Manpreet Kaur & Anor, R (on the application of) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Cancellation of immigration permission using a RED.0001 notice must accord with the Home Office’s applicable guidance. Although the Secretary of State may depart from guidance, a good reason must be given. Immediate cancellation likewise requires a proper assessment of the individual circumstances, compliance with the guidance, and reasons explaining why immediate action is justified. Evidence that decision-makers predetermined the outcome, relied on incorrect alleged breaches, or failed to make adequate inquiries may constitute public law errors. Where such errors may have affected whether permission would instead have been cancelled with a period of permission, the errors are material. The resulting cancellation and removal-liability decisions may be quashed, with consequential detention declared unlawful.

The claimants, an Indian student and her dependent husband, entered the United Kingdom with permission in January 2023. After the student’s sponsor withdrew its sponsorship, the Secretary of State cancelled both permissions with immediate effect and served RED.0001 notices notifying them of liability to removal. The notices also contained alleged breaches of conditions and other assertions which were accepted to be incorrect.

The claimants challenged the use of RED.0001 notices, the failure to follow cancellation guidance, the absence of reasons and the lawfulness of their detention. Permission to bring the judicial review claim was ultimately granted by Arnold LJ on 24 September 2024. The central issues were whether the cancellation decisions complied with the applicable guidance and public law standards, and whether the detention consequently lacked a lawful basis.

1. The claim succeeded. The decisions cancelling the claimants’ permission and notifying them of liability to removal were unlawful and were quashed.
2. The Secretary of State had power under section 3(3)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 to vary, including cancel, limited permission to remain. Section 4 required that the power be exercised by written notice. The student’s permission could in principle be cancelled under paragraph 9.25.1 of the Immigration Rules following withdrawal of sponsorship, and the husband’s position was consequential under paragraph 9.24.1.
3. The March 2023 guidance identified use of a RED.0001 notice principally for cases involving deception, false representations or breach of conditions. The Secretary of State could depart from the guidance, but had to provide a good reason. Treating the listed circumstances as merely illustrative would deprive the guidance of meaningful effect. The RED.0001 notices were therefore issued outside the guidance without a stated good reason.
4. The decision to cancel immediately was also unlawful. The available material suggested that officers had decided on immediate cancellation before speaking to the student. The inquiry was inadequate, the case did not fit the guidance’s examples of circumstances warranting immediate cancellation, and no reasons were given for choosing immediate cancellation rather than 60 days’ permission.
5. The decision-making documents contained material factual errors, including alleged in-person lecture requirements, breaches of conditions, deception and illegal working. It was not highly likely that the outcome would have been the same without those errors, since a lawful decision might have granted 60 days’ permission.
6. The husband’s cancellation and removal-liability decision was parasitic upon the student’s case. The Secretary of State accepted that the detention following quashing of the cancellation decisions was unlawful. A declaration was made, and the private-law damages claim was transferred to the Central London County Court.

• High Court (Administrative Court): Permission was refused on the papers and after oral renewal. Arnold LJ granted permission to bring the judicial review claim on 24 September 2024. The claim was then allowed and the impugned decisions were quashed.