DiscoverThe Law ShowImmigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?
Immigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?

Immigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?

Update: 2025-11-051
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Description

Immigration has dominated headlines for months, but what UK laws cover this most emotive of issues?

When someone arrives here, what are the legal routes they have to take if they want to stay in the UK? What's the legal difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee? What does "indefinite leave to remain" mean? And what's the difference between being deported, being removed and being extradited?

How do immigration hearings work? Are our immigration laws fit for purpose, and do they enable us to remove people when required?

Also on the programme:
How will the government's digital ID plans help curb illegal immigration?
and wigs in court; as the bar council updates dress advice for its members, we ask two barristers if wigs have had their day.

Presenter: Dr Joelle Grogan
Editor: Tom Bigwood
Producers: Ravi Naik and Charlotte Rowles

Contributors
Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford
Paul Gulbenkian, solicitor at OTS solicitors and former immigration Judge
Morgan Wild, Chief Policy Adviser, Labour Together
Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, barrister at 23 Essex Street chambers
Benet Brandreth KC, barrister at 11 South Square chambers

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Immigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?

Immigration and the law - who stays? Who goes?

BBC Radio 4