S Chelvan

Practice Areas

Refugee and Immigration Law. Public Law. Civil Liberties. LGBTQ+ rights.

Career

Chelvan is a globally recognised legal expert on refugee and human rights claims based on sexual or gender identity and expression. He is instructed on cases in the UK up to and including the Supreme Court, and the Strasbourg Court. Chelvan is specifically renowned to adopt a symbiotic approach to spearhead strategic litigation, academic research, and policy development in refugee and migration law.

Chelvan has practised in the field of LGBT+ asylum since 2001 and has earned a reputation for being the leading legal expert in the UK, spearheading some of the leading cases since 2005 as well as providing consultation to the United Nations, the IOM, national governmental departments, lawyers, and NGOs.

2024-2025: Forthcoming cases/pending judgment (see Asylum section for more details): MI v Switzerland (European Court of Human Rights, intervention in application of gay man from Iran, awaiting judgment); Secretary of State for the Home Department v PG (Court of Appeal, 5 February 2025, Home Office appeal against Upper Tribunal determination allowing deportation appeal of gay man from Sri Lanka); and Secretary of State for the Home Department v KR (Upper Tribunal, Home Office appeal, Substanative appeal hearing 1 October 2024, Albanian young man).

Chelvan holds a First in Politics and Law from the University of Southampton (1998), an LLM from Harvard Law School (2001, Kennedy Memorial Trust Scholar), and was awarded a PhD in Law from King’s College London in June 2019 - his thesis was entitled: ‘At the End of the Rainbow: Where Next for the Queer Refugee?’. From 1 September 2022, Chelvan is an Adjunct Professor, at the University of Southampton (Centre for International Law and Globalisation, Southampton Law School). Chelvan gave the Inaugural lecture for the Centre on 18 April 2023 ('UK Refugee Law in 2023 - An Activist Lawyer's perspective'). Chelvan has been advising Lord Etherton on the asylum law implications of both the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, the Illegal Migration Act 2023, and the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 (Hansard: House of Lords, Illegal Migration Bill: 10 May 2023, Column 1791) "I acknowledge from the outset the great assistance that I have received in discussions with Dr S Chelvan, a barrister with particular expertise and experience in immigration law". In 2025, "Landmark Cases in International Refugee Law" will be published, with Chelvan contributing to the book with a chapter on the 2010 UK Supreme Court's landmark judgment in HJ (Iran) (eds. Professors Kirsten Mcconnachie and Sarah Singer, Bloomsbury Publihsing Plc).

Chelvan provides training to Judges, lawyers, NGOs,activists and those seeking asylum. His public speaking has earned him an international reputation as a charismatic and engaging speaker - examples range from giving the 11th Stonewall Lecture in February 2013 highlighting to a national audience for the first time the extreme lengths gay asylum-seekers were taking to prove their sexual identity, through to giving intensive legal training on 18 and 25 November 2020 to students, lawyers, NGOs, UNHCR colleagues, and Adjudicators based in Hong Kong and the region on his Difference, Stigma, Shame and Harm ('DSSH') model and LGBT+ asylum (invitation of UNHCR Hong Kong and Hong Kong University). On 23 February 2022 having previously filed written evidence Chelvan gave oral evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee on how the UK aproaches Equality and Asylum Claims and what impact the Nationality and Borders Biill will have on asylum applicants, specifically from an LGBT+ Asylum and Human Rights Perspective (report published 27 June 2023, see section 4, paragraphs 53 to 70). On 12 October 2022, Chelvan was one of a three panel of experts who provided training to over 100 Court and Triubnal Judges across Europe, on Asylum Claims based on Sexual-orientation and Gender Identity/Expression for the European Union Asylum Agency ('EUAA'). On 8 and 9 December 2022, Chelvan was one of the invited external experts to particpate in the 2022 annual meeting of the EUAA Pool of Judicial Experts in Malta, "Judicial skills for international protection". Chelvan's presentation addressed his "Safe SPACE model", addressing how Judges can create a Safe Space for refugee applicants from a SOGIE (Sexual-orientation/identity, Gender identity and expression) perspective. On 10 May 2023, Chelvan gave the Keynote speech to over 300 delegates attending the iCaSH conference speaking on, 'Legal Protection Needs of Migrant Clients through an Intersectional Lens'. On 20 June 2023, Chelvan was part of a three-expert panel for World Refugee Day, at the University of Southampton (Lost Homes, New Horizons). On 15 November 2023, Chelvan was the invited guest for Mishcon de Reya LLP's "20 years since Section 28" event with Mishcon Academy and Pride Network.

Legal Commentator - Chelvan provides legal commentray to national and international media outlets - see Publications and Media Section below, for example, Sangita Myska on LBC, 18 November 2023, " 'Rwanda is not safe for refugees' says top human rights lawyer" and 3 February 2024, "Why was the Clapham attack suspect granted asylum for converting to Christianity?"; "Sky News, 13 October 2022, "Urgent need for Legal Reform in Prisons"; 5 December 2023, Mark Austin, "Home Secretary signs new asylum treaty in Rwanda", and Henry Vaughan, "Shamima Begum: What happens next for east London schoolgirl stripped of British nationality?", 23 February 2024; ITV News "Can people really claim asylum for 'simply being gay'?" (Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor); BBC World News with Lucy Grey, 15 November 2023, "UK government loses Supreme Court Rwanda ruling" 1 October 2023; BBC World News with Lucy Hockings, 12 December 2023 "Rwanda Bill" and BBC World News 'The Context with Christian Fraser', "40,000 people cross the Channel in small boats", 1 November 2022, "Prime Minister's 5-point plan for Albania" 13 December 2022, 29 March 2023 "UK asylum housing plans", 20 April 2023 "UK attempts to amend Illegal Migration Bill", 29 June 2023 "UK-Rwanda asylum plan ruled unlawful"; 7 August 2023 "UK starts housing migrants on barge", 10 August 2023 "Migrants moved off barge due to Legionella", 26 September 2023 "Braverman: being gay not sufficient for asylum", 17 November 2023 "UK revises plans to send illegal migrants to Rwanda", 5 December 2023 "UK-Rwanda sign new asylum treaty", ;12 December 2023 "Government wins Rwanda vote", and 13 May 2024 "Judge rules Rwanda law does not apply in Nothers Ireland".

Chelvan tweets from @S_Chelvan, and toots from @[email protected]

Professional Memberships

(since 26 May 2023): Trustee, Albany Trust;

(since 1 September 2022 to 31 July 2025): Visiting Adjunct Professor, University of Southampton (Centre for International Law and Globalisation, Southampton Law School) Part-time Lecturer (since 1 October 2023) (International Law, the Individual and Globalisation (2023/24 and 2024/25 LLM Program: Semester One), and Contemporary Issues in International Refugee Law ((2023/24 and 2024/25 LLM Program Semester Two); and

(January 2022, re-elected 2023, and 2024): Inaugural Chair of the Executive Committee and Senior Member of the Advisory Committee, Association of British Tamil Lawyers;

Publications

Recent and forthcoming Publications:

'Landmark Cases in International Refugee Protection - Contributing Chapter on HJ (Iran) (eds Singer, S and Mcconnachie, K) (Bloomsbury Publishing plc, publication in 2025).

'The Transgender Issue' (Shon Faye) Contributed interview on UK approach trans asylum claims in the UK (September 2021).

'Transgender In Law' (Robin White and Nichola Newbegin). Chelvan acted as contributing legal consultant to 'Chapter 20: Asylum' (May 2021).

'The Queer Outside in Law' (eds. Senthoran Raj and Peter Dunne) - 'Chapter Four: The DSSH Model: The Voice of the Silenced - Aderonke Apata' Dr Chelvan, Palgrave (published 2 December 2020).

'Removing the Mask: Locating 'The Martyr'': Reviewing UK Home Office Country of Origin Information relating to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression ('SOGIE') Protection Claims. (approx. 400 page review of 31 COI reports) (10 February 2020, IAGCI reviewed 31 March 2020, Indepdent Chief Inspector report passed to Home Secretary on 13 October 2020. Both the ICI's report (Chelvan's report at Annex C), and the Home Office response to the report were published by the Home Secretary on 8 December 2020. Out of Chelvan's 10 recommendations, six were fully accepted by the Home Office and two were partially accepted (see pages 6 to 7 of main report). The ICI, when publishing the report, stated:

"The Independent Advisory Group on Country Information (IAGCI) and I are grateful to Dr Chelvan for his painstaking thematic review of the Home Office’s Country of Origin (COI) products dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity or expression covering 30 countries.

...

The Home Secretary has referred to fixing the “broken” asylum system. While the production and use of COI is not broken, any review of the system must ensure that it is as good as it can be in supporting efficient and effective decision making."

Expert in these Jurisdictions

England and Wales

Awards

Education