Biography

Colin is well known and widely respected in the immigration sector. He is rated as a 'Leading Individual' in Chambers and Partners 2013:

"Colin Yeo is an 'excellent' barrister, who is rated highly by instructing solicitors. He is acknowledged by the immigration practitioners' community not only for the casework he undertakes but also because of the widely read 'Free Movement' blog he produces."

Colin is also a popular trainer, an editor of the Butterworths Immigration Law Service and the Lexis Nexis Immigration PSL service, a contributor to the JCWI Guide to the Points Based System and ILPA Best Practice Guide to Working with Refugee Children, is a regular contributor to the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law journal and is an expert panel member for the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund Strategic Legal Fund for Refugee Children and Young People. He is also a former executive committee member of the Immigration Law Practitioner Association.

Colin’s work ranges from representing high net worth individuals for boutique firms to domestic violence and asylum cases for law centres and high street practices.

Experience

Colin was Director of Legal Services and Training at the Immigration Advisory Service before joining chambers and previously worked as a Legal Officer at the Refugee Legal Centre.

Colin also has experience in family law children proceedings, particularly in cases with an international or immigration dimension, and regularly drafts expert opinions on immigration matters for family law proceedings, being one of the few barristers with genuine experience in both areas.

In suitable cases, Colin will undertake public access work directly for members of the public.

Reported Cases

MN and others (Ahmadis – country conditions – risk) Pakistan CG [2012] UKUT 00389 (IAC)

Jarusevicius (EEA Reg 21 - effect of imprisonment) Lithuania [2012] UKUT 120 (IAC)

JD (Congo) & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2012] EWCA Civ 327

MS (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWCA Civ 1236

W (A Child) [2009] 2 FLR 436, [2009] EWCA Civ 370

MD (Guinea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA Civ 733

DM v SSHD (Timing of funding application) Zimbabwe [2006] UKAIT 00088

N v SSHD [2005] UKSIAC 18/2002

KA v SSHA (Draft-related risk categories updated) Eritrea CG [2005] UKAIT 00165

MN v SSHD (Entry clearance facilities - availability) Iraq [2004] UKAIT 00316

IM v SSHD (Article 3 - Orhodox Jew - Military Service) Russia CG [2002] UKAIT 05952

HM v SSHD (Mental Health) Sierra Leone CG [2002] UKAIT 04459

Education

BA (Hons) Modern History, St John’s College, Oxford; Diploma in Legal Studies (CPE), University of Birmingham; BVC, Inns of Court School of Law

Authorships

Contributing editor to Butterworth’s Immigration Law Service since 2007 and LexisPSL Immigration since 2011; HJT Immigration Manual, editor/author of four editions of this popular and comprehensive textbook since 2006; case law editor for the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law journal; Raising the spouse visa age [2009] IANL 365; Protecting family members [2008] IANL 147; Country Guideline Cases: Benign and Practical?, editor/contributor to influential booklet published by IAS January 2005; Conditions in detention: the use of Article 3 ECHR in removal appeals [2003] IANL 229; Agents of the State: When is an Official of the State an Agent of the State? [2003] International Journal of Refugee Law at 509; The ‘Internal Flight Alternative’: Counter-arguments [2000] IANL 9

Awards

Ranked as a 'Leading Individual' at Band 4 in Chambers and Partners 2013