Fahad Ansari
Fahad Ansari.
Riverway Law is led by Fahad Ansari, a practising solicitor with over 15 years of immigration, asylum and nationality law experience.
Some of his more interesting cases from his career are listed below.
Reported Cases
R3 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 169
Unsuccessful challenge to decison of SIAC and the Home Secretary to deprive a British aid worker in Syria of his citizenship on the basis that the decision was arbitrary, lacked procedural safeguards and was in breach of his Article 8 ECHR rights. An appeal has been lodged to the European Court of Human Rights.
E3 & Ors v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWCA Civ 26
Unsuccessful appeal against decision of the Home Secretary to refuse to accept that individuals, incorrectly deprived of their British citizenship on the false assumption they had not been left stateless, retained their British citizenship during the period of deprivation. The matter is currently under appeal to the Supreme Court
D9 v SSHD, [2021] EWHC 2784 (Admin)
Challenge to the operation of the Authority to Carry Scheme under which the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) refused to permit an airline to carry the Claimant to the UK on national security grounds. Permission to judicial review granted by High Court.
SSHD v E3 & N3 [2019] EWC Civ 2020
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) was successful in her appeal in these deprivation of citizenship cases, on the basis that the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) had erred in placing the burden of proof on the SSHD. The Court remitted the appeal to SIAC to reconsider the statelessness point.
E3 and N3 applied for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court subsequent to which the SSHD withdrew the deprivation decisions.
Notable Cases
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
Unsuccessful appeal against decision to deprive a British national of his citizenship on grounds of national security. An appeal is currently being prepared for the European Court of Human Rights.
Unsuccessul application for a review of a decision to exclude an Afghan national from the UK on grounds that he posed a threat to national security because of his mindset.
RT v SSHD, SN/72/2019
Successful review of the decision to refuse to naturalise an Algerian national as a British citizen on grounds that he may be supportive of acts of terrorism.
C3, C4 & C7 v SSHD, SC/167/2020, SC/168/2020 & SC/171/2020
Successful appeals against decisions to deprive three British nationals of their UK citizenship on grounds of national security. Represented C7 in this appeal.
R3 v SSHD, SC/150/2018
Unsuccessful appeal against a decision to deprive a British national of his UK citizenship on grounds of Syria-related terrorism.
E3 & N3 v SSHD, SC/138/2017 and SC/146/2017
Successful appeals against decisions to deprive two British nationals of their UK citizenship on grounds of national security.
Court of Appeal
RS (Pakistan) & Others v HMCTS and SSHD [2019]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the Upper Tribunal to refuse to grant the Claimants permission to appeal the decision of the First-tier Tribunal. The case revolved around the impact of return to Pakistan on a child suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder in circumstances where suitable medical and educational treatment is not available or accessible. Interim relief has been secured prohibiting the family’s removal to Pakistan.
ND (India) v SSHD [2017]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to certify an Applicant’s asylum and human rights claim as manifestly unfounded. Secured interim relief prohibiting the Claimant’s removal to India. The claimant has since been granted asylum.
Judicial Review (High Court)
R (OA) v SSHD [2019]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to refuse to grant the Claimant an in-country right of appeal after refusing his application for a Residence Card as the Other Family Member of an EEA national.
R (SO) v SSHD [2018]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to refuse to exercise his discretion and register the Claimant as a British citizen. The Claimant is now British.
R (LE) v SSHD [2016]
Successful judicial review of the decisions of the SSHD to refuse the Claimant’s application for an EEA Residence Card, certify it as clearly unfounded, detain the Claimant and seek to remove him. The SSHD accepted the detention as unlawful and paid out £25,000 in damages to the Claimant. The Claimant has now been granted his Residence Card.
R (EM) v SSHD (Administrative Court) [2016]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to refuse to exercise his discretion and register the Claimant as a British citizen. The Claimant is now British.
Judicial Review (Upper Tribunal)
R (FH) v SSHD (Upper Tribunal) [2021]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to prevent the Applicant entering the UK, detain him and remove him on the eve of Brexit in breach of his EEA rights. The SSHD was ordered to allow the Applicant to enter the UK and later paid him damages.
R (RD) v SSHD (Upper Tribunal) [2020]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to certify the Applicant’s human rights claim as clearly unfounded. Following the grant of permission, the SSHD withdrew the decision.
R (MK) v SSHD (Upper Tribunal) [2019]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to revoke Applicant’s permission to work. The SSHD accepted the decision was unlawful, reinstated permission to work and granted the Applicant over £5000 in compensation for loss of earnings during the period he could not work.
R (AN) v SSHD (Upper Tribunal) [2016]
Successful judicial review of the decision of the SSHD to refuse to accept an Applicant’s application for a fee waiver.
Upper Tribunal
Gjin Gjergji v SSHD, UI-2022-002588
Successful appeal against decision of the SSHD to deprive a naturalised British citizen of his citizenship after it emerged that he had acted fraudulently in his original asylum claim.
Successful appeal against a decision of the Home Secretary to deprive a third generation British citizen of his citizenship following his conviction of serious sexual offences.
First-Tier Tribunal
WN v SSHD [2021]
Successful appeal against a decision to refuse the Appellant entry clearance to join her mother. The Tribunal found that the Appellant’s mother had sole responsibility for her and that there were serious and compelling reasons that his exclusion from the UK was undesirable.
SS v SSHD [2021]
Successful appeal against a decision to deport an Appellant convicted of a number of minor offences. The Tribunal found that there were exceptional circumstances relating to the Appellant’s private and family life that outweighed the public interest in deportation.
AU v SSHD [2021]
Successful appeal against a decision to deport an Appellant convicted of a serious sex offence. The Tribunal found that there were exceptional circumstances relating to the Appellant’s family life that outweighed the public interest in deportation.
MI v SSHD [2020]
Successful appeal against a decision to deport an Appellant convicted of serious offences. The Tribunal found that the Appellant could not be deported because he was in fact a British citizen.
MK v SSHD [2019]
Successful appeal against a decision to refuse an Appellant’s human rights claim where she was a citizen of Pakistan married to an Indian national. The Tribunal accepted that family life could not continue in either India or Pakistan due to the stringent and arbitrary visa rules and practices imposed by each country on the other country’s citizens.
IAH v SSHD [2018]
Appeal against a decision to exclude Appellant from Refugee Convention on basis of his previous terrorism convictions and the ongoing threat he allegedly posed to national secuirty. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal finding that although the Appellant no longer represented a threat to national security, his previous convictions warranted his exclusion from the Refugee Convention.
Taher Gulamhussein
Taher Gulamhussein.
Taher qualified as a solicitor in 2019 having studied philosophy at University College London and law at the University of Westminster. He completed his solicitor training contract at Legal 500 firm Birnberg Peirce & Partners.
Some of his more interesting cases from his career are listed below.
Notable Cases
Upper Tribunal
Costea v SSHD, DA/00364/2020
Successful appeal against decision of First-Tier Tribunal to dismiss EEA’s national’s appeal against a deportation order
SSHD v MHR, PA/01121/2021
Successfully resisted appeal by SSHD against decision of the First-Tier Tribunal to allow the asylum and protection appeal of Iraqi national of Kurdish ethnicity
AAM v SSHD, PA/01330/2021
Successful appeal against decision of the First-Tier Tribunal to dismiss asylum appeal of Iraqi national of Kurdish’s ethnicity
KQS v SSHD, PA/02276/2020
Successful appeal against decision of the First-Tier Tribunal to dismiss asylum appeal of Iraqi national of Kurdish’s ethnicity
FMA v SSHD, PA/09518/2019
Successful appeal against decision of the First-Tier Tribunal to dismiss asylum appeal of Iranian national of Kurdish’s ethnicity
SSHD v Shermahomed, DA/00105/2018
Successfully resisted appeal by SSHD against decision of the First-Tier Tribunal to allow an EEA national’s appeal against deportation
