Palestinian family allowed to remain in UK after applying through Ukrainian refugee scheme

A Palestinian family that fled Gaza has been granted the right to live in the UK following an appeal – after they applied to enter the country through a Ukrainian refugee scheme.

The mother, father and their four children – who were aged seven, eight, 17 and 18 in September – were displaced after their home was destroyed by an airstrike in the Israel-Hamas war.

They applied for entry to the UK using the Ukraine Family Scheme to join the father’s brother, who has lived in the UK since 2007 and is a British citizen.

Their application was refused in May last year after the Home Office concluded the requirements of the scheme were not met.

The family of six, who have been granted anonymity, had an appeal against the decision dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal judge in September.

However they have been granted the right to live in the UK after upper tribunal judges allowed a further appeal, on the grounds of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects the right to family life, following a hearing in January.

The Home Office has said it contested the family’s claim “rigorously” at both tribunals.

It added that the family’s case is “very specific” and does not set a precedent for other potential applicants to follow the same process

Judge Hugo Norton-Taylor had said in his judgment at the upper tribunal: “We conclude that the respondent’s (Home Office’s) refusal of the collective human rights claim does not, on the particular facts of these cases, strike a fair balance between the appellants’ interests and those of the public.

“On a cumulative basis, the weight we attach to the considerations weighing on the appellants’ side of the scales demonstrates a very strong claim indeed. Put another way, there are very compelling or exceptional circumstances.

“Accordingly, the appellants’ appeals are allowed.”

The judge said the evidence shows the security and humanitarian situation in Gaza remains “exceptionally dangerous” and “dire”.

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He highlighted that the youngest children, now aged seven and nine, are “at a high risk of death or serious injury on a daily basis” and that it is “overwhelmingly” in their best interests to be in a safe or safer environment together with their parents and siblings.

Mr Norton-Taylor also detailed submissions by the Home Office which argued the absence of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians in Gaza was a “significant” consideration, and that allowing the appeals would be “a leap” in terms of the UK’s obligations to allow family members living in conflicts entry.

The judge referenced what he called a “floodgates” argument, in which the Home Office said an obligation to admit the family risked the same outcome applying to those in other conflicts around the world.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Home Office contested this claim rigorously at both the first and upper tier tribunal. 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.”