Darragh Coffey recently represented a 28 year old Mauritian man before the First Tier Tribunal in an appeal against the Home Office’s refusal to grant him Leave to Remain (“LTR”) on the basis of his private and family life in the UK.
Mr B had been brought to the UK by his parents as a child along with his younger brother. The family overstayed their visa and despite attempts to regularise their position, he has been here without immigration status ever since. Because of his largely absent father, Mr B became his younger brother’s de facto parent and his mother’s carer when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Following their mother’s death and their estranged father’s departure for Mauritius, the two brothers became each other’s only immediate family. Due to his younger age, Mr B’s brother was recently granted leave to remain in the UK under the Immigration Rules, on the basis that there would be very significant obstacles to his reintegration in Mauritius. However, Mr B’s application for LTR was refused by the Home Office.
Appearing remotely before the First Tier Tribunal, Darragh successfully argued that Mr B would also face very significant obstacles to integrating in Mauritius as, though he was older than his brother when they left Mauritius, he had spent his formative years in the UK, was estranged from his father and had no other family, contacts or support in his home country. On this basis, the Tribunal held that Mr B was entitled to LTR under the Immigration Rules.
The Tribunal also accepted Darragh’s argument that Mr B had, for the purposes of Article 8 of the ECHR, established a private life in the UK and a family life here with his adult brother. The Tribunal went on to hold that given the exceptional circumstances in this case, even if he had not been entitled to LTR under the Immigration Rules, it would have been disproportionate for Mr B to be required to return to Mauritius. The appeal was allowed.
Darragh was instructed by Anu Huneewoth of Huneewoth Solicitors.
