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Free Movement

@freemovement.bsky.social
2.7K followers 249 following 4.9K posts

Updates, commentary and analysis on UK immigration and asylum law. Sign up to our weekly email newsletter here: bit.ly/2yNDl3r.

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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Public attitudes to free movement are more nuanced than 2016 suggested. British Future's research finds support grows when it's framed around trade benefits and opportunities for UK citizens. Heather Rolfe explores what that means for future EU relations.
freemovement.org.uk
Free movement gains support where it brings benefits to trade and opportunities for UK citizens - Free Movement
Research has found almost half of those surveyed (46%) would vote to rejoin the EU, which would mean accepting free movement.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🧵 1. Would the UK public accept free movement as part of a closer relationship with the EU? New British Future research suggests support depends on whether it brings benefits to trade and opportunities for UK citizens.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
New: Free movement gains support where it brings benefits to trade and opportunities for UK citizens — by Heather Rolfe
freemovement.org.uk
Free movement gains support where it brings benefits to trade and opportunities for UK citizens - Free Movement
Research has found almost half of those surveyed (46%) would vote to rejoin the EU, which would mean accepting free movement.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
ICYMI: Aiya Nakash wrote for us on MUF v SSD [2026] EWHC 2108 (Admin), where the High Court quashed the fourth ARAP refusal of a former Afghan Anti-Terrorism Court judge. Our piece explains the narrow but important evidential point on case reporting that decided it.
freemovement.org.uk
High Court quashes Afghan judge’s ARAP refusal over case reporting evidence - Free Movement
The High Court has quashed the fourth refusal of an Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) application made by a former Afghan Anti-Terrorism Court
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Employing someone without the right to work can cost up to £60,000 per illegal worker in civil penalties, and knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it can be a criminal offence. In our guide, Gordana Gligorevic explains how employers can carry out checks correctly.
freemovement.org.uk
A guide to right to work checks - Free Movement
Employers in the UK are required to conduct right to work checks to ensure that their workers have the legal right to work. If they employ someone without
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. Since 1 October 2026, right to work checks extend well beyond direct employees, covering workers, individual sub-contractors and online matching services. Civil penalties reach £60,000 per illegal worker.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
New: A guide to right to work checks — by Gordana Gligorevic
freemovement.org.uk
A guide to right to work checks - Free Movement
Employers in the UK are required to conduct right to work checks to ensure that their workers have the legal right to work. If they employ someone without
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
ICYMI: We published Louis Macwilliam's analysis of the Home Office crackdown on care sponsors. Revocations are at a record high, but many licences are being lost over routine compliance issues rather than exploitation. Essential reading for care providers.
freemovement.org.uk
Home Office crackdown on care providers: from exploitation to routine compliance issues - Free Movement
The Home Office has driven sponsor licence revocations in the care sector to a record high, for anything from exploitation to compliance issues.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Jasmine Quiller-Doust's analysis of the IAA's overhaul of its competence assessments, covering new syllabuses at every level, an added ethics component and a change to when you sit the assessment. Essential reading for advisers and candidates.
freemovement.org.uk
IAA overhauls competence assessments and registration process - Free Movement
The Immigration Advice Authority has announced a major overhaul of its competence assessments. There are new syllabuses at every level, an additional ethics
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Nath Gbikpi's analysis of Guerrero, where the Court of Appeal held that a First-tier Tribunal decision treating an appeal as abandoned under s.104(4A) is an excluded 'preliminary' decision that cannot be appealed. Key reading for practitioners.
freemovement.org.uk
A decision that an appeal is abandoned is 'preliminary' and cannot be appealed - Free Movement
A decision to treat an appeal as abandoned is an ‘excluded’ decision and there is no right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Overseas businesses looking to set up in the UK can send senior managers and specialist employees, including business owners, under the expansion worker visa. In our guide, Nichola Carter explains who qualifies and how to apply, step by step.
freemovement.org.uk
How to apply for a UK expansion worker visa   - Free Movement
The UK expansion worker visa is part of the global business mobility route. It enables overseas businesses seeking to expand into the UK to temporarily assign
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. The UK expansion worker visa lets overseas businesses with no UK trading presence send senior managers and specialists here to set up a British operation. Our updated guide explains how the route works and what it requires.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
New: How to apply for a UK expansion worker visa — by Nichola Carter
freemovement.org.uk
How to apply for a UK expansion worker visa   - Free Movement
The UK expansion worker visa is part of the global business mobility route. It enables overseas businesses seeking to expand into the UK to temporarily assign
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Home Secretary has told the Home Affairs Committee that the new settlement policy, and any transitional arrangements, will come later this year and 'in good time' before the large 2022 cohort qualifies. Jasmine Quiller-Doust unpacks this in our weekly newsletter.
freemovement.org.uk
Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #138 - Free Movement
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New: Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #138 — by Jasmine Quiller-Doust
freemovement.org.uk
Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #138 - Free Movement
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Jasmine Quiller-Doust's analysis of the Lords committee report criticising the Home Office for using published concessions to bypass parliamentary scrutiny — and for deleting an entire appendix by administrative error. Worth revisiting.
freemovement.org.uk
Home Office's quality control questioned after appendix deleted by mistake - Free Movement
Lords Committee questions quality control after the March 2026 statement of changes deleted Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
ICYMI: Our weekly immigration newsletter, rounded up by Jasmine Quiller-Doust, covers oral evidence to the Public Bill Committee on the Immigration and Asylum Bill, and the Helen Bamber Foundation briefing on clause 36 and disclosure barriers for trafficking survivors.
freemovement.org.uk
Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #137 - Free Movement
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Re-entry bans after an immigration breach or deception can run for one, two, five or ten years, and outside a few narrow exceptions the refusal is mandatory. In our explainer, Nath Gbikpi sets out how the periods work and who they catch.
freemovement.org.uk
Suitability refusals: understanding mandatory re-entry bans - Free Movement
The rules relating to refusal periods for the majority of applicants are at part Suitability of the Immigration Rules.  
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. Mandatory re-entry bans under part Suitability of the Immigration Rules can bar a return to the UK for one, two, five or ten years. The rules sound simple but are complex, so our updated guide disentangles them.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New: Suitability refusals: understanding mandatory re-entry bans — by Nath Gbikpi
freemovement.org.uk
Suitability refusals: understanding mandatory re-entry bans - Free Movement
The rules relating to refusal periods for the majority of applicants are at part Suitability of the Immigration Rules.  
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🗓️ Tomorrow, Chris Dias will be taking us through the right to work check process and the changes coming into force on 1 October. 👉 Get your last minute tickets here: freemovement.org.uk/product/webinar…
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Asylum screening and substantive interviews can now be merged into a single interview. New Home Office guidance sets out the truncated process first flagged as 'merged registration' in HC 259. Jasmine Quiller-Doust takes us through which claims it covers.
freemovement.org.uk
New single protection interview guidance published - Free Movement
The Home Office has published new guidance today on the process that merges the asylum screening interview and the substantive interview into one. This was
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Eva Maria Doerr on how the Home Office is wrongly treating some EUSS pre-settled status grants as 'granted in error', having misunderstood when Italian citizenship by descent takes effect. Its concession in a judicial review may offer a way forward.
freemovement.org.uk
When the Home Office gets EU citizenship wrong: EUSS ‘granted in error’ policy and Italian nationals - Free Movement
The Home Office has been treating some grants of EU pre-settled status as having been granted in error because it has misunderstood when Italian citizenship
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🧵 1. The Home Office has published guidance on the single protection interview, which merges the asylum screening and substantive interviews into one for claims that appear clearly unfounded. It was first announced in HC 259 as 'merged registration'.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New: New single protection interview guidance published — by Jasmine Quiller-Doust
freemovement.org.uk
New single protection interview guidance published - Free Movement
The Home Office has published new guidance today on the process that merges the asylum screening interview and the substantive interview into one. This was
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Webinar: Credibility in asylum claims – a practical guide for advisers. Covers how the Home Office assesses credibility in the asylum process, plus tips and techniques for helping clients demonstrate the credibility of their claim. Live webinar from Free Movement, £110 + VAT.
freemovement.org.uk
Webinar: Credibility in asylum claims: a practical guide for advisers - Free Movement
In this webinar, we’ll discuss how the Home Office assesses credibility in the asylum process and share tips and techniques for supporting clients to demonstrate the credibility of their claim.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
An unlawful genuine vacancy finding won't necessarily save a sponsor licence. The Court of Appeal upheld revocation in J's Supermarket and Prestige Social Care, answering two questions common in revocation challenges. Jack Freeland unpacks both in our analysis.
freemovement.org.uk
Court of Appeal upholds sponsor licence revocation despite unlawful genuine vacancy finding - Free Movement
The Court of Appeal has dismissed two sponsor licence revocation appeals and answers two questions that often emerge in revocation challenges.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. The Court of Appeal has upheld the revocation of a care provider's sponsor licence, even though the Home Office's finding that one role was not genuine was unlawful. The judgment also addresses how clearly allegations must be put to sponsors.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New: Court of Appeal upholds sponsor licence revocation despite unlawful genuine vacancy finding — by Jack Freeland
freemovement.org.uk
Court of Appeal upholds sponsor licence revocation despite unlawful genuine vacancy finding - Free Movement
The Court of Appeal has dismissed two sponsor licence revocation appeals and answers two questions that often emerge in revocation challenges.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
ICYMI: We published our August immigration roundup podcast. Jasmine Quiller-Doust and Mala Savjani discuss falling quarterly statistics, the Supreme Court ruling invalidating an illegal working civil penalty, and two key Upper Tribunal decisions.
freemovement.org.uk
Immigration roundup podcast: August 2026 - Free Movement
If you listen to podcasts on your mobile phone, you can subscribe for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Using a mobile device and subscribing
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Colin Yeo's tribute to Jim Gillespie, the barrister and passionate advocate for migrants' rights who died in 2006. A warm personal recollection from a former colleague at Renaissance Chambers, and well worth returning to.
freemovement.org.uk
Jim Gillespie remembered - Free Movement
Former barrister and passionate advocate for the rights of migrants Jim Gillespie died on 12 September 2006. I was a colleague of Jim's at the now-defunct
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The High Court has quashed a fourth ARAP refusal for a former Afghan Anti-Terrorism Court judge. MUF [2026] EWHC 2108 (Admin) turned on a narrow but important point: the MoD's handling of case reporting evidence. Aiya Nakash explains what went wrong.
freemovement.org.uk
High Court quashes Afghan judge’s ARAP refusal over case reporting evidence - Free Movement
The High Court has quashed the fourth refusal of an Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) application made by a former Afghan Anti-Terrorism Court
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. The High Court has quashed the fourth ARAP refusal for a former Afghan Anti-Terrorism Court judge, because the Ministry of Defence failed to explain how it dealt with evidence that judges gave case reports to UK officials.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New: High Court quashes Afghan judge’s ARAP refusal over case reporting evidence — by Aiya Nakash
freemovement.org.uk
High Court quashes Afghan judge’s ARAP refusal over case reporting evidence - Free Movement
The High Court has quashed the fourth refusal of an Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) application made by a former Afghan Anti-Terrorism Court
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
📣 Final call for our right to work checks webinar! 💻 Join us on Wednesday for a practical guide to the right to work check process and the changes coming into force on 1 October. Book now: freemovement.org.uk/product/webinar…
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Anna Falconer's analysis of R (MB) v SSHD, where the Court of Appeal held the Home Office was entitled to certify an asylum claim as clearly unfounded despite the man being a recognised trafficking victim. Essential reading on certification.
freemovement.org.uk
Past trafficking alone does not mean certifying asylum claim was incorrect - Free Movement
The court held that the Home Office was entitled to certify this protection claim as clearly unfounded under section 94 of the NIAA 2002.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Care sector sponsor licence revocations are at a record high, framed as a crackdown on exploitation. Yet Louis Macwilliam tells us many revocations he has handled involved no allegation of exploitation at all, only routine compliance issues. Essential reading for care sponsors.
freemovement.org.uk
Home Office crackdown on care providers: from exploitation to routine compliance issues - Free Movement
The Home Office has driven sponsor licence revocations in the care sector to a record high, for anything from exploitation to compliance issues.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. Care sector sponsor licence revocations have hit a record high. The Home Office frames this as a crackdown on exploitation, yet many licences are being revoked over reporting failures and routine right to work check errors.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Anyone planning to register with the IAA should take note: competence assessments are changing, with new syllabuses at every level, an added ethics component, and a shift in when you sit the assessment during the application. Jasmine Quiller-Doust takes us through the detail.
freemovement.org.uk
IAA overhauls competence assessments and registration process - Free Movement
The Immigration Advice Authority has announced a major overhaul of its competence assessments. There are new syllabuses at every level, an additional ethics
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Long thread alert 🧵 1. The Immigration Advice Authority is overhauling its competence assessments, with new syllabuses at every level, a new ethics component and a change to when candidates sit the assessment in the registration process.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New: Home Office crackdown on care providers: from exploitation to routine compliance issues — by Louis Macwilliam
freemovement.org.uk
Home Office crackdown on care providers: from exploitation to routine compliance issues - Free Movement
The Home Office has driven sponsor licence revocations in the care sector to a record high, for anything from exploitation to compliance issues.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New: IAA overhauls competence assessments and registration process — by Jasmine Quiller-Doust
freemovement.org.uk
IAA overhauls competence assessments and registration process - Free Movement
The Immigration Advice Authority has announced a major overhaul of its competence assessments. There are new syllabuses at every level, an additional ethics
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
ICYMI: We published Joseph Maggs on R (Moon Fish Ltd), where the High Court held that relying on a mandatory revocation ground does not displace the Home Secretary's common law duty of procedural fairness. Essential reading for sponsors and their advisers.
freemovement.org.uk
Licence revocation quashed in Moon Fish but reporting duties still stringent - Free Movement
Relying on a mandatory ground for revoking a sponsor licence does not relieve the Home Secretary of her common law duty of procedural fairness, the High Court
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If the First-tier Tribunal treats an appeal as abandoned under s.104(4A) NIAA 2002, there is no onward appeal. The Court of Appeal in Guerrero holds it is a 'preliminary', excluded decision under Article 3(m) of the 2009 Order. Nath Gbikpi explains the implications.
freemovement.org.uk
A decision that an appeal is abandoned is 'preliminary' and cannot be appealed - Free Movement
A decision to treat an appeal as abandoned is an ‘excluded’ decision and there is no right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
🧵 1. The Court of Appeal has held that a First-tier Tribunal decision treating an appeal as abandoned is a 'preliminary' decision. It is excluded from appeal to the Upper Tribunal and can only be challenged by judicial review.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New: A decision that an appeal is abandoned is ‘preliminary’ and cannot be appealed — by Nath Gbikpi
freemovement.org.uk
A decision that an appeal is abandoned is 'preliminary' and cannot be appealed - Free Movement
A decision to treat an appeal as abandoned is an ‘excluded’ decision and there is no right of appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
An entire appendix was deleted from the immigration rules by administrative error — and the Lords committee is now questioning the Home Office's quality control. Jasmine Quiller-Doust unpicks the bigger problem for us: concessions doing the work of rules, with no oversight.
freemovement.org.uk
Home Office's quality control questioned after appendix deleted by mistake - Free Movement
Lords Committee questions quality control after the March 2026 statement of changes deleted Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
🧵 1. An entire appendix of the immigration rules was deleted by mistake in the March 2026 statement of changes, and the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has now questioned the Home Office's quality control as a result.
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Clause 36 of the Immigration and Asylum Bill treats delay and inconsistency as damaging credibility — but Helen Bamber Foundation's new briefing shows that is exactly how trauma presents in trafficking survivors. We cover that and more; line by line scrutiny resumes 13 October.
freemovement.org.uk
Free Movement Weekly Immigration Newsletter #137 - Free Movement
Welcome to the weekly Free Movement newsletter!
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Free Movement @freemovement.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New: Home Office’s quality control questioned after appendix deleted by mistake — by Jasmine Quiller-Doust
freemovement.org.uk
Home Office's quality control questioned after appendix deleted by mistake - Free Movement
Lords Committee questions quality control after the March 2026 statement of changes deleted Appendix Visitor: Transit Without Visa Scheme.
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