Court of Appeal considers whether a historic unexercised entitlement to British citizenship is sufficient to resist deportation

The value of Akinyemi v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 236 (04 April 2017) is the consideration by the Court of Appeal  of an appeal by a 33year old man who had been born in the UK; had long  missed out on an opportunity  of acquiring British citizenship  and was now subject to deportation proceedings having accrued a lengthy criminal record in the UK.  Could  the fact that he  been  entitled to acquire British  citizenship  over the past years but failed to avail himself of the appropriate avenues, be sufficient to enable him to successfully resist deportation?  Could his presence in the UK be regarded as unlawful or precarious? Could the fact that  the Appellant  had  only ever lived in the UK all his life be sufficient to resist deportation? Is the  absence of connections with the country of return, a trump card? What is the effect of  serious and persistent offending?

 

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