Case Study 5: Unlawful Deportation

VIM – This lady is a citizen of the Philippines. She arrived in the UK on 29 February 1992 when she was admitted for six months as a visitor and applied for asylum which was refused on 9 June 1998. She was served on 2 November 1998 with a Notice of Intention to Deport her and her appeal against that decision was dismissed on 25 March 1999. In fact, her appeal rights were exhausted eventually on 27 May 1999.

On 16 March 2002 VIM married a British citizen and an application for her to remain in the UK as a spouse of a British citizen was made to the Home Office on 22 January 2003. Further representations followed but nothing was heard from the Home Office for some time until, on 1 August 2006, the Secretary of State for the Home Department informed the firm that a Deportation Order had been signed and served on the client and if she did not inform the Immigration Authorities of her plans to leave the United Kingdom by the close of play on 7 August 2006 arrangements for her deportation would be made.

With immediate effect an application was made for judicial review of the decision of the Secretary of State to deport the client. It was argued that such deportation would be unlawful and ought to be revoked on the basis that the Home Office had given an undertaking in the case of Pardipan vs SSHD (2000) INLR 447 that those unable to raise human rights claims during the course of their asylum appeal because the refusal of asylum had given rise to the first appeal took place before 2 October 2000 (i.e. before the coming into the force of the Human Rights Act) would be given time to raise them subsequently and to appeal if necessary.

On the above basis the Secretary of State conceded that he had no right to deport the Appellant and accordingly withdrew his intention to do so, giving the client the right of appeal on human rights grounds. A Consent Order was eventually signed by this firm with the Treasury Solicitor who has agreed to pay the client’s costs to be assessed by the Court if the amount is not agreed.