mean in practice and share their key recommendations for compliance and...

This is the second in a two-part episode looking at automatic curtailment notices under the EU Settlement Scheme. In this edition, Elisabeth Attwood and Karma Hickman, immigration lawyers at Bindmans, discuss what happens when an automatic curtailment or cancellation notice is sent out: what it means, what you can do if you receive one of those notices and what might happen next. This podcast is f...

The government is expanding its use of ‘automation’ to make decisions on whether people should be granted settled status or have their pre-settled status curtailed (cancelled). Elisabeth Attwood and Karma Hickman, immigration lawyers at Bindmans, discuss this development, along with a significant change to how absences affect pre-settled status.

In this episode of Immigration Unpacked, Tanya Goldfarb, Head of Business Immigration, is joined by Natalie Loader, Partner in the Immigration team. They discuss the latest changes to the UK Immigration Rules affecting Skilled Worker visa holders and Global Business Mobility routes. From 8 April 2026, new “pay period” rules will change how Skilled Worker salary compliance is assessed, alongside fu...

In this episode of Immigration Unpacked Natalie Loader, Partner in the Immigration team at Bindmans, and Tanya Goldfarb, Head of Business Immigration at Bindmans, continue their exploration of the changes the duties for sponsor licence holders announced in March and April 2026. Further information to parts 1 and 2 can be found on our website at https://www.bindmans.com/news-insights/news/immigrati...

In this episode of Immigration Unpacked Natalie Loader, Partner in the Immigration team at Bindmans , and Tanya Goldfarb, head of Business Immigration at Bindmans, explore and explain the changes and new duties for sponsor licence holders announced in March. More information on part 1 of this 2 part series can be found on our website at - https://www.bindmans.com/news-insights/news/immigration-upd...

In this episode of Immigration Unpacked, Natalie Loader, Partner in the Immigration team at Bindmans is joined by Tanya Goldfarb, Head of Business Immigration, and Roshan Dykes, Solicitor in the Employment team, to discuss the new requirement for sponsor licence holders to provide their sponsored workers with information about their employment rights and retain records of this. More information on...

Student and Worker visa applications from certain nationalities will now be automatically refused under the so-called Visa Brake announced by the government in March 2026. Associate Solicitor Karma Hickman discusses this development with colleague Armin Houshmand, a paralegal in the Immigration Team at Bindmans. They also look at changes implementing a higher level English test for settlement appl...

In this week's episode of Immigration Unpacked with Bindmans, Karma Hickman and Vincent Palfi discuss the Government's proposals to cut the period of time people recognised as refugees are allowed to stay in the UK that took effect on 2 March 2026. Further detail can be found in the Bindmans Immigration Team blog on a number of changes taking effect in March 2026 here - https://www.bindmans.com/ne...

The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law on 18 December 2025 with major reforms to employment law being phased in over the next two years, including to SSP from 6 April 2026. In this episode, Natalie Loader, partner in our Immigration team, is joined by Roshan Dykes, solicitor in our Employment team. Together, they explore the upcoming reforms to the statutory sick pay (SSP) regime, set to take e...

Airlines will shortly start enforcing Electronic Travel Authorisation rules for those visiting the UK who don’t normally need visas. Jenni Whitaker and Karma Hickman, immigration lawyers at Bindmans, discuss what this means for people who are also British citizens. This group will now have to show a UK passport or certificate of entitlement in order to travel to the UK, rather than simply using th...

Bindmans Partner Natalie Loader and her colleague Karma Hickman look ahead to 2026, exploring some of the key changes in store. Topics discussed include the rollout of tougher provisions for refugees, the introduction of ETAs becoming compulsory, the launch of the Earned Settlement scheme, the expansion of eVisas, and more challenging English language tests. This podcast is for information purpose...

Last year brought some major changes to the UK’s immigration landscape. Bindmans Partner Natalie Loader and her colleague Karma Hickman look at how 2025 unfolded, from the introduction of eVisas at the start of the year, through changes to the Skilled Worker route and the suspension of family reunion applications, wrapping up with the hike in the Immigration Skills Charge in December. This podcast...

Indefinite Leave to Remain and ‘earned settlement’ – Immigration Unpacked #4

A new section of the Immigration Rules, ‘Part Suitability’, came into force on 11 November 2025. For many categories of visa, little will change, but for some family and human-rights based applications, this could make a huge difference. Roberta Haslam and Karma Hickman, immigration lawyers at Bindmans, discuss the implications for people applying for Partner Visas who have overstayed or who have...

The government has been automatically extending some people’s pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme for a while. However, it’s now starting to look properly at those cases and people are at risk of curtailment where they don’t meet the requirements for an upgrade to settlement. Elisabeth Attwood and Karma Hickman, immigration lawyers at Bindmans, discuss what this means and what people...

Indefinite Leave to Remain – what’s on the horizon following the government’s September announcements? The government plans to extend the period of time people need to live in the UK in order qualify for settlement from 5 years to 10 years. However it has also said a points-based assessment could affect the length of that period, with relevant factors including work, NI contributions, good English...

In this episode of Let's have a conversation about... Krishna Santra, partner in our Employment team, discusses key considerations for employers when it comes to employees taking long term sickness absences. Music by joystock.org - www.joystock.org

In part one of our Family Law webinar series, Melissa Arnold and Maeve Lucey of the Bindmans LLP Family and Matrimonial team and Jo O'Sullivan of O'Sullivan Family Law are joined by guest speaker Nasstassia Hylton of 1GC Family Law to discuss the following topics: - The cost of living crisis and what it means for clients - Legal fees and transparency - What's going on with the court? - Good to kno...

Join Krishna Santra, partner in our Employment team, as she discusses some key considerations for employers when dealing with sexual harassment claims. Music by Joystock - www.joystock.org