Palestinian migrants have been granted the right to live in the UK after applying through a scheme
meant for Ukrainian refugees.
A family of six seeking to flee
Gaza have been allowed to join their brother in Britain after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application breached their human rights.
The family had made their application through the Ukraine Family Scheme and the decision to accept their case came despite warnings by lawyers for the Home Office that it could open the floodgates to “the admission of all those
in conflict zones with family in the UK”.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the case showed changes to human rights laws were needed so that Parliament, not judges, controlled who could settle in the UK.
It is the latest in a series of controversial decisions by immigration tribunals, revealed by The Telegraph, which include the case of an Albanian criminal whose deportation was halted partly because of his young son’s
aversion to foreign chicken nuggets.
The Palestinian family – a mother, father and four children aged seven to 18 – had seen their home destroyed by an air strike and were living in a Gaza refugee camp with daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks.
They applied using the Ukraine scheme’s form in January last year on the basis that it best fitted their circumstances and that their situation was so “compelling and compassionate” that their application should be granted outside its rules.
The Ukraine Family Scheme, set up in March 2022, allowed Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they had a relative who was a British citizen or settled in the UK. Some 72,000 visas were issued before
it closed last February.
The family’s claim was initially refused by a lower-tier immigration tribunal on the basis that it was outside the Ukraine programme’s rules, and that it was for Parliament to decide which countries should benefit from resettlement schemes.
However, Hugo Norton-Taylor, an upper tribunal judge, overturned that decision and granted the Palestinians’ appeal, allowing them to come to the UK on the basis of their Article 8 right to a family life under
the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
He said the rights of the individual family who were in an “extreme and life threatening” situation outweighed the “public interest” of the rules on entry to the UK, which were designed to limit resettlement schemes and control immigration.
The Home Office said that, despite the ruling, there was no resettlement scheme for people from Gaza and that it would contest similar claims in the future
The war in Gaza has displaced much of its two million-strong population Credit: Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images
The case, revealed in court documents, sparked criticism on Tuesday. Mr Philp said it was an “alarming and dangerous” judgment, which created “a basis for anyone in any conflict zone anywhere in the world with relations in the UK to come here”.
“There are two million people in Gaza alone and tens of millions around the world in conflict zones, many of whom will have relations living in the UK. We obviously cannot
accommodate all of them,” he said.
“The UK has generously helped people in Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan and Hong Kong with specific humanitarian schemes. We cannot have judges simply making up new schemes based on novel and expansive interpretations of human rights law.
“It is clearer than ever that radical changes to human rights laws are needed – so Parliament, and not judges, make decisions about eligibility to come to the UK. Now there is
a ceasefire in Gaza, I hope that the Government appeals this decision based on the new facts on the ground.”
Which areas host the most asylum seekers and refugees?
It comes at a time when the future for people living in Gaza is uncertain amid
calls by Donald Trump for the area to be cleared of inhabitants and rebuilt.
On Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister,
said he would restart the war if Hamas did not release hostages by midday on Saturday.
The UK has more than 34,000 outstanding immigration appeals, with many applicants using human rights laws to fight their removal. Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, have insisted Labour will not leave the ECHR and
will respect international law.
Asylum appeals backlog is growing
Number of initial and appeal (first-tier) asylum claims as of June each year
15.5k
8.8k
21.2k
11.4k
21.4k
5.5k
24.2k
6.6k
35k
5.3k
48.1k
6.2k
67.5k
7.2k
117.4k
6.4k
125.2k
9.4k
97.2k
34.2k
Initial decision backlog
Appeals backlog
Source: Telegraph analysis of Home Office and Ministry of Justice data
It comes as the Government seeks to ramp up
the returns of foreign criminals and illegal migrants, having removed nearly 19,000 since the election – the highest six-month total since 2017.
The court was told that the Palestinian husband and wife had lived in Gaza since 1994 but a brother had come to the UK in 2007 and been granted British citizenship. The court was told there had been no face-to-face contact with the brother for 17 years, but they had remained “close”.
Joanne Oxlade, the lower tier judge, rejected the application on the basis that it did not satisfy the rules and the Government had chosen not to introduce a resettlement scheme for Palestinians. She ruled “it was not for the tribunal to institute such a scheme”.
She had considered the fact that admitting the family could open the floodgates to people from conflicts all over the world.
However, Judge Norton-Taylor said the family was not seeking for either the Government or tribunal to institute some form of resettlement scheme or protect rights they did not enjoy. He said the absence of a resettlement scheme was “irrelevant” and instead it was about their rights to a family life under the ECHR outside the rules.
He rejected claims that it would open the floodgates and instead granted their appeal on the basis that it was a “very strong claim”. “Put another way, there are very compelling or exceptional circumstances,” he said.
A Home Office spokesman said it had contested the claim “rigorously”, adding: “The latter court ruled against us on the narrow facts of this specific case. Nevertheless, we are clear that there is no resettlement route from Gaza, and we will continue to contest any future claims that do not meet our rules.”
