New free handbook on the immigration and nationality needs of care leavers published

A new free practitioner handbook on the immigration and nationality needs of care leavers and former looked-after children has been published by immigration lawyer Hleb Buziuk.

The 246-page handbook, Immigration needs of care leavers: A UK lawyer's handbook on immigration, nationality and leaving-care duties, can be accessed and downloaded from here.

The handbook is aimed at legal professionals working with care-experienced young people and examines the interaction between immigration and nationality law, leaving-care duties, and related public law remedies. According to the author, it is intended primarily for immigration solicitors and barristers, community care and public law practitioners, legal aid providers, in-house local authority lawyers, and supervising solicitors.

It covers topics including immigration status, British citizenship, age assessment, appeals, no recourse to public funds (NRPF) support, and leaving-care responsibilities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It also includes practical tools such as checklists, workflows, templates and role-based reading paths intended to assist practitioners in managing cases.

The author says the handbook is organised around the way cases arise in practice, beginning with orientation and triage, followed by local authority duties, immigration and nationality routes, Home Office decision-making, evidence gathering and wider support issues. Individual chapters are designed to be read on a standalone basis when required, with appendices containing workflows, checklists and templates.

In the preface, Buziuk says the handbook seeks to address the gap that can arise between immigration advice and local authority support for care leavers, particularly where unresolved immigration status affects access to services and support. He writes that cases are often more effective when immigration and leaving-care systems are considered together rather than separately.

The handbook is self-published and made available free of charge under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives licence. The author emphasises that it is intended as a professional reference resource and it is not legal advice. The law is stated as at 20 January 2026.