An Albanian woman convicted of theft has avoided immediate deportation from the UK after an immigration tribunal ruled that her husband may have been responsible for misleading authorities about her identity and criminal past.
The woman, Fatmire Isaku, applied for British naturalisation on three occasions after arriving in the UK with her husband, Islam Isaku. Each application was rejected because she failed to disclose a history of theft convictions.
Isaku also falsely claimed she was born in 1958 in Pristina, Kosovo, rather than in Tirana, Albania, in 1952 — a claim that strengthened her chances of securing protection in the UK. She later submitted a fourth application in October 2011, which was approved the following year. The couple’s three children were subsequently granted British citizenship by naturalisation.
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However, after authorities discovered that both parents were Albanian and not Kosovan, the UK Home Office revoked their citizenship.
Isaku challenged the decision and appealed against the removal of her right to remain in the UK. While a lower immigration court initially rejected her appeal, the ruling has now been overturned by an upper tribunal, which ordered that her case be reheard by a different judge.
In its decision, the upper tribunal accepted arguments that Isaku’s husband may have “initiated and supervised” the false statements made to immigration authorities. Her lawyer also argued that Isaku suffers from serious mental health problems and was therefore not fully responsible for the dishonesty — a point the lower court was said to have failed to properly consider.
Upper Tribunal Judge Jonathan Perkins said medical evidence showed Isaku had significant mental health difficulties that affected her daily functioning.
“What was required was a careful consideration of the medical evidence and how it may have explained or contributed to her conduct,” he said. “It is not clear that this was adequately done.”
The judge added that while deception had been established, the extent of Isaku’s personal culpability needed to be properly assessed before deciding whether stripping her of citizenship was in the public interest.
The case will now return to the immigration courts for a fresh hearing, delaying any immediate move to deport her from the UK.
