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A self-employed taxi driver, a Pakistani national who built a life and family in the UK since 2019, has been granted a crucial reprieve from immediate automatic deportation following a dramatic hearing at the Upper Tribunal in Manchester. The case shines a harsh light on the complex intersection of criminal justice, immigration law, and the fundamental right to family life, specifically as the British government moves to severely restrict how migrants can use family connections to fight removal.
The driver, a man in his late 30s whose identity has been protected by the tribunal, faces automatic removal from the United Kingdom after being sentenced to 20 months in jail on November 23, 2022, for a serious dangerous driving offense. The court heard that in the course of his professional duties one evening, the father-of-two drove through a red light and struck an elderly woman on a marked pedestrian crossing, causing her serious injury, before tragically leaving the scene. The gravity of the crime triggered the automatic deportation process.
A Professional's Nightmare and Family Ruin
For a professional driver, a conviction for dangerous driving is catastrophic, representing not just a legal failure but a profound professional one. The man, who entered the UK on a spouse visa in 2019, has since settled into his trade, driving to support his growing British family.
However, the consequences of the conviction extended far beyond the courtroom. While he was incarcerated, the relationship with his now ex-wife, a British national and the mother of his children, fractured completely. The tribunal heard that divorce proceedings were initiated, and his wife has since blocked all contact, not permitting him to see either his elder daughter, born in 2020, or his newborn baby—a child he has never even met and whose name he does not know.
In his appeal, the Pakistani national argued that his deportation would constitute a "disproportionate interference" with his right to family life with his two young British daughters, enshrined under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He asserted that prior to his imprisonment, he played a "full and active role" in his elder daughter's life, and he believes his ex-wife would never permit the children to visit him in Pakistan.
Upper Tribunal Demands Clarity on Paternal Ties
A lower tribunal had previously acknowledged the father had a "genuine and sustained parental relationship" with his children, but nonetheless rejected his appeal, ruling that deportation would not be "unduly harsh" on the minors.
This finding was overruled by Upper Tribunal Judge Gaenor Bruce, who recognized a critical omission. The judge underscored that the ongoing proceedings in the Family Court, which the father is pursuing in an effort to re-establish contact with his daughters, would be "plainly... relevant" to the core question of the appeal: whether his removal would be too harsh on the children.
"A specialist consideration of the relationships the [Pakistani] has with his children, of the sort conducted by the Family Court, would plainly also be relevant to that matter," Judge Bruce stated, emphasizing the need for a full assessment of the true strength of his paternal bond before an ultimate deportation decision can be reached.
Consequently, the Upper Tribunal has set aside the original decision. The driver's case will be reheard, pending the outcome of the Family Court proceedings, giving the estranged father a temporary, yet vital, lifeline to remain in the country with his children. The decision comes as the Government prepares to enforce tougher immigration reforms designed to limit the use of "family life" rights by criminal migrants to avoid deportation.
