Home Office Blocked from Moving Vulnerable Father away from his Young Child (8 October 2025)

Our Public Law team has successfully stopped the Home Office from relocating a vulnerable father — who has severe mental health challenges and a history of homelessness — far from his hometown and his young child. The judicial review upheld his right to remain close to his family and receive the support he needs.

Our client had previously been granted Discretionary Leave to Remain in the UK on the basis of his relationship with his child. That leave expired in 2024. Due to destitution and homelessness, he submitted a fee waiver application to renew his status. A further fee waiver remains under consideration.

After spending nearly two years sleeping rough, our client, in desperation, handed himself in to immigration authorities simply to obtain shelter. He was detained for several weeks, which severely affected his mental health, and was released back into homelessness when the Home Office failed to verify properly the address he provided.

With the kind assistance of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, he applied for support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Although accommodation was eventually granted, the Home Office shortly after proposed to relocate him to an area over a six-hour round trip from his child. This raised serious concerns, particularly in light of his history of psychosis, PTSD, and previous detention under the Mental Health Act.

Repeated representations were made requesting the Home Office to reconsider on the grounds of his mental health and the best interests of his child. These went unanswered. As a result, judicial review proceedings were issued, alongside an application for interim relief to prevent his dispersal.

The court granted interim relief the same day preventing the Home Office from dispersing our client to their proposed address. The judge noted our client’s complex mental health, the involvement of a child, and the Home Office’s failure to engage with the representations.

A few weeks after proceedings began, the Home Office agreed to provide our client with sole-occupancy accommodation in his requested hometown. This allowed him to maintain contact with his child and access essential support services.

This case demonstrates the importance of legal advocacy in ensuring that decisions affecting vulnerable individuals are made lawfully and fairly. It also reinforces the duty on public authorities to consider mental health and the welfare of children when making dispersal decisions under section 4 support.

Our Instructing Team

Marina Khan, a Consultant Solicitor in Duncan Lewis’s Public Law team. Instructed Counsel, Steven Galliver-Andrew, of Garden Court Chambers.

Marina represents some of society’s most vulnerable individuals, including people in immigration detention, victims of torture and trafficking, and clients with complex psychological needs.

She has led numerous high-profile judicial review claims, with a particular focus on challenging the unlawful detention of vulnerable clients—achieving significant successes in securing their release and compensation. She has extensive experience litigating in the Court of Appeal, High Court, Upper Tribunal, and County Court, covering a wide range of complex public law matters.

Contact her by email at: marinak@duncanlewis.com or by telephone on: 020 7014 7396

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Solicitors, an award-winning law firm, is renowned for its exceptional legal services and commitment to justice. The company employs a team of highly skilled solicitors offering top-tier representation in 25 fields of law, and ranked as top tier by the Chambers and the Legal 500 legal guides, and as one of the top 250 law firms in the country by the Times. Duncan Lewis was crowned Law Firm of the Year at the Lexis Nexis awards 2024, further establishing its credentials as one of the leading law firms in the UK.