Guide last updated by Balqees Khan, September 2025.
This guide was created by Katherine Read, Principal Library Assistant at the IALS Library.
Email katherine.read@sas.ac.uk
We'd love to hear your comments about this Research Guide.
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
This guide aims to give a brief introduction to the Library's holdings on Immigration & Asylum/ International Refugee Law. Please consult the Library Search for complete information on current titles and locations. If you require further assistance please contact us.
Monday-Friday 9:30-17:00
Tel (0)20 7862 5790
Email ials@sas.ac.uk
This Subject Guide only lists a selection of Library resources on Immigration & Asylum/International Refugee Law. To find additional resources you will need to search the Library Search, which covers the complete holdings of the Library. It is possible to search for books, journals and series of law reports by author, title or keyword.
IALS Library is mainly open access and readers are able to browse the shelves in the main collection. There are two main exceptions to this:
Please request these at the Library Enquiry Desk.
For more information on understanding the catalogue record and further guidance on the location of materials please refer to our guide Classmarks and the Location of Resources in the Library.
The Library classifies textbooks either by jurisdiction (GO13, GA2 etc.) or according to subject area, examples of which include Comparative Law (SB), Public International Law (SG) and Private International Law/ Conflict of Laws (SH). All classmark sections have a FOL section for oversize volumes, which is located on the same floor of the Library.
When you are searching the Library Search for books, please note that only the current edition is held on the open shelves or in the Short Loan collection. IALS has a rich collection of previous editions held in the closed basement and these will display a Depository number on the catalogue. Please request previous editions from the Library Enquiry Desk.
Immigration/asylum material for England & Wales is shelved at GA2.C.5
Immigration/asylum material for the European Union is shelved at GO1.A1.C.5
International migration material is shelved at SG85
The following list represents a selection of textbooks on immigration and migration law. Please check the catalogue records for further information and location. Please follow the links to Library Search for further information and location. Titles are available in both print and electronic formats, unless indicated otherwise on the list below.
Immigration and asylum law
Allen, F. and others Immigration law handbook 11th ed. 2023
Clayton, G. Immigration and asylum law 9th ed. 2021
Giuffré, M. The readmission of asylum seekers under international law 2020 Bloomsbury (e-book)
Harrison, S. and others Immigration law & practice in the United Kingdom 10th ed. 2021
Jesse, M. European Societies, Migration, and the Law: The 'Others' Amongst 'Us'. 2021 Cambridge Core (e-book)
Mitsilegas, V. et al. Securitising Asylum Flows: Deflection, Criminalisation and Challenges for Human Rights. 2020 Brill (e-book)
Peers, S. EU immigration and asylum law (3 vols.) 2012-2015 Martinus Nijhoff (also available as e-books)
Yeo, R. Disabling migration controls: shared learning, solidarity and collective resistance 2024 Routledge (open access)
International and comparative refugee law
Chetail, V. International migration law 2019
Dunlop, E. Access to court for asylum seekers and refugees: state obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention 2024 OUP (e-book)
Foster, M. International refugee law and the protection of stateless persons 2019 OUP (e-book)
Fransman, L. & Berry, A. Fransman's British nationality law 4th ed. 2024
Goodwin-Gill, G. & McAdam, J. The refugee in international law 2021 OUP (e-book)
Hathaway, J. The rights of refugees under international law 2nd ed. 2021 CUP (e-book)
Hathaway, J. & Foster, M. Law of refugee status 2014
Juss, S. Research handbook on international refugee law 2019 Elgar (e-book)
Mann, I. Humanity at sea: maritime migration and the foundations of international law 2016
Moreno-Lax, V. & Papastravidris, E. Boat refugees and migrants at sea: a comprehensive approach: integrating maritime security with human rights 2017
Moreno-Lax, V. Accessing asylum in Europe: extraterritorial border controls and refugee rights under EU law 2017
Pobjoy, J. The child in international refugee law 2017 CUP (e-book)
Scott, M. Climate change, disasters and the refugee convention 2020 CUP (e-book)
Simeon, J.C. The UNHCR and the Supervision of International Refugee Law. 2013 CUP (e-book)
Storey, H. The refugee definition in international law 2023 OUP
Veshi, D. Refugees and the law in challenging times: a law and economics approach 2024 Springer
Zimmerman, A. and others The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol 2e 2024 OUP (e-book)
IALS Library holds a wide selection of current serial titles on immigration law from many different jurisdictions. These are located on all floors of the Library. Titles are available in both print and electronic formats, unless indicated otherwise on the list below. For more detailed help, please refer to the guide on Finding journal articles.
The following titles focus particularly on immigration law but there may be relevant articles in less specialised journals:
Amnesty International report open access
European journal of migration and law e-journal
Georgetown immigration law journal e-journal
Human rights quarterly e-journal
Immigration and nationality law review e-journal
Journal of social welfare and family law e-journal
If you are interested in legislation or cases concerning immigration law issues in specific countries you will need to consult the legislation or law reports for that jurisdiction.
Consult the Library Search to find the general classmark for the country you require. Consult consolidations of legislation, digests or indexes to trace particular acts or cases.
Academic users may also use databases like Lexis/Westlaw to find UK, US, EU or international decisions. For further information please refer to Law Databases or ask at the Library Enquiry Desk.
You may also find it useful to refer to our guides on finding Legislation and Cases or check to see if we have a Jurisdiction Research Guide for the country you are interested in.
Eagle-i is an internet portal maintained and updated by IALS library staff. It allows you to search for quality web resources on immigration law.
A valuable free source is BAILII, the British and Irish Legal information Institute which is based and maintained at IALS. It provides free access to full text UK judgments and legislation on a wide range of subjects including Immigration Law and also links to other free World Law databases. Jurisdictions covered in these resources include Commonwealth countries eg. AustLII (Australia) and CanLII (Canada), France, Germany, Italy, the USA and South Africa.
The following represent a sample of the available quality individual web resources on Immigration Law:
Electronic Immigration Network (EIN)
European Council on Refugees and Exiles
Colin Fong ‘Researching the Legal Aspects of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom’ GlobaLex Guide February 2016
Human Rights Watch. Independent NGO
International Journal of Refugee Law. Gives access to abstracts and titles of articles from 1989-current. Subscribers have full text access from 1996 but a selection of more recent articles are Open Access.