Chengetai Mupara, instructed by Reiss Edwards Solicitors, was successful in an appeal by three sisters (8, 14 & 16) from Somaliland.
Their mother died a day after giving birth to the youngest of the three sisters. The girls’ father, a herdsman, died after a short illness a few years ago. Only the youngest sister is in education. Even then, she only attend half of the classes. The oldest of the three sisters (16) is severely disabled and has complex care needs. She is not in education. The middle sister (14) is the carer of her disabled sister. She also, is not in education. The three girls have managed to run their household without an adult for years. The girls’ only relative is an older sister who lives in the UK with her husband. The girls applied to join their sister in the UK but the applications were refused. The Home Office say that the girls did not satisfy the requirements of the Immigration Rules.
Chengetai successfully submitted that the girls satisfied the rules. In the alternative, he submitted that even if they did not satisfy the rules, their cases were so exceptional and compelling that they should be allowed to join their eldest sister and her husband in the UK. The appeal was allowed.