Pakistani criminal won’t be deported from UK – due to his daughter’s terrifying Sickness

A Pakistani man who was facing deportation has won a human rights appeal allowing him to remain in the UK after a tribunal ruled that removing him would have a devastating effect on his 14-year-old daughter’s mental health.

The 51-year-old was due to be deported after serving a three-year prison sentence for offences involving criminal property. Under UK immigration rules, his conviction automatically led to deportation proceedings. However, he challenged the Home Office’s decision and successfully argued that sending him back to Pakistan would have an extremely harmful impact on his family.

During the immigration tribunal hearing, judges were told that his youngest daughter had been struggling badly ever since she learned that her father could be removed from the UK. Reports presented to the court said the teenager had become emotionally overwhelmed, with her eating and sleeping badly affected by the fear of losing him.

The tribunal heard that she had withdrawn from normal life, stopped going to school regularly, isolated herself from friends and family, and had even spoken about suicidal thoughts. A counsellor also warned that her unhealthy relationship with food had become a serious concern, raising fears that she could develop an eating disorder if her mental health continued to decline.

A council social worker told the court there were significant concerns about the girl’s wellbeing, explaining that she had been deeply traumatised by her father’s imprisonment and the ongoing uncertainty over whether he would be deported.

The case comes at a time when Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is pushing for changes to immigration laws. The proposed reforms are aimed at making it harder for foreign criminals and illegal migrants to use human rights arguments to avoid deportation, while also speeding up immigration appeals to prevent last-minute legal challenges from delaying removals.

The man, identified only as IA because he was granted anonymity, first arrived in the UK in 2000 when he was 26 years old. Although he had lived lawfully in Britain for the past 13 years, his 2021 conviction for offences involving criminal property resulted in a three-year prison sentence and triggered automatic deportation action.

The tribunal also heard that IA’s wife suffers from several serious health conditions, including lupus, diabetes and the effects of previous strokes. Because of her illnesses, IA had become her main carer and played a key role in supporting the family at home.

After considering all the evidence, Upper Tribunal Judge Joseph Neville ruled that deporting IA would leave his younger daughter without a capable primary carer and would cause exceptional emotional harm. The judge found that the impact on the teenager would be “unduly harsh” and concluded that allowing the deportation to go ahead would not be in her best interests.

As a result, the tribunal allowed IA’s human rights appeal, meaning he can remain in Britain despite his criminal conviction. The decision is likely to add to the ongoing debate over whether foreign criminals should be able to rely on family life and human rights laws to stop deportation from the UK.