Latest news with #asylumseeker
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Immigration court ruled a Sudanese asylum seeker with a deep voice and 'very hairy legs' was a child as physical attributes are 'not a useful indicator for age'
An immigration court has reportedly ruled a Sudanese asylum seeker as a child despite him having a 'deep voice' and 'very hairy legs'. The court's decision is said to have overruled a Home Office and council assessment who had claimed his physical appearance 'very strongly suggested' he was 'significantly over 18' and that he was likely to be around 24. But the upper tier of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber allegedly claimed these were not 'useful indicators' of a person's age and backed the asylum seeker's claims that he was aged 16. The Telegraph reported that the asylum seeker was said to have 'very mature hands with thick hair on his arms', a 'deep voice', a 'very mature face and beard', a 'receding hairline' and a 'pronounced Adam's apple'. They also say the court heard he had 'significant and deep lines on forehead that remain even when he is not making facial movements'. The asylum seeker, who was granted anonymity in the hearing, was reportedly visited by social services after arriving in the UK who said they believed he was an adult. However, it was alleged that there was a 'lack of care' in this visit and the court instead agreed with a later assessment which found he was 16 years old when he came to the country, boosting his chances of securing asylum. The asylum seeker arrived in the UK in December 2023 and told Home Office officials he was born on September 20, 2007. He said he fled Sudan due to war in the country and that he was afraid he would be kidnapped like three of his friends were. The asylum seeker said his mother and teachers at his school told him his date of birth, which the tribunal found was 'consistent' throughout the hearing. Upper Tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran said: 'We have reminded ourselves of the importance of not over-emphasising physical characteristics, but in any event having reviewed [photographs] we are satisfied they do not support their conclusions. We do not agree that the [asylum seeker] 'has a very mature face'. 'It is clear from the photographs that the [asylum seeker] did not have a beard or indeed any visible facial hair at all. We also note that the photograph of the applicant attached to the 'Age Assessment Self-Referral Form' does not show the [asylum seeker] as having any visible facial hair. 'We are not persuaded thick hair on a person's arms and legs is a useful indicator of age. We accept he has lines on his forehead. However, we do not consider they are either 'significant' or 'particularly deep'. Accordingly, we do not find we are assisted by [the] observations of [his] physical appearance.' Social workers last year made an assessment of the asylum seeker and found he was the age he had claimed to be. The social workers said: 'Based on the information available, we believe that the overwhelming evidence supports [the asylum seeker's] claimed age. 'We recognise that other professional judgments have deemed him to be over 18 years of age. However, most of this evidence is unreliable due to its content or lack of transparency concerning the processes undertaken when gathering this information, therefore we are unable to give their judgments significant weighting. 'There was no significant evidence collecting during our assessment interview that indicated [the asylum seeker] was older than his claimed age and we were able to address some of the concerns raised in the previous assessments, which [the asylum seeker] confidently and competently elaborated on to resolve.' Upper Tier Tribunal Judge Loughran added: 'In terms of our assessment, the applicant's physical appearance is of little value to our overall task, but we do not consider that the [asylum seeker]'s physical appearance provides material support for the respondent's conclusion that he is 8 years older than his claimed age.' The Home Office and council's assessment that he was an adult have been dismissed after the asylum seeker's date of birth was declared as September 20, 2007. The council will now foot the costs of the claim for judicial review.
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Guinean asylum seeker with convictions for drug dealing and carrying weapons can't be deported as he is 'socially and culturally integrated' in Britain, immigration tribunal told
An asylum seeker with multiple convictions has been allowed to stay in the UK after becoming 'socially and culturally integrated' in Britain, an immigration tribunal heard. The man, who is from Guinea and can not be named for legal reasons, amassed a 'significant number of criminal convictions' including those related to drug dealing and carrying a knife since arriving in the UK as a child in 2007. He was sentenced to 12 weeks' imprisonment for a criminal charge of possessing an offensive weapon in 2016, the tribunal heard. He was later jailed for two years and eight months after being convicted of four counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs in 2018, which triggered the Home Office move to deport him. The man was sentenced again in 2022 to 32 weeks' imprisonment for possession of a blade. In June 2023, his appeal against deportation went to the first-tier tribunal, which accepted that he was 'socially and culturally integrated into the UK' despite periods of homelessness and repeated criminal offending. The Home Office appealed against this decision, arguing the judge had 'failed to consider all of the relevant circumstances and the judge's reasoning was inadequate', the tribunal heard. But the Government has now lost this appeal, meaning the man has been allowed to stay in the UK on human rights grounds. Judge Leonie Hirst said that the first-tier tribunal considered that the man had 'arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied minor in 2007 and had resided in the UK ever since; had been educated in the UK and undertaken employment; had received social services support as a minor and medical support; and had had a long-term, albeit on-and-off, relationship with his girlfriend and her family'. The man sought asylum when he arrived in the UK but this was refused and his appeal rights were "exhausted" in 2011, the tribunal heard. Judge Hirst added: 'The conclusion that despite his offending the Respondent was socially and culturally integrated into the UK was one which was open to the judge on the evidence. 'His consideration of the various factors was clearly and adequately was no error of law in his reasoning or conclusion.' She also said there was 'no error' in the first-tier tribunal's finding that the man 'would not be enough of an insider in Guinea to be accepted there and be able to operate on a day to day basis'. The judge went on to say that Lisa Davies, a consultant forensic psychologist, found that the man 'presented with a low risk of reoffending and a low risk of causing serious harm if he were to reoffend'. She added: 'I consider that it was entirely open to the judge to rely on her report both in relation to the Respondent's mental health and his risk of reoffending. 'There was nothing irrational in the judge's finding, on the evidence before him, that the risk posed by the Respondent was low.'
