A CHRISTIAN mother of Pakistani origin has failed in her latest bid to remain in the UK.

The woman, who lives in Burnley, had sought a judicial review over the Home Secretary’s decision to reject her appeal against deportation for her and her seven-year-old daughter.

An Immigration and Asylum tribunal hearing in Manchester was told how following the issue of several visitation visas the woman, her now estranged husband, and their daughter entered the United Kingdom for the last time on February 25, 2015 and overstayed. The last visa they were issued expiring on August 25, 2015.

Tribunal Judge Judith Gleeson said: “The applicant’s daughter was two-years-old then. The applicant says that she separated from her husband on June 8, 2016 and that he remains in the United Kingdom, but she does not know where he lives now.

“On April 29, 2015 the applicant made an asylum claim but on August 14, 2015 the Home Secretary refused that claim. The applicant had, and exercised, a full in-country right of appeal and became appeal rights exhausted on July 20, 2016. The First-tier Judge found that the applicant was not a reliable or credible witness and that her core account of being at risk of persecution as a Christian, and the subject of a fatwa, was untrue.

“The applicant made further submissions on June 2, 2017 which were refused in a refusal letter of September 8, 2018. Removal directions and notice of immigration bail were served. The applicant and her daughter did not embark for Pakistan and were not removed. The applicant and her daughter have not had access to public funds or accommodation since then.”

The tribunal was told that the woman appealed against the deportation decision in January 2019 but that was rejected because she had provided no new evidence to challenge that decision.

It was that rejection by the Home Secretary that the woman had sought a judicial review against, which was granted in October.

The Government had offered to review their decision to reject the woman’s deportation appeal within three months and make no order for costs if the woman withdrew her application for a judicial review. However the woman rejected that offer.

In her judicial review, which she spoke at with the assistance of an Urdu interpretor, the woman asked the Judge to grant refugee status for her and her daughter – something Judge Gleeson had now power to do. She also complained about issues with housing support provided by Manchester City Council and by Burnley Borough Council but provided no evidence to support her claims.

The judicial review failed, with Judge Gleeson stating that the only powers she had was to order the Home Secretary to reconsider and make a fresh decision on the woman’s last appeal – an offer which had already been made.