Palestinian families win legal case against UK Home Office

Palestinian families have won a legal case against the Home Office when an immigration tribunal found that the government department’s refusal to consider their reunion applications was "irrational and unreasonable", and breached the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Judges ruled on Thursday in favour of two Palestinian families who brought charges against the Home Office in February after it refused requests to decide on visa applications before enrolling biometric data.  

Existing visa guidelines require applicants to enrol biometric information at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) before submitting a visa application. As Gaza’s VAC is closed, the nearest is in Cairo, which is impossible for many Palestinians in Gaza to reach.

The families demonstrated that having a positive "in principle" decision would have assisted them in negotiating exit via Rafah and travelling to a VAC in Egypt, via the assistance of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the Egyptian authorities or via bribes paid to Egyptian state-linked agencies that historically faciliated exits from Gaza. 

Read more: Gaza families win legal challenge against UK refusal for family reunion requests