DM, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
| Court | King's Bench Division (Administrative Court) |
| Judge | Mr Justice Lavender |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 967 (Admin) |
| Date | 26 April 2024 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Counsel | Raza Husain Kc,Jason Pobjoy,Eleanor Mitchell,Sonali Naik Kc,Rebecca Chapman,Ali Bandegani,Lisa Giovannetti Kc,Jack Anderson |
Case No: CO/3534/2020
AC-2020-LON-002769
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING’S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINSTRATIVE COURT
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 26/04/2024
Before:
Mr Justice Lavender
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Between:
THE KING
on the application of
DM
Claimant
- and -
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE
THE HOME DEPARTMENT
UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER
FOR REFUGEES
Defendant
Intervener
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Raza Husain KC, Jason Pobjoy and Eleanor Mitchell
(instructed by Duncan Lewis) for the Claimant
Sonali Naik KC, Rebecca Chapman and Ali Bandegani
(instructed by Baker & McKenzie LLP) for the Intervener
Lisa Giovannetti KC and Jack Anderson (instructed by the Government Legal Department)
for the Defendant
Hearing date: 17 January 2024
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
JUDGMENT
R (DM) v SSHD
Mr Justice Lavender:
(1) Introduction
1. In this application for judicial review, the claimant contends that the Immigration
Rules should be changed so as to provide a route to family reunion for child refugees.
The effect, in summary, of the relevant Immigration Rules as they currently stand is
as follows:
(1) in the case of refugees who are adults, the Immigration Rules provide that,
subject to certain conditions, their partners and minor children may obtain
leave to enter the United Kingdom for the purposes of family reunion; but
(2) in the case of refugees who are children, there is no provision in the
Immigration Rules for their parents or minor siblings to obtain leave to enter
the United Kingdom for the purposes of family reunion, with the result that
those parents or siblings have to apply for leave to enter outside the
Immigration Rules.
2. Following a hearing on 15 and 16 June 2022 (“the first hearing”) and several rounds
4109. In that judgment (“the principal judgment”), I dismissed the claimant’s first
two grounds for seeking judicial review, but adjourned my decision on ground 3,
which was a challenge to the rationality of what was described in the claim form as
the defendant’s “ongoing decision that parents and siblings of refugee children will
not be entitled to family reunion on the same basis as the spouses and children of
adult refugees under the Immigration Rules”.
3. I adjourned my decision on ground 3 in order to give the claimant the opportunity, if
so advised in the light of the developments since the hearing and/or the contents of the
principal judgment, to apply for permission to amend his grounds so as to challenge
consideration to the possibility of changing the Immigration Rules so as to provide a
route to family reunion for child refugees.
4. The principal judgment sets out the relevant Immigration Rules, relevant parts of the
associated Family Reunion Guidance and developments in relation to the relevant
Immigration Rules since 2016. I do not propose to repeat those matters in this
judgment.
5. I note that the Immigration Rules were changed pursuant to a statement of changes
dated 12 April 2023. The relevant Immigration Rules were removed from the body of
the rules and placed in a new Annex entitled “Family Reunion (Protection)”. I am
which would formerly have been made and, if successful, allowed outside the
Immigration Rules, can now be made and allowed under the Immigration Rules, by
virtue of paragraphs 7.1 and 8.1 of the Annex. However, the criteria for such an
application remain the same as before.
(2) The Proposed Amendments
Page 2
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
