Lawyers have filed what is believed to be the first appeal at the Immigration Tribunal on behalf of a female Afghan judge denied leave to enter the UK to be reunited with family living in Britain – including a nephew who works for the Civil Service.

Law firms Kingsley Napley and Jenner & Block London, and Garden Court Chambers barrister Helen Foot, are acting pro bono for the judge, known as ‘Y’, and her son, who fled Afghanistan and are currently hiding in Pakistan.

The judge and her son are seeking formal leave to enter the UK. Applications were submitted on their behalf in November last year. Arguments were made under article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights - the right to respect for private and family life – and ‘compelling, compassionate reasons’ were given to grant leave outside the immigration rules, Kingsley Napley said.

However in a decision apparently against government policy, the Home Office rejected the applications, prompting the appeal.

Oliver Oldman, an immigration solicitor at Kingsley Napley, told the Gazette that the tribunal has to acknowledge receipt of the appeal, following which the Home Office will be asked to provide the evidence behind refusal decisions. Any appeal hearing could be several months down the line.

Oldman said: ‘If any case should be granted on compassionate grounds, it is this one. Our client is in constant fear she will be discovered and deported back to Afghanistan where she and her son’s personal safety is at risk. She has close family here who want to look after her, notably at no cost to the British taxpayer.

‘The UK government has a moral duty to permit our clients safe passage, given the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and this judge’s life-long commitment to protecting the rights of women and children as well as the rule of law and upholding democratic values in Afghanistan.’

‘Throughout the last year, the government has said those seeking protection in the UK should utilise safe and legal routes. Here we have two applicants, fleeing the most acute danger in Afghanistan, who have tried through these supposed legal routes to reach safety in the UK and join their family.’

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The UK is taking a leading role in the international response to supporting at-risk Afghan citizens and has made one of the largest resettlement commitments of any country. This includes welcoming over 21,000 Afghan women, children and other at-risk groups to the UK through a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.’

 

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