Dr Jasmin El-Shewy

Jasmin is a legal geographer interested in the constitutive relationship of law and space through the study of migration. Her work addresses these themes in Europe and the Middle East. In the UK she studies spousal migration and the everyday experience of immigration rules through bordering practices.  In the Middle East, Jasmin considers colonial legacies that are shaping modern geographic and legal spaces in the context of forced migration.

Across her writing and teaching, she draws on a range of post-/de-colonial legal theories to better understand structural manifestations of post-colonial power imbalances and global economic disparities. 

Jasmin is a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the ESRC-funded UK-EU Couples after Brexit Project (www.brexitcouples.ac.uk; PI: Prof. Katharine Charsley and Prof. Helena Wray, 2022 - 2026).

Before Brexit, couples with one UK and one EU (or EEA/ Swiss) partner could live together easily in the UK under EU law. Now, if the partner does not have settled or pre-settled status, they need a visa or leave to remain in the UK under the UK’s immigration rules.

This project explores the overlooked impact of Brexit on couples when the partner must apply for leave as a spouse or partner under British immigration law. What experiences do these couples share? What different challenges do they face? What do UK immigration policy and systems look like from their perspectives? How does the inclusion of this new group affect perceptions of the UK immigration system?