Deportation of a Great Grand Mother

Problem

The Home Office wanted to deport to Australia a ninety three year old great grandmother , who had applied for permission to remain as the dependent of her grand daughter, a British Citizen. The great grandmother was in robust health and would be able to survive should she be returned to her home country. She enjoyed private medical insurance. The Home Office refused the application because she did not meet the requirement of the relevant Immigration Rule which stated:-

The applicant or, if the applicant and their partner are the sponsor's parents or grandparents, the applicant's partner, must be unable, even with the practical and financial help of the sponsor, to obtain the required level of care in the country where they are living, because -

(a) it is not available and there is no person in that country who can reasonably provide it;
or
(b) it is not affordable

Strategy

An appeal was lodged.

A GP’s letter was obtained commenting on the effects of Immigration detention on a woman of her age.

Statements were taken from my client and her grand daughter.

A detailed analysis was taken of the great grandmother’s diary entries over the five years prior to her arrival in the United Kingdom. These showed the steady decline in any form of human interaction from eight social events / conversations a month, to just six over the course of a year, each of them a one off.

Reliance was placed on academic texts on the effects of loneliness on the elderly. ( Oppenheimer) ( Cacioppo )

Submissions were drafted setting out that loneliness damages the mental health of the elderly. It is not a condition that could be treated by professional carers, as it is only assuaged by the bonds of human affection. Consequently she met the Immigration Rule as there was no person who could provide the care she required in her home country.

Solution

The Home Office conceded before the appeal and Leave to Remain was granted.