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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, take a look at the proposed development.

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 best practice going forward.

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 for information purposes only. This is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Please note that Information covered in this podcast was current at the time of recording on 5 June 2026 and is subject to change.

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 further updates to the Global Business Mobility framework. In addition, they discuss the rise in English Language level from CEFR level B1 to B2 for ILR applications from March 2027. Natalie and Tanya explore the practical impact of these developments and share their recommendations for sponsors and visa holders preparing for the changes. More information can be found in our Spring Immigration Update here: https://www.bindmans.com/news-insights/news/immigration-update-spring-2026-changes-to-work-sponsorship-visas/

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/immigration-update-material-changes-to-the-home-offices-guidance-for-sponsors/

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-update-material-changes-to-the-home-offices-guidance-for-sponsors/

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 this can be found in our latest immigration update on our website here –https://www.bindmans.com/news-insights/news/immigration-update-material-changes-to-the-home-offices-guidance-for-sponsors/

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 applicants, which is moving up from B1 to B2, as well as a tougher character requirement in cases where people have been given a suspended sentence of 12 months or more. Please note the character requirement took effect on 22 March 2026 and not 26 March 2026 as stated. This Bindmans blog offers a more detailed overview of the developments announced in March 2026 https://www.bindmans.com/news-insights/blogs/what-do-the-march-2026-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-mean-for-you/

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/news-insights/blogs/what-do-the-march-2026-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-mean-for-you/

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 effect on 6 April 2026. They also discuss the implications for employers, including those with Home Office licences to sponsor employees in the UK.

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 their overseas passport to enter as visitors via the eGates, which many have done until now. Jenni shares her experiences as a dual Finnish national and also talks about potential problems for EU-based individuals flying to the UK. The 3million FAQ link raised by Jenni in the episode can be found here: https://the3million.org.uk/faq/dual-which-passport-booking. Jenni and Karma also talked about electronic certificates of entitlement. For clarification, these go live on 26 February 2026 and you can find more information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-roa-guidance/form-roa-guidance-accessible-version#digital-certificate This podcast is for information purposes only. This is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Please note that Information covered in this podcast was current at the time of recording on 3 February 2026 and is subject to change

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 purposes only. This is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Please note that Information covered in this podcast was current at the time of recording on 9 January 2026 and is subject to change