An Afghani wife from Pakistan has won the right to join her refugee husband in the UK because refusal by the Appeal Immigration Tribunal violated her Art 8 rights.
In refusing entry the Appeal Immigration Tribunal (AIT) said that under the Immigration Rules a wife could not join a husband who had limited leave to stay in the UK if they marry abroad after he came to seek asylum. The wife appealed on the grounds that it unlawfully interfered with family life under Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The AIT acknowledged that the Immigration Rules discriminate unfairly against such refugees particularly when other classes of migrants are not under such disability but it warned against using Art 8 to ‘correct perceived faults in legislative provisions’.
Richard Cahill, solicitor at Cahill De Fonseka and immigration specialist said that the lack of provisions for post-flight spouse to join recognised refugees in the UK was based on ‘concerns about speculative asylum claims’ and ‘entry clearance applications based on marriages of convenience’.
The Court of Appeal said that the tribunal was wrong to find
