Deportation success stories
Case Studies
Deportation decisions successfully challenged
A criminal conviction does not automatically mean removal from the UK. The
following anonymised matters show how carefully evidenced representations persuaded the Home
Office to decide not to deport our clients.
EEA national retains the right to reside following a deportation decision
Background
Our client, a Polish national who had built his life in the United Kingdom, was served
with a notice that he was liable to deportation following a criminal conviction. As an EEA
national, his case fell to be considered under the Immigration (European Economic Area)
Regulations 2016, which afford qualifying EU citizens significantly stronger protection
against removal than the regime applied to other foreign nationals.
The challenge
To deport an EEA national, the Home Office must show that the decision is justified on
grounds of public policy or public security, that the individual’s personal conduct
represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the
fundamental interests of society, and that removal is a proportionate response. The bar is
deliberately high, and each element has to be properly evidenced — not simply asserted on
the basis of a past conviction.
Our approach
We prepared detailed written representations responding to the deportation decision notice.
These addressed the statutory test head-on: the nature and circumstances of the offending,
the question of current and future risk, our client’s rehabilitation, his length of
residence and degree of integration in the UK, and his family and private life. We set out
why deportation would be disproportionate when weighed against these factors and the
protections available under the EEA Regulations.
The outcome
Having considered our representations and the evidence as a whole, the Home Office decided
not to deport our client from the United Kingdom. He is able to continue
residing in the UK for as long as he holds a right to do so, and his EU Settlement Scheme
position was referred back for consideration on the basis that he is no longer subject to a
deportation decision.
Deportation decision resisted for an EEA national after a custodial sentence
Background
Our client, a Polish national living in the United Kingdom, faced deportation after
receiving a custodial sentence. The Secretary of State served a deportation decision notice
and gave consideration to whether he should be removed from the UK on public-policy
grounds.
The challenge
Because our client is an EEA national, the Home Office could only proceed with deportation
if it could demonstrate that his personal conduct represented a genuine, present and
sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental interest of society, and that removal was
proportionate in all the circumstances. A custodial sentence alone is not enough to meet
that test.
Our approach
We submitted comprehensive representations in response to the deportation decision. Our
submissions focused on the level of risk our client actually presented, the steps he had
taken since his conviction, the strength of his ties to the United Kingdom, and the
disproportionate impact that removal would have on him and those connected to him — all
measured against the demanding standard the EEA Regulations require the Home Office to
satisfy.
The outcome
Following careful consideration of our representations, the Home Office confirmed that it
would not deport our client on this occasion. He remains lawfully in the
UK. As is standard in these cases, the decision came with a warning that his position could
be reconsidered if he comes to adverse notice in future — making continued compliance with
UK law important going forward.
These case studies describe genuine outcomes but have been anonymised.
Past results do not guarantee a particular outcome in any other case; every matter turns on its
own facts.