Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 contains a mandatory duty for the Home Office and others making immigration decisions to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK as they carry out their functions.
There is a separate and additional duty within Article 3(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. It is important to note that the scope of the duty is broad, meaning that any immigration decision taken within the UK should include a consideration of this duty.
In the landmark case of ZH (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 4, the UK Supreme Court considered the best interests of the child in a mother’s appeal to the Supreme Court against her removal from the UK. In the Supreme Court decision, Lady Hale held that the best interests of a child must be considered first before going on to consider whether other factors might act as differing considerations – such as the need to maintain immigration control or the parent’s poor immigration history.
We can therefore infer that children’s rights are an important public interest consideration in any removal or deportation decision. The prospects of successfully defending a removal or deportation decision will, however, vary on a case-by-case basis.
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The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
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