In Entry Clearance Officer v BB & Ors [2026] EWCA Civ 973 the Court of Appeal reminds us — and, more to the point, the Upper Tribunal — of the restricted nature of family life as protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Background
The case turned on whether a legally protected family life existed between adult members of a family. One member of the family in question, a son, had fled Afghanistan in 2015 or 2016 and been recognised as a refugee in the UK in 2018. He had some serious mental health issues and received therapy for a number of years. Members of his family in Afghanistan had themselves later fled the country, eventually ending up in Turkey. The son visited them twice, in 2020 and 2022, but had difficulty doing so because of his mental health.
The First-tier Tribunal held there was no protected family life. The Upper Tribunal found an error in the way in which the First-tier had approached the legal issue, reconsidered for itself and found that there was family life. Was the Upper Tribunal’s decision itself correct on the law, though? At the time, probably yes. But a subsequent Court of Appeal decision had in effect tightened the test.
