Albanian criminal allowed to stay in UK because video calls would be ‘harsh' on stepson
Dritan Mazreku, 29, took on a 'paternal role' for his 15-year-old stepson when he entered a relationship with the boy's mother a decade ago, an immigration tribunal was told.
After the Albanian national was jailed, he faced deportation but a judge ruled that he could remain in the UK because it would be 'unduly harsh' on his stepson if he were to be removed from the UK.
The immigration judge said that 'modern means' of communication were 'no substitute' for physical presence and regular visits to Albania would be 'unmanageable' for the family.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, argued against the decision and said that the 'fit and healthy young man' could continue to support his stepson from Albania. However, this has now been dismissed by an immigration judge who upheld the decision to allow Mazreku to stay in the UK.
The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example exposed by The Telegraph where migrants or convicted foreign criminals have won the right to remain in the UK or halt their deportations, often by citing breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
They include an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation after claiming that his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, and a Pakistani paedophile who was jailed for child sex offences but escaped removal from the UK as it would be 'unduly harsh' on his own children.
There are a record 41,987 outstanding immigration appeals, largely on human rights grounds, which threaten to hamper Labour's efforts to fast-track removal of illegal migrants. The backlog has risen by nearly a quarter since September and is up nearly 500 per cent from just 7,173 at the start of 2022.
The Government is considering whether to restrict illegal migrants from exploiting the ECHR's Article 8 right to a family to block their deportations.
Ministers are also said to be considering plans to change the law to introduce a mandatory 24-week legal deadline for all asylum appeals to be heard, reducing the timeframe by half.
The right to a family life was central to the case of Mazreku, who came to the UK in 2014 and the following year began a relationship with a Latvian national who had a son from an ex-partner.
'Paternal role'
Mazreku took on the 'paternal role' for the child, who was five at the time and had 'no relationship' with his biological father. He married his partner in 2017, giving him the right to remain in Britain. However, he was jailed for an unspecified crime and faced deportation.
He appealed the decision and a judge at the First Tier Immigration Tribunal found that this would be 'unduly harsh' on his stepson, who is now a teenager and 'remembers no other father'.
The judge ruled: 'There can be little doubt that regular visits to Albania would be unmanageable.
'Communication by 'modern means' is no substitute for physical presence.'
The Home Secretary appealed the lower tribunal decision, arguing that the judge 'erred in law', adding: 'Limited weight can be given to [Mazreku] keeping his stepson safe bearing in mind his conviction.'
It was argued that Mazreku did not provide support during his incarceration or during a period of separation with the teenager's mother.
'Well-reasoned' decision
Lawyers representing Mazreku argued that the decision made by the judge was 'well-reasoned'.
The court was told: 'The Judge makes it clear that the most important factor is that this is a child who has experienced abandonment before, and this is what makes the effect on him unduly harsh.
'The Judge notes that the family is relatively poor and being able to travel to Albania regularly is a remote possibility.
'He notes that throughout his incarceration and his separation from the child's mother [Mazreku] kept in contact.'
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