Human Rights

Human Rights – Family Life

The government, on 2nd October 2000, allowed rights under the European Convention of Human Rights to become incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act.

This and other legal changes arising out of subsequent Immigration Acts mean that in Human Rights arguments can be raised in all appeals before Immigration Judges, not just Asylum appeals. The most commonly raised argument in Human Rights appeals is based upon family life that may be split if one member is removed from the United Kingdom.

These rights are provided for by Article 8 which states:

1 Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2 There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

This is not a simple area of law and needs specialist advice. What we look to do in family life cases is:

Gain evidence of the family ties, it is not enough merely to state that you have family in the UK, the family members must support the application or appeal by making statements, attending court, providing photographs and other documents showing the closeness of the family ties.

We then seek to show that the closeness of the ties, as well as the profile of our client outweighs the Home Office’s desire to return the person to the country of origin. We will do this by looking at the case as a whole and producing a detailed and lengthy list of reasons why our client should be allowed to remain in the country, including length of residence in the United Kingdom, medical issues, delay on the part of the Home Office, previous immigration history, previous criminal history, cultural factors, conditions in the country of origin and any other compassionate factors.

The law in this area changes frequently and our experienced lawyers are on hand to counsel and represent clients to ensure best prospects of success.

Asylum and human rights are complex areas of law and legal representation is essential to obtain a successful outcome. A majority of applications are refused at the initial application stage by the Home Office and it is necessary to lodge an appeal which is heard initially by an immigration judge. It may also be possible to pursue applications to the High Court for Statutory Review or Judicial Review.

Amongst London immigration lawyers, barristers, or solicitors, we are confident to provide professional, honest, and the best immigration legal service for our clients from local or around the world.